Hardware - Page 10 - CareerGamers

The Ps4 camera has become an essential piece of kit since Sony introduced the PS VR. But I’ve run into a little problem. The PS4 Camera cable isn’t long enough for me to place my camera under my TV without moving my PS4. Additionally, the proprietary Sony “Aux” connector complicated things as I couldn’t use a standard USB extension cable. I decided to do a little research on the options available to me. And here’s what I found: How do I extend the PS4 Camera cable? The PS4 camera cable can be extended. But, due to the proprietary Sony Aux connector, you must use a specially made extension cable for a max length of 12 feet. They cost more than a standard USB extension. So, we know the PlayStation camera cable can be extended. But, how do you go about extending it and managing such a long cable? Plus, are there any negatives to using a longer cable? Won’t there be signal degradation or lag? I’ll answer these questions in the following sections. Can I extend the PS4 Camera Cable and how do I do it? The PS4 Camera’s cable is only 6 Foot long. That’s fine if you have your PS4 directly under your TV. It’s not so fine if your PS4 is lost somewhere else half way across your gaming room like me. To remedy this situation, I thought all I needed was a USB female to male extension cable and I’d be set. When I first set out to extend my PS4 camera cable, I’ll admit, I thought it would be a doddle. I had a few USB extensions lying around under my bed, so I dove into my jungle of unused cables and fished an extension out. It was a python of an extension cable: 24 feet long, braided with gold connectors. It was a beast and had served me well over the years. I was convinced it would now serve an honorable second life as my PS4 camera extension cable. But disaster struck… (Doesn't it always!!) Having turned off my PS4, unplugged all the connectors, and pulled it out from under my entertainment center (Yes, I have an entertainment “Centre”), I blindly, and over confidently, started poking cables into holes. I was like a child trying to force a square block in a round hole. Except a child might have had more luck. After struggling to make it fit for what felt like half an hour, I lifted the hulking PS4 console - seriously my little arms nearly collapsed - up to my face to make a quick assessment of the situation. This is what I found… What is this? It didn’t look like a normal USB slot. It turned out that it wasn’t. It’s a proprietary PS4 cable slot (Of course it would be!). Which means every USB extension cable, ever made, is useless. I consigned my Python extension cable back to the jungle under my bed. Glum from my defeat, I started a half-hearted hunt for a proper extension cable. After a little digging, one popped up on amazon.com (Doesn't everything pop up on amazon.com?) I know... Not the prettiest of pictures. It doesn't even show you the oddly shaped connector. But believe me, follow this link (Yes, its an Amazon.com affiliate link. We have to make money somehow. Right?), and you’ll see it’s a genuine PS4 camera extension cable. I ordered one immediately, and Amazon’s drones span into action. Within 24 hours the cable arrived, and like a child at Christmas, I grabbed the nearest scissors, (Ok, not every child would do that, but still…) and slit the packaging open. The extension was… Drum rolls… an extra 6 feet long for a total of 12 feet… Not amazing. But good enough. Fortunately, I was to busy sucking down the smell of newly formed plastic to care. Then, forcing my self out of my trance, I slid the PS4 camera’s male connector into the female connector of the new extension. It fitted perfectly. The other end of the extension dutifully slotted into the PS4. Perfect. I turned on the PS4 and immediately the camera light shone beacon-like across the room. It was alive. So if you need to extend the PS4 camera's cable, pick one of these bad boys up. It worked perfectly. How do I manage the extra length of cable? Now that you’ve got your new 12-foot camera cable all set up and working, I bet your room looks more like a spaghetti junction than a games room. So how should you go about managing/protecting your newly extended cable? Tuck it under the carpet If you are lucky to have carpet in your house, you could tuck the cable under it. The only problem with this is, you’d see the bulge under the carpet. Which, let’s be honest, is a little unsightly. And you can easily step on your new cable and wreck it. Pass it behind furniture If you have furniture against your walls, you could pass your PS4 camera cable behind them all. However, be careful when doing this. Unfortunately, from my own experience, when moving a table back into position I accidentally stabbed my USB extender with a table leg and crushed it. So be careful when putting your camera extension cable behind furniture. Cable Management System I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is your best option. You're using a long extended cable, so for a small cost, it’s worth using a good cable management system. For a single wire, it’s worth using a simple set of sticky back wire clips like these ones here. They’re simple to install, cheap, and easy to use. And if you ever needed to run any more cables around the edge of your gaming room you can reuse them. Are there any alternatives to extending the cable? Since the PlayStation VR has been introduced, there’s been a massive uptake of the PlayStation camera. And with that uptake, there’s been a constant call for either a longer cable on the camera or for a wireless camera. But why the sudden demand for a longer cable just because of VR? With the introduction of VR, you no longer needed to be facing the TV to play games. This meant you could place your PS4 camera anywhere in a room for an optimal VR experience. The problem is, the PS4 camera cable in only 6-Feet long. So you need it to be very close to the PlayStation 4 console. In the UK this isn’t really a problem. Most of our rooms are small and hobbit-hovel like. However, houses and rooms in US houses are cathedral-like in dimension. This is why there’s a cable length issue. Extending cables is one option. But are there any other options for connecting the PS4 camera to the PS4? Unfortunately, at the time of writing, there are no other options for extending the PS4 camera cable other than buying an extension. That problem is compounded by the fact that you can only use 1 extension cable for a total of 12 feet of cable. The PS4 USB controller, situated on the motherboard, doesn't push enough voltage down the Camera cable to power the Camera if the cable is over 12 feet. There has been a talk on forums of a future PS VS coming with Wireless base stations for detecting the PS VR’s position. But for the foreseeable future, and the current PS VR, you're stuck with 12 feet of extended cable. Are there problems using an extended cable? So now we come to the tricky part of this article… Are there any problems you’ll face when trying to extend your PS4 camera cable? Unfortunately, there are two major issues you’ll face. Latency First, before I dive headlong into why latency is bad for your PS4 camera, let me explain what latency is. Latency, or lag, is when there is a delay between the action you perform with a controller or camera, and the action you see on screen. The higher the latency the harder the game is to play. Ok, glad we’ve got that cleared up. When using the PS4 camera for VR, any added latency can cause the view in your VR headset to seem to lag behind your head movement. This can - and in my case does - cause nausea. Unfortunately, when using my VR headset with an extension cable there was a noticeable increase in lag while playing Skyrim and Beat saber. However, it should be noted that I do suffer from motion sickness. Other people who have a higher tolerance to motion may not notice any lag at all. Limited Extension Another limit I discovered with the PS4 cameras extension cable is that you can only use one extension for a maximum cable length of 12 feet. If you use a second extension cable for a total 18-feet of cable, the PS4 camera will not even power on. But why is this? Simply put the PS4 uses a lower power - read, lower-cost - USB connector to power the PS4 camera. Even though the PS4 camera uses a proprietary connector, it’s actually just a USB lead in disguise. So the PS4 uses a USB 2 controller on the motherboard to send power down the cable to turn on the camera. Unfortunately, the USB controller does not supply enough voltage to drive electricity down a wire more than 12 feet long. It’s a hard limit to the length of the PS4 camera’s potential cable length. So if at this point you absolutely must have more than 12 feet of cable you’re out of luck. You’ll just have to move the PS4 console, the camera, or both so you can work within the 12 feet limitation. Conclusion So there you have it. You’ve learned that it’s very possible to extend the PS4 camera cable’s length with a proprietary extension cable and how to manage that extra length. And we’ve touched on a couple of the limitations of extending the cable such as the hard 12 feet limit and the introduction of extra lag. You do have some options to help you get that perfect position for your PS4 camera. But it’s not all good news. Hopefully, with the next iteration of the PlayStation and it’s VR headset, this problem will disappear when we get wireless base stations. Pick up the PS4 Camera Extension Cable here. Related Questions Can I extend my PS4 camera cable to 25ft? No. With an extension cable, the maximum the cable length is limited to 12 feet. Can I use 3rd party cameras with my PS4 for VR? No, Unfortunately, only the official gen 1 and gen 2 PS4 cameras work with PS VR. How do I attach my PS4 camera to my TV? There are many ways by which you can attach your PS4 camera to your TV. See our guide here.