PlayStation 4 Steering Wheel Buyers Guide 2020

Published 1/10/2020

If you've read the XBOX One Steering Wheel Buyers Guide then much of what you will read below will be the same or similar enough as all the steering wheel manufacturers built similar wheels for the two consoles.

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is nearing its end of life but its price has dropped significantly and it features a good selection of driving games such as the Gran Turismo series, F1 2019, and Project Cars 2.  If you're into driving games you'll want to be using a steering wheel with force feedback (FFB).

There are many wheels available based on what you'll want to spend so we categorized them into 4 groups based mainly on price (USD) with Entry (up to $350), Consumer ($350-700), Enthusiast ($700-1200), and finally Professional ($1200+).  The great aspect of all the steering wheels listed is their support for the PC once you plan to move off the PS4.  None of the listed wheel bases support XBOX One.

You should look for a wheel base with at least 16 bit or 65K steps of resolution (number of zones for recognizing a change) and a pedal with at least 10 bit or 1024 steps of resolution. For example, a wheel base with 8 bit resolution has 256 steps so only if you move 1.4 degrees does it recognize the wheel has moved. Any lower than the recommended resolution and slight wheel adjustments or pedal press/release won’t be recognized.



Entry Level (up to $350)
At this price point, wheel bases feature small motors, older force feedback technology, and low enough steering or pedal resolution that may affect your driving.  Two steering wheels are available at this price range with differing set up.  Thrustmaster offers the T150 in two packages and Logitech with the G29.  The Logitech G920 uses an much older dual brushed motor, helical gear based force feedback, and only 8 bit resolution for the pedal.  Although the Thrustmaster T150 only has a 12 bit steering resolution, it uses a newer brushed motor with belt and gear force feedback.  For only $20-40 more for the Pro version with the 3 pedal T3PA over the 2 pedal and much cheaper than the G29, it's easy to recommend just going for the T150 RS Pro in this category.  What's really odd is the pricing of the T3PA shifter - it can be more expensive than the steering wheel, pedals, and wheel base packages.

Consumer Level ($350-700)
At the consumer level, all wheel bases utilize a brush less motor, dual belts for stronger, smoother force feedback, 16 bit wheel base resolution, and 10 bit pedal resolution.  At this price point and above, the steering wheels can be swapped with other steering wheels from the same manufacturer.  Thrustmaster offers their T300RS in several different packages such as the Alcantara edition, GT, or with the two pedal. The Thrustmaster F599XX EVO 30 Wheel Alcantara that comes with the Alcantara version is really nice with high quality materials but the package costs $200 more than the Pro.  If you can wait, the F599XX wheel has gone down to $99 but usually hovers at the $128 price range so I recommend buying the T300 RS GT then picking up the F599XX wheel by itself.

The Thrustmaster T-GT has a slightly stronger motor, external power brick, better cooling, full metal pedal arms, brushed metal pedal surface, and more metal on the wheel base than the T300RS GT.  If you primarily run Gran Turismo Sport, the T-GT features a extra vibration motor at the steering column for suspension and vibration efforts called T-DFB (depth feedback). Where you may run the T300 at 100% FFB you will get about the same on the T-GT at 75% FFB.  At this price point, the T3PA pedals are a real let down being position based brakes.  There's enough differences between the T300RS GT to the T-GT that it may be worth choosing the T-GT over the less pricey T300 if you get the lowest price. But at the median price of the T-GT, it’s better to move up to the CSL for the better pedals.

Enthusiast Level ($700-1200)
Featuring stronger motors and smoother force feedback but also similar brush less motor and dual belts found in the consumer level wheel bases.  The stand out improvement is the factory included load cell in the Fanatec CSL LC pedals which measures your pressure rather than position of the brake pedal to translate to the car and 12 bit or higher resolution pedals.  Unlike the XBOX One, if you prefer another steering wheel from Fanatec you can just buy another steering wheel without a need for a hub.

Professional Level ($1200+)
Here lies direct drive (DD).  No longer are small motors powering belts/gears to make you feel more than what the motor can really put out.  The motor is directly driving the shaft that connects the steering wheel.  These wheel bases are much stronger and provide levels of precision and subtle-ness that are unmatched.  Considering a PS4 can run for $200 USD and just the wheel base is 10 times that, you are probably going to want to switch over to PC where there's more control over the steering wheel, better flexibility of pedals and shifter you can use, and better force feedback in the titles. So if you're really serious about sim racing and just want to buy one and never really have to upgrade, Fanatec's Podium is the only DD that support PS4.

Conclusion
There are steering wheel sets available at various price points for everyone to get into racing on their PS4 and when they're ready, they can bring that same steering wheel onto the PC.

Although manufacturers sell you on their ecosystem, unless you jump to the Enthusiast level with Fanatec, you're stuck in the Entry/Consumer level with Thrustmaster and Logitech only has a shifter.  If you can jump right into Fanatec, it'll provide you the ability to interchange pedals, brakes, and steering wheels between their various wheel bases.

XBOX One Steering Wheel Buyers Guide 2020

Published 1/9/2020

The XBOX 360 is nearing its end of life but its price has dropped significantly and it features a good selection of driving games such as the Forza Motorspot series, Forza Horizon series, Assetto Corsa, and Project Cars 2.  If you're into driving games you'll want to be using a steering wheel with force feedback (FFB).

There are many wheels available based on what you'll want to spend so we categorized them into 4 groups based mainly on price (USD) with Entry (up to $350), Consumer ($350-700), Enthusiast ($700-1200), and finally Professional ($1200+).  The great aspect of all the steering wheels listed is their support for the PC once you plan to move off the XBOX One.  However none of the wheel bases listed are compatible with PS4.

You should look for a wheel base with at least 16 bit or 65K steps of resolution (number of zones for recognizing a change) and a pedal with at least 10 bit or 1024 steps of resolution. For example, a wheel base with 8 bit resolution has 256 steps so only if you move 1.4 degrees does it recognize the wheel has moved. Any lower than the recommended resolution and slight wheel adjustments or pedal press/release won’t be recognized.




Entry Level (up to $350)
At this price point, wheel bases feature small motors, older force feedback technology, and low enough steering or pedal resolution that may affect your driving.  Two steering wheels are available at this price range with differing set up.  Thrustmaster offers the TMX in two packages and Logitech with the G920.  If you don't need 3 pedals then the Thrustmaster TMX is the best choice offering a low price with brushed motor, belt/gear force feedback technology but steering wheel is only 12 bit resolution.  If you need the 3 pedals, the Logitech G920 is the lowest price you can get but it uses an much older dual brushed motor, helical gear based force feedback, and only 8 bit resolution for the pedals. If you can find the Thrustmaster TMX Pro with the 3 pedals and TH8A shifter priced only a bit more, it's a better choice and one I'd recommend.  What's really odd is the pricing of the T3PA shifter - it can be more expensive than the steering wheel, pedals, and wheel base packages.

Consumer Level ($350-700)
At the consumer level, all wheel bases utilize a brush less motor, dual belts for stronger, smoother force feedback, 16 bit wheel base resolution, and 10 bit pedal resolution.  At this price point and above, the steering wheels can be swapped with other steering wheels from the same manufacturer.  Thrustmaster offers their TX in several different packages such as the Ferrari 458 Italia edition, Leather edition, or individually as a servo base. The only one I'd recommend is the TX Leather edition as it's not much more then the TX but comes with the 3 pedal T3PA and much better steering wheel than the mostly plastic Italia wheel.

The Thrustmaster TS-XW has a slightly stronger motor, external power brick, better cooling, and more metal but a much higher price than the TX leather edition to make it worth the money.  Where you may run the TX at 100% FFB you will get about the same on the TS-XW at 75% FFB.  At this price point, the T3PA pedals are a real let down being position based brakes.

Enthusiast Level ($700-1200)
Featuring stronger motors and smoother force feedback but also similar brush less motor and dual belts found in the consumer level wheel bases.  The stand out improvement is the factory included load cell in the Fanatec CSL LC pedals which measures your pressure rather than position of the brake pedal to translate to the car and 12 bit or higher resolution pedals.  In this category, Fanatec sells both the Clubsport Lite (CSL) and the Clubsport (CSW).  Materials (CSW featuring more metal), belt design (CSL uses cogged belt while CSW uses multirib belt), build quality, precision, and motor strength mainly separate the two.  I've priced both with the Fanatec CSL P1 for XBox One steering wheel and CSL Elite pedals to keep cost down.  If you prefer another steering wheel from Fanatec then you'll have to add Fanatec's clubsport universal hub for Xbox one for $350.  The quality of the CSL lies between the CSW 1 and CSW 2.  If you can afford it, go for the CSW 2.5.  If you already have a CSL you may instead want to make the bigger jump to direct drive.

Professional Level ($1200+)
Here lies direct drive (DD).  No longer are small motors powering belts/gears to make you feel more than what the motor can really put out.  The motor is directly driving the shaft that connects the steering wheel.  These wheel bases are much stronger and provide levels of precision and subtle-ness that are unmatched.  The strength and materials separate the DD1 from the DD2.  Considering a XBOX One can run for $149 USD and just the wheel base is 14 times that, you are probably going to want to switch over to PC where there's more control over the steering wheel, better flexibility of pedals and shifter you can use, and better force feedback in the titles. I've priced these with Fanatec's clubsport universal hub for XBOX One because at this price point you'll likely choose whatever steering wheel you want rather than save $350.  So if you're really serious about sim racing and just want to buy one and never really have to upgrade, Fanatec's Podium is one of the few DD that support XBOX One.

Conclusion
There are steering wheel sets available at various price points for everyone to get into racing on their XBOX One and when they're ready, they can bring that same steering wheel onto the PC.

Although manufacturers sell you on their ecosystem, unless you jump to the Enthusuast level with Fanatec, you're stuck in the Entry/Consumer level with Thrustmaster and Logitech only has a shifter.  If you can jump right into Fanatec, it'll provide you the ability to interchange pedals, brakes, and steering wheels between their various wheel bases.  But that jump to Fanatec is big considering it's $970 to start compared to the price of a XBOX One.  I'd recommend starting off with the TMX or TX and minimizing accessory purchases then jumping to direct drive when you're ready.

How to: Fix the Color Balance (Yellow Tint) on the Galaxy S6

The Galaxy S6 includes 4 screen modes: Adaptive display, AMOLED cinema, AMOLED photo, and Basic.  Basic mode is the most color accurate with saturation significantly reduced but usually appears to have a yellow tint.  Our review of the Galaxy S6 noticed varying degrees of yellow tint in basic mode across several devices.  The Galaxy S7's color calibration is a lot better with most devices having a neutral white in basic mode.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Marshmallow 6.0.1 Upgrade

It's been a long time coming but Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update is finally reaching most Galaxy S6 devices across the world. The Marshmallow update brings several UI and functionality changes at the system level for the Galaxy S6:

Core Marshmallow Changes

• App permissions
• WiFi hotspots can only be edited or deleted by the app that created it
• Copy and Paste now floats by the highlighted text 
• Separate volume for Ringtone, Media, Notifications, and System
• Changed Android Update screens (flat white animated flat cogs or static Android mascot on a flat color instead of isolinear Android mascot on a black background)
• Overall system response is faster

UI Changes

• Updated notification pane quick toggles: support for full pull down and color changed to grey
• Application Tray icon changed from grey to white
• Clock time scrolling no longer scrolls in sets of 10 minutes but now varies 10-12 minutes
• Colored icons on lock screen (a simple theme can do the same)
• Home screen icons no longer have a shadow (a simple theme can do the same)
• Option to put rounded semi-transparent white squares behind every non-Samsung icon in Display settings called "Icon backgrounds"
• Download Updates Manually page updated to look better and include current software version (which you can find under Build Number in Software info)
• No longer able to view headphone or charge counters through "Phone INFO Samsung" unless you root

GPS

• Faster lock: Reduced time from cold boot

Fingerprint Scanner

• Accuracy improved: Fingers at an angle no longer confuse it as much.  The Manage Fingerprints settings page even shows you which finger it matches when you lie your finger on the home key
• Faster match: Match time quicker by about 25%

Camera

• Saving to RAW added - only available in Pro mode
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/24000 to 10 seconds in Pro mode
  

Battery Life

• Idle Standby has improved to use about 50% less power
  
• Display with WiFi on has decreased to use about 20% more power.  Battery life with my regular usage as dropped from a little over 4 days to 3 days
  

Samsung App Changes

If you've been avoiding the updates to Samsung apps then you'll notice the push of updates to you

• Dramatically improved RAM management - able to run 8+ apps without them reloading.  Your experience may vary based on the app/game opened
• On the dual SIM variant (Duos), the default SIM in the notification pane and dialing page are no longer available
• Gallery App now automatically creates events
• Music now defaults to the playlists page rather than the active playlist
• Weather app now shows the hourly temperature in 4 hour blocks at the top and defaults to a minimized daily weather without the temperature when the current temperature is maximized.  You can swipe up to minimize the current temperature and show the Daily temperature
  

Should you upgrade

The Galaxy S6 Marshmallow update brings noticeable improvements to speed and idle battery life.  If you haven't already loaded up a different theme or switched the launcher, it gives the S6 a fresh coat of paint with flat icons and new notification pane (You can also do it with the [Kendi] TouchWiz 6.0 theme.  Overall it's a very stable firmware that doesn't change the S6 much from it's latest Lollipop firmware.  I upgraded and don't regret doing it.

Not all Apple and Samsung battery chargers built the same

If you've bought a few Apple or Samsung phones in the past few years you may have noticed different chargers bundled with your phone.  But what exactly is the difference?

Here is a comparison of the various current Apple power adapters:

Model	Short Description	Connector	Power Output	Quick Charge	Packaged with
A1265	5W Small square iPhone charger (older model)	USB	DC 5V, 1 A	No	iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
A1357	10W Block iPad charger	USB	DC 5.1V, 2.1 A	No	iPad, iPad 2, iPad mini
A1385	5W Small square iPhone charger (newer model)	USB	DC 1V, 1 A	No	iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6S
A1401	12W High power large block iPad charger	USB	DC 5.2V, 2.4 A	No	iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro

Here is a comparison of the various current Samsung power adapters:

Model	Short Description	Connector	Power Output	Quick Charge	Packaged with
ETA-U90	Blocky low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 0.7 A	No	Galaxy S2
ETA0U61	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy S3
ETA0U80	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy Note 2
ETA0U81	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy Core
EP-TA10	Blocky charger	USB	DC 5.2V, 2.0 A	No	Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
EP-TA12	Blocky charger	USB	DC 5V, 2.1 A	No	Galaxy S5, Tab 8.9, Tab 10.1
EP-TA20	High end blocky charger	USB	DC 5V, 2.0 A	Yes, 2.0	Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7

All this information can be found in small text on your power adapter. The output indicates the amount of power sent to the phone.  Both Apple and Samsung power adapters provide a USB connector to a microUSB cable.  Generally Samsung follows the Model number with "J" for Canada, US, Japan or "E" for Europe.

Using a lower output charger than the one included with your device may not work or charges your device very slowly.  For example the iPad Air charges very slowly with the A1385 and even drains faster than it charges if you're playing CPU/GPU intense games.

Using a higher output charger can charge your device faster such as charging an iPhone 6/6S using an iPad charger will charge from empty to full in about 2 hours.  However, be aware that using a charger that has a higher power output than the charger that
came with your phone may overheat your battery and may degrade the
life of the battery

Quick charging in newer devices make a big difference.  Charging the Galaxy S6 took 50% longer to charge with the EP-TA12 compared
to the bundled EP-TA20 with Quick Charge turned on.  So if you're looking for a phone that charges quickly make sure you get one that supports Quick Charge 2.0 or higher.

How to: 5 Tips to Taking Great Photos with the Samsung Galaxy S7 / S6

Praised for its impressive camera, the Galaxy S6 and S7 take great photos even in fully automatic mode.  But a few quick tips will help you take better photos in difficult situations with your Galaxy device and the Samsung camera app.

Although most photos from this article are from a S6, these tips all apply to the S7 too.

1. Light and Shadow
Sunlight is a both a friend and a foe.  It helps light up subjects both can also cause overexposure.  As you probably know, you usually want the sun behind you to light your subject unless you intend to take a photo of the sun.

The Galaxy S6 and S7 have really good dynamic range avoiding overexposure in most situations but a few situations can occur when you have buildings blocking the sun.  There are 3 approaches to improve lighting in the shadows and they are: HDR, focusing, and camera flash.

I generally avoid flash as it's too weak to light distant subjects and produces a harsh bright light if your subject is too close.  Since the flash intensity is not variable (unlike professional camera flashes), it's best to keep your subject 1-1.5 meters (3-5 feet) away.  It's best for taking photos of people in dark situations.

If you're taking photos of objects I tend to favor HDR.  A very typical situation for using HDR is when you have a combination of bright light from a window and a dark interior:

HDR helps bring bring out the interior without overexposing and losing details from the stain glass window details.

Here's a photo of Quinta da Regaleira with a brightly lit palace and residence wall in shadow without HDR and with center weighted metering (default in auto):

Now if I focused on the dark wall it causes the palace to be overexposed when the metering also focuses on the dark wall:

And finally if I turn on HDR it lights up the wall without overexposing the palace but it looks artificial and lacks the dramatic look with HDR turned off.

So it's up to you which of the 3 photos you prefer.  I tend to prefer HDR off and switch HDR on if there is details in the shadow I want to bring out that I can't pull out without overexposing bright areas.

With the sun setting behind me, the Eduardo VII Park isn't lit well so HDR works well to bright up the scene without losing the details in the distance.

HDR off	HDR on

Now if you intentionally want a darker scene and the auto mode keeps artificially brightening up the scene, you can switch to Pro Mode and reduce the ISO to 100-200 or play with the shutter speed (Marshmallow updated needed for S6).  Here's a dramatic dark narrow street:

I just played quickly played with the ISO so I should've held the camera much more still to avoid the motion blur.

2. Capturing action
Although the S6 and S7 camera are really fast, there's still a split second delay to when you see something you want a photo of, hitting the photo button, and the camera capturing the photo.  A good way to do this is to hold the photo button so it will take 10 photos in rapid succession as it will automatically increase the exposure time so it freezes the subject

It's also great way to capture birthday cake candle blowing as well.

3. Focusing on Small Things 
Small items in the distance are difficult to focus on as your finger is too big to pick out from the screen.  It's best to use digital zoom even though it will cause loss of detail so you can get a focused photo rather than a blurry one.  Unfortunately zooming back out would lose the focus lock.

Here I'm trying to capture cherry blossoms without zooming and tried using my finger to pick out the specific flowers I wanted focused.  I failed.

From the above un-zoomed photo	Zoomed in photo

Another approach to focusing on the flowers is to switch the camera app to Pro mode and manually adjust the focus.  That would take a few tries to take the full picture and zooming in to ensure you picked the right focus distance.

4. Wide Shots
The S6 and S7 can take fairly wide photos there are times when you just can walk back far enough to capture everything you want in a photo.  A great function on the S6/S7 camera app is the panoramic mode.  Photos are taken by holding your phone and panning horizontally or vertically to capture multiple photos and the software will automatically stitch them together to create one photo.

A 16MP 16:9 photo of Queluz Palace:

The 11MP panoramic photo of Queluz Palace:

If you're wondering why the panoramic photo is a lower megapixel count but captures more of the scene it's because the panoramic mode uses the video camera mode to capture the photos rather than taking stitching multiple 16MP photos together.  Panoramic mode will capture photos with approximately 5MP of detail.  The non-panned side of the photo varies in pixels depending on how steady you can hold the camera while panning.

Panoramic can capture some very dramatic interior photos too:

But panoramic mode does have some weakness and it occurs when you have moving subjects in your photo.  Here I started from the left of the scene and really wanted to capture the square while there wasn't anyone standing.

Unfortunately the right of the scene had people walking at about the same speed as I was panning right so it captured multiple photos with the same person which causes the problem below:

You can reduce the effects of this problem if you pan the opposite direction of people walking.

Another problem is exposure which is locked to the first photo taken during the panoramic process.

Here I started from the right so it locked exposure on the dark cliff but it caused the ocean to be overexposed

Now I started the panoramic process from the left so it underexposes the cliff but at least I don't lose as much details as the photo above

An alternative is to take multiple 16:9 16MP photos and stitch on a PC via autostitch.  It creates a huge impressive photo but needs a PC to pull it together so you won't be able to review the photo at the scene.

5. Stealth Photos
Almost as important as enabling Quick launch, using the volume key helps you take photos in places that do not allow photos such as some churches or museums.  Make sure you turn off the shutter sound if you try this.

This allows you to quickly pull out your phone, snap a photo without looking at the screen

Here are some sample stealth photos in churches:
Just be sure hold your camera still and take more than 1 photo as you probably won't have the opportunity to review the photos and some may come out blurry (either bad focus or motion).

I hope these tips will help improve your photos.  Let us know your photo tips in the comments below and we may just add them here

How to: Disable Shutter Sound on Galaxy S6, S7, Note

If you're trying to take a photo with your Galaxy S6, S7, S7 edge, or Note in a quiet place like museums or some high end restaurants the loud shutter sound can annoy others around you.

Unfortunately Samsung hasn't always made it easy to disable the shutter sound in your phone.  But we've got you covered with several approaches depending on your region.