Does PS5 Support Ultrawide Monitors?

The question Does PS5 support ultrawide monitors or not is a two-part question. The first part deals with whether the PS5 will work on an Ultrawide monitor at ALL. The answer to this is a yes, PS5 WILL output and interface with an ultrawide monitor.

The second part of the question is whether PS5 will work at the rated ultrawide aspect ratio NATIVELY. The answer to THAT question, however, is a NO. PS5 will NOT output at ultrawide 21:9 or super ultrawide 32:9 aspect ratio natively

This is because PS5 ONLY renders the output at a 16:9 aspect ratio. Unlike with PCs where the aspect ratio can be adjusted, that is NOT possible for PS5.

Meanwhile, with PC gamers, ultrawide monitors are going strong. They are getting to see support for many display modes included for ultra and super ultrawide monitors.

For PS5, however, only time will tell if support for a wider than 16:9 aspect ratio will ever be supported.

Display Modes Supported By PS5

The following is a list of all the display modes supported by PS5. Now, unlike with PCs, PS5 is stringent with the display mode specs i.e the vertical pixels and refresh rate.

In others, it will NOT support anything other than the display modes listed here.

• 1080 @ 30Hz – 30 FPS – 16:9
• 1080 @ 60Hz – 60 FPS – 16:9
• 1080 @ 120Hz – 120FPS – 16:9
• 1440 @ 30Hz – 16:9
• 1440 @ 60Hz – 16:9
• 1440 @ 120Hz – 16:9
• 4k @ 30Hz – 16:9
• 4k @ 60Hz – 16:9
• 4k @ 120Hz – 16:9

It should be noted here, however, that support for QHD (2K / 1440P) was only recently added to PS5 in the update launched in September of 2022.

Furthermore, the PS5 7.0 update has further improved on this and has introduced the VRR feature for QHD which was previously supported for FHD or 4K displays.

When PS5 was first released back in 2020, it only supported FHD and 4K. QHD was simply not supported at all. Therefore, only time will tell if PS5 in its future update will ever release an update for supporting ultrawide or super ultrawide aspect ratio.

144Hz, 165Hz and 240Hz Monitor Must Have 120Hz Support

Make sure when buying a monitor with a high refresh rate that it has support for 120Hz mode as well. Not all 144Hz, 165, and 240Hz have support for 120Hz making 120FPS unplayable on PS5.

Dell S2719DGF is a 144Hz monitor that does not have 120Hz mode making it incompatible with 120FPS mode on PS5.

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So Does PS5 Support Ultrawide Monitors?

As pointed out earlier, this question has two parts to it:

1. Does PS5 support Ultrawide Monitors at ALL?
2. Does PS5 support the 21:9 or 32:9 ultra and super ultrawide aspect ratio natively?

Does PS5 Support Ultrawide Monitors at ALL?

As far as the first question goes, yes, PS5 DOES support ultrawide monitors. Meaning, if you were to hook up your ultrawide monitor to PS5, it will send video output to your monitor.

However, since PS5 renders the video at a 16:9 aspect ratio, everything on the ultrawide monitor will simply be stretched and this can look ugly.

Stretched COD gameplay on Samsung CJ89 43″ 3840 x 1200 120Hz monitor. Courtesy: YouTube @MathewTheBeast

Does PS5 Support 21:9 or 32:9 Aspect Ratio Natively?

The second part of the question has already been partly answered above and that is a no. PS5 does NOT support the 21:9 or 32:9 aspect ratio rendering.

This is the reason why everything you see on your ultrawide monitor would be stretched.

Since stretched gameplay can look ugly and pixelated, you can adjust the aspect ratio of the monitor so that it mimics that of the source.

The majority of ultrawide monitors have a setting that can allow you to adjust the aspect ratio from its On Screen Display.

Take, for instance, the Benq EX3415R above. This monitor allows you to either set the aspect ratio to full (21:9) which would stretch the image or set it to 1:1, which would then mimic the aspect ratio of the source.

Samsung CJ89a has a similar setting that allows you to match the aspect ratio of the source, which is 16:9 in this case.

16:9 image on 21:9 display. Notice the black bars on either side. Courtesy: YouTube @MathewTheBeast

The Ugly Black Bars

One obvious drawback of playing on a 16:9 aspect ratio on an ultrawide monitor is that it will show you the ugly black bars on the side.

These are basically the screen real estate that is not being utilized by the monitor due to the constricted aspect ratio.

One way to use the wasted pixel real estate is using the picture-in-picture function as found on many ultrawide monitors.

This function basically allows you to receive signals from multiple sources and then display them side by side simultaneously.

So for instance you can have one side dedicated to PS5 and the other side dedicated to another source like your PC or a TV.

Courtesy: YouTube @MathewTheBeast

You can see above, that you have your gaming on one side and your PC source on the other side of this ultrawide monitor.

PS5 Will Display On 1080P, 1440P and 2160P Ultrawide Monitor and Super Ultrawide Monitor

It does not matter what the horizontal number of pixels the display has, as long as the vertical number of pixels is 1080, 1440, or 2160, then PS5 WILL work.

Should You Get an Ultrawide Monitor Solely for PS5?

Just because PS5 can output to an ultrawide monitor DOES NOT mean that it is worthy of investment solely for PS5.

In fact, it is actually a waste of money considering that you’d be restricted only to 16:9 gameplay anyways.

So unless you already have an Ultrawide monitor for work purposes or wish to buy one for work purposes, do not pursue this for PS5 alone.

Official Narrative on Ultrawide Monitors by Sony is Absent

When it comes to native ultrawide support, Sony hasn’t made many things clear.

Despite the gaming community’s desire to know if the PS5 supports or will ever support ultrawide monitors, the company hasn’t made any official statements about its compatibility.

Only time will tell if an answer will be revealed. However, we can take inspiration from the fact that PS5 enabled support for 1440P monitors recently, and perhaps in the future, there will be an update that would support the ultrawide and super ultrawide aspect ratio natively.

Also Read: Does PS5 Need HDMI 2.1 for 120Hz?