I’ve got quite an odd entertainment setup in my house.
I have a large TV, for gaming, watching films, TV, you know, you’re normal entertainment stuff.
Next to that TV I have a gaming PC with a monitor.
The reason for this eccentric setup? Well, it’s so my partner can watch TV while I play my games on console on the monitor. And then, when we both want to play games we can switch back to the TV.
But at the moment, I have to play the HDMI Hoki-koki and change HDMI ports all the time.
But that got me wondering. Could the PS5 make my life easier? Would the PS5 have more than one HDMI port?
There is only 1 HDMI 2.1 port on the PS5. The reason for this is that 99.9999% of PS5 users will only need 1 HDMI port. Sony hasn’t included extra ports that few gamers would use because it would cost them too much money.
Ok, now you know the PS5 only comes with one HDMI.
But what if you’re desperate to get a mirrored image from your PS5?
Well, there is a way. But before I talk about that, let’s look at why the PS5 doesn’t come with a second HDMI.
How many HDMI ports are on the PS5?
As I said above, the PS5 only comes equipped with one HDMI. As it stands, there is no other out-of-the-box way to extract an image from the PS5, apart from the one HDMI port.
Additionally, there’s no HDMI in port either, unlike on the Xbox One which tried to be the ultimate home entertainment system, and failed
So why did Sony not include more HDMI ports or any other display ports on the PS5? After all, PC graphics cards often come with 3, 4, or even 5 DisplayPorts.
Let’s take a look below…
Why aren’t there more HDMI ports on PS5?
First of all, hardly any gamers have the need for multiple display outputs from a console.
Yes, there have been some experiments in the past with chain-linked PS3s for multi-screen Gran Tourismo awesomeness. But generally, multi-screen gaming cockpits are bolted down firmly in the realm of the PC gaming enthusiast.
You’ll often find PC gamers sporting 2 or more monitors. And they have graphics cards with just as many display ports to support them.
But, gaming PCs are a lot more expensive than a console. In fact, a gaming PC with comparable PS5 graphics power will cost you about $1250.
And that doesn’t even include accessories or a monitor.
That’s way more than double the cost. But for that cost, you get a few positives. One of them being a lot more connectivity, and that includes more HDMI ports. Also, gaming PCs can double as workstation PCs that use multiple monitors.
The PS5 is never going to be used for editing videos, or for editing camera shots in photoshop. It’s a games console first, an entertainment hub for your TV a distant second.
This singular use dissolves demand for an extra HDMI port. This lack of demand ties Sony’s logic for not including an extra HDMI on the PS5 in a nice little bow.
By not including an HDMI that the vast majority of gamers won’t use, Sony is saving a huge amount of money.
An extra HDMI port on the PS5 might cost Sony $2 to include. That doesn’t sound like a lot, does it?
Multiply that $2 by 100 million consoles, the number of PS5s Sony is expecting to sell over the next 6 years, and that 1 extra HDMI would cost Sony a staggering $200 million dollars to include over the next 6 years. That’s just over 33 million dollars per year.
When you look at it this way, you can probably appreciate why Sony might not want to include anything in the PS5’s design that they don’t have to.
But what if you really do want to mirror your image from the PS5?
Well, it is possible to mirror the PS5’s display to different monitors, TV’s or devices. Let’s take how.
How to Mirror the PS5’s display
You’ve persevered to this point so I’m going to assume you really want to mirror your PS5’s display output to an extra TV or monitor.
There are two ways you can do this.
- PS Remote Play app
- HDMI Signal Splitter
Let’s take a look at each option.
PS Remote Play App
Before you start spending money on signal splitters and heaving cables out of TV sockets, ask yourself could you use the PS5’s remote play option?
You can download the PS Remote Play app and mirror your console’s display output to any Windows PC, Apple Mac, iOS device, or Android device.
For example, if your partner is watching TV, you could stream your PS5 screen to your mobile phone using the remote play app, hook up a controller to your phone using Bluetooth, and play.
Or, for the more tech-savvy, you could stream the PS5’s display to your phone, and then mirror the image from your phone onto another TV elsewhere in your house.
All is possible with the PS Remote Play app.
Just pop on over to Sony’s remote play website to learn how to set up the remote play app for your PS5.
Or head on over to these links to download the PS Remote Play app for your device:
HDMI signal splitter
It is possible to output a picture from the PS5 to two different displays using an HDMI signal splitter.
A signal splitter, such as the Orei Ultra 4K, is a little box that clones the digital signal from the PS5 and sends it through two HDMI out ports.
You can then connect two HDMI cables to these HDMI out ports to connect your PS5 to two different displays. Remember you’ll need a few extra HDMI cables for this.
This makes swapping between displays very convenient.
For example, my partner often uses the TV when I want to game. With a signal splitter installed, I can just tune my Monitor into the HDMI source coming from the signal splitter connected to the PS5.
However, there are some negatives to using a signal splitter.
Keep in mind that you can only buy HDMI 2.0 signal splitters. That means you’ll lose out on HDMI 2.1 features such as 120Hz gaming, 8K resolution, and variable refresh rates.
Also, remember the PS5 will output the same resolution to both displays. So they need to be the same resolution, otherwise, you’ll be constantly swapping resolutions in the PS5’s settings menu.
For example, if you have a 4K TV and 1080p monitor, running the PS5 at 4k will mean a blank screen will appear on your 1080p monitor until you lower the resolution.
So keep that in mind too.
Conclusion
Right then. It’s that time in the article where I give you a lovely summary of everything we’ve talked about:
- The PS5 has only one HDMI port
- The reasons why the PS5 has only one HDMI port is:
- It saves Sony millions of dollars over the PS5’s life
- Not enough gamers have a need for a second HDMI port
- The PS5 image can be mirrored in 2 ways
- You can use the PS5 remote play app
- You can use an HDMI signal splitter
- I recommend the Orei Ultra 4K as a great choice for a signal splitter
- You’ll also need a couple of extra HDMI 2.1 cables for the signal splitter to work.
- There are a number of things to Keep in mind when using a signal splitter:
- The resolution of both displays needs to be the same, otherwise, you’ll be changing the display settings every time you move from one display to the other
- There are no HDMI 2.1 splitter boxes available so you’ll miss out on features such as 8K@60Hz and 120Hz gaming
What Next?
How do I charge the PS5 controller? The PS5 controller is charged using a USB-C cable. Check out my “How to charge the PS5 controller” to see the best way to keep your controller juiced.
Can the PS5 be laid on its side? Yes, the PS5 can be laid on its side. Take a look at my article here and follow the instructions within.
Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope you get as much use out of it as I got joy from writing it.
If you want to, please feel free to leave a comment. I’ve gotten rid of the pesky little need for you to input your email. So fire away with your questions, criticisms, witticisms.
Also, though I hate to ask, if you have a spare $3 dollars rattling around in your bank – I know, who does these days right? – I’d really appreciate a coffee to help go towards running this website. I run on coffee, decaf Costas to be exact, and if the coffee dries up, the website may follow. Plus, it’ll help me move towards writing books and courses on how to make money from gaming, which is what this website is really all about.
Anyway, thanks again for your support. I honestly couldn’t do this without you. Bye for now. Nick.