PS3 Firmware Version 1.80 Announced (PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and DVD Upscaling!)

[Sephiroth_VII]

I can't get any video to work with Nero...

Does it show the Nero logo on your PS3?

Ok, I hadn't tried the video option, and it doesn't work... Anyway, yes, my PS3 shows some kind of logo.

More comparison (http://www.gameswank.com/content/view/116/1/).

Killzone looks so much better!

[Applefiend]

Oh yeah last thing I want to do is run cable up and down the house and start drilling holes in walls.

Stick to the old fashioned method of converting to AVC and downloading for now.

[ddaryl]

Can some one link me to the information needed for hookin gup my PC with dlna so my PS3 can see it. I've browsed a few pages of this thread but there doesnt seem to be a good step by step information on what exactly you need to do.

What PC software to do you need ?

what setup in sed software are necessary ?

any and all help is appreciated... In fact it should be a sticky thread IMO.

[Coded-Dude]

The internet is your friend... (http://www.dlna.org/en/industry/home/) ;)

[jako]

And so ???

[Coded-Dude]

I don't know I haven't tried it yet. O:-]
Most of my media I removed from my PC after the upgrade.
Its all backup up onto my old HP-UX workstation, and I hope the drives spin up when I turn it on again! :susp:

I'll try and play with it some tonight. What kind of PC do you have? make/model.

[Fillibuster]

WMP11 worked perfectly for me just like its been described in this thread...I don't think my movies will upscale because I'm using component so that is kind of upsetting. Maybe my "rented" ones will, but my legit Simpsons DVD wouldn't upscale

[TEEDA]

Got a friend who downloaded the last firmware, 1.80..everything seemed to work fine til now, he can't connect his PC and his PS3 together through internet. He must only connect one at a time, They can't seem to connect together on his router.
Does someone have the same problem ?

[LiquidEagle]

Where are some good MGS3 comparisons? That Gameswank one overdid its imageshack (or whatever) bandwidth so I can't see it... le sigh

[Coded-Dude]

what kind of router does he have, and is he getting errors at all?

[OmniCloud]

THIS IS BOGUS!!! They shafted 1080i/720p guys with the PS2 upscaling!!!! ARRRRGHHHH....

I wanted to play FFX and SotC over:cry2:

[user friendly]

So what are the movie codecs that are working perfectly. My Sony digicam video files stream perfectly but I want to know abuot HD movie files and which should I encode them. Im guessing and I think Ive heard mpeg1 and 2 but I havent been able to test since last night.

[BruceWayneIII]

Got a friend who downloaded the last firmware, 1.80..everything seemed to work fine til now, he can't connect his PC and his PS3 together through internet. He must only connect one at a time, They can't seem to connect together on his router.
Does someone have the same problem ?

Haven't had that problem, but my first guess is that he has a uPnP enabled router and that the PS3 has requested changes in the router setup. Try turning off uPnP on the PS3 or preferably on the router - just to isolate that specific feature while troubleshooting.

[user friendly]

THIS IS BOGUS!!! They shafted 1080i/720p guys with the PS2 upscaling!!!! ARRRRGHHHH....

I wanted to play FFX and SotC over:cry2:

Are you sure, are you running through HDMI or component? (although I dont think it matters for games, just DVD's)

I think maybe you need to change the settings to double for 720p, I cant remember right now.

[OmniCloud]

I'll try it out User...hold on a sec...

I'm running through HDMI, what's this double thing u speak of?

[TEEDA]

what kind of router does he have, and is he getting errors at all?


He's got a Router Linksys wrt 54G. the message error he gets is " network cable not connected "

He can see his PS3 and his PC, on his router, but when he tries to connect with his PS3 , the lights on his router keep turning on and off.

BruceWayne > Thank you for your tips, I ll tell him to try.

[Domination]

one word: AWESOME!

Sony has made the media extender to where Microsoft's media player can recognise it.:shocked:

[VG Aficionado]

What's the problem, Omni?

[user friendly]

What's the problem, Omni?

It sems he cant get ps1/2 games in 720p or 1080i. I think the 1080i is out of the question (cant remembr) but Im almost positive 720p is working I just cant remember if the games were able to do it through component and HDMI or just HDMI.

[OmniCloud]

What's the problem, Omni?My God of War doesn't look like the pics posted above:cry2:

I have HDMI...

[user friendly]

My God of War doesn't look like the pics posted above:cry2:

I have HDMI...

HMM, does your tv have a display option that will tell you what the current resoultion is?

And for games that support 480p, will you need to enable it to make it look better or will the ps3 automatically know what to do? ( I think you have to enable it)

[Coded-Dude]

I was playing FFXII in 1080i last night, without smoothing turned on, but I did have the "Full HDMI" feature on.
I am anxious to try it out with smoothing turned on as well!

and yes there is noticeable difference.......

[OmniCloud]

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything I can do fellas. I'm running at 1080i with movies and XMB and 720p I guess for games.

My TV simply can't do that resolution...

Damn rich bastards with the full-HD TV's...

[OmniCloud]

I was playing FFXII in 1080i last night, without smoothing turned on, but I did have the "Full HDMI" feature on.
I am anxious to try it out with smoothing turned on as well!

and yes there is noticeable difference.......Where's that option? under Blu-ray settings?

[user friendly]

Where's that option? under Blu-ray settings?

It's under display settings I believe it's the RGB setting. It makes the blacks a little more black.

[Coded-Dude]

yep - Under Display Settings
Did yo also turn Smoothing on? I have yet to, but hear that makes the biggest diff.
Full HDMI, only adds more color, or less(depending on whether your monitor/tv supports full hdmi)

btw - my tv is 720p/1080i and my PS3 is set to optimal(not anything specific, but optimal)
I turned on FFXII and when I hit info, my TV still said 1080i, but I may try it at 720p, jsut to see.

[OmniCloud]

yeah...need a 1080p display...

[VG Aficionado]

My God of War doesn't look like the pics posted above:cry2:

I have HDMI...My FFXII looks like crap, but GOW2 looks good. I can't test 1080p, but I'm sure it would be even better.

Anyway, it's true that European versions look worse than US or Japanese versions. To be honest, I'm sure the problem with European games is the fact that they're conversions. FFXII's FMV looks like absolute garbage. Even FFX looks sharper. The gameplay graphics look better as well.

I'm afraid I'll never get to play FFXII, I just can't stand the interlaced blurry-FMV, jagged-gameplay mess the PAL version is. I don't know if the PAL version will look as good as the NTSC version at 1080p, but I feel unable to play it, either on PS2 or PS3, because it looks really, really bad.

It's been an utter shame to play PAL versions so far. I'm really glad I'll never have to be forced to play PAL versions of newer games anymore.

[chartwel]

my FF12 didnt look to bad, better than it did. GOW2 though, looked incredible. 1080p cutscenes/gameplay FTW.

[Shogun042]

rahah. i'm using EyeConnect on my Macbook Pro, streaming music to my PS3. so far i haven't been able to get videos to play. i've had skips here and there during songs, but overall i love it.

[VideoGame mania]

After the update my external hdd and iPod started working with the PS3.
I also like, zoom pictures feature pretty cool messing around with my photos.
It would be more convenient if you could scroll through long songs/sessions, rewinding is too slow for me. Overall, everything went smoothly, I can't wait for background pictures, XMB access and custom soundtrack.

[Overload]

VGmania what are the specs on your external HDD.

[ddaryl]

Can some one link me to the information needed for hookin gup my PC with dlna so my PS3 can see it. I've browsed a few pages of this thread but there doesnt seem to be a good step by step information on what exactly you need to do.

What PC software to do you need ?

what setup in sed software are necessary ?

any and all help is appreciated... In fact it should be a sticky thread IMO.


I'll try this again....

linking me to the dlna.org page does nothing for me. Do I need software ? There is no software avaialbel at dlna.org

Is there instructions somewhere that explains how to use dlna... the setups etc....

maybe I'm an idiot but I really don't understand how this works, and what is required to make it work, and the dlna.org page does not inform me with the necesssary information. Or at least I can't find the information I'm looking for.

Yes the internet is my friend... and this forum just happens to be on the interent.

[VideoGame mania]

VGmania what are the specs on your external HDD. 140gb FAT32

[amuront]

I'll try this again....

linking me to the dlna.org page does nothing for me. Do I need software ? There is no software avaialbel at dlna.org

Is there instructions somewhere that explains how to use dlna... the setups etc....

maybe I'm an idiot but I really don't understand how this works, and what is required to make it work, and the dlna.org page does not inform me with the necesssary information. Or at least I can't find the information I'm looking for.

Yes the internet is my friend... and this forum just happens to be on the interent.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158357

The current PS3 video streaming implementation is not very robust. So currently, there are still a lot of trial and error. And certainly, there is still no "This is the definitely software to use" yet. From what I heard, Nero seems doing ok for video streaming.

To have a smoother and more user friendly experience, I think it would require a software update either from Sony side or third parties side or both.

[GTAce]

:banana: It works with Nero MediaHome awesome stuff.
Copied some music and pics to my PS3.^^

[ddaryl]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158357

The current PS3 video streaming implementation is not very robust. So currently, there are still a lot of trial and error. And certainly, there is still no "This is the definitely software to use" yet. From what I heard, Nero seems doing ok for video streaming.

To have a smoother and more user friendly experience, I think it would require a software update either from Sony side or third parties side or both.


thank you

[Domination]

:banana: It works with Nero MediaHome awesome stuff.
Copied some music and pics to my PS3.^^

It works with Orb the same way - actually better since it's not going through a browser. With Orb, it carries a few glitches here and there, but it works great.

[user friendly]

Nero also transcodes and streams avi to the ps3 on the fly.

LOOK here (http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=67876), unless somebody else already posted it. The tutorial as well. (http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3media&thread.id=45512&page=1)

[Steemo]

Nero also transcodes and streams avi to the ps3 on the fly.

LOOK here (http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=67876), unless somebody else already posted it. The tutorial as well. (http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3media&thread.id=45512&page=1)

Is a wifi router needed to do this? I ask because I only have an ethernet cable connection.

[CreativeWriter]

I'm giving up on trying to stream content to my PS3 for the moment. I don't really have anything to stream besides itunes vids which are DRMed anyway. I already moved a lot of music over to the PS3 HDD by ripping CDs (felt very 1998 there for a while). I'll try again when this thing is easier... I have no idea why WMP11 won't recognize the PS3. I've fiddled with firewalls and tried that TVersity program. No dice. Oh well.

It would be nice to get more codec support, though.

[Domination]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158357

The current PS3 video streaming implementation is not very robust. So currently, there are still a lot of trial and error. And certainly, there is still no "This is the definitely software to use" yet. From what I heard, Nero seems doing ok for video streaming.

To have a smoother and more user friendly experience, I think it would require a software update either from Sony side or third parties side or both.

use/google .mov to convert them. :thumbl:

[Domination]

I'm giving up on trying to stream content to my PS3 for the moment. I don't really have anything to stream besides itunes vids which are DRMed anyway. I already moved a lot of music over to the PS3 HDD by ripping CDs (felt very 1998 there for a while). I'll try again when this thing is easier... I have no idea why WMP11 won't recognize the PS3. I've fiddled with firewalls and tried that TVersity program. No dice. Oh well.

It would be nice to get more codec support, though.

In the lastest Windows Media Player (MP11), open the player window entirely, go under Now Playing, beneath that are the options you need to get to, which are located in a pulldown window. In that Window, go to More Options. That should take you to the media player settings (12 sections total). In there, go to Library on the far right. In there is where you agree to configure sharing your folders with another device. Beneath that is where you choose what folders you want viewed on another device. The PS3 should recognise it immediately. If not, make sure your PS3 is scanning for a media center before you deside to agree to configure sharing as well as performing other actions before hand.

EDIT: if the later doesn't work, after you've completed all of your setting on the PC and accepted them, hit rescan on the PS3. In about 10 seconds maybe a little more, it should find the media center.

[Nameless]

Great update!!!
I just finished downloading so I'm still playing around, but the upscaling is solid and the new media streaming is slick... Sony is updating their services at a frantic pace; I can't wait to see what they got for the 2.0 update. :shocked:

[CreativeWriter]

In the lastest Windows Media Player (MP11), open the player window entirely, go under Now Playing, beneath that are the options you need to get to, which are located in a pulldown window. In that Window, go to More Options. That should take you to the media player settings (12 sections total). In there, go to Library on the far right. In there is where you agree to configure sharing your folders with another device. Beneath that is where you choose what folders you want viewed on another device. The PS3 should recognise it immediately. If not, make sure your PS3 is scanning for a media center before you deside to agree to configure sharing as well as performing other actions before hand.

EDIT: if the later doesn't work, after you've completed all of your setting on the PC and accepted them, hit rescan on the PS3. In about 10 seconds maybe a little more, it should find the media center.

I've tried this for hours. You can read my struggles earlier in the thread. Thanks for the help though. There's got to be some setting on my cpu that's preventing WMP from seeing other computers on the network. I'm fairly tech savy (have set up networks many times PC to PC), and these two devices don't want to talk to each other. I get the "PS3 name not registered" error, and WMP doesn't show anything to register. I've clicked and unclicked every box I can think of...

I've got two firewalls. One is disabled and the other I've added exclusions to to allow WMP to share... I'm already sharing music over the network so the wife can access it on her laptop. You guys are nice to try to help. I'll fiddle with it some more, but I'm not optimistic at this point.

EDIT: Holy hell, I've got TVersity working (reinstall plus restart). Video streams but it pauses every 3 seconds. Mpeg2 seems to be the format it'll send over. Who knows what's the matter with WMP11, but this'll work for now. At least I can look at pics...

[Sephiroth_VII]

BTW: The new slideshow owns! It's definitely a big improvement on the first Photo Album feature.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Another subtle feature, don't know if anyone noticed, you can browse the xmb with the analog stick now.

[LiquidEagle]

^ Nice

[LaLiLuLeLo]

It's little but a nice and welcome touch.

[OmniCloud]

Give us that 2.0 Sony....

Most of this stuff I still can't use:cry2: But it's great other users are having fun with the update.

I'll just keep playing VF5 until NGS comes out...

btw-Nameless that signature is simply OWNAGE...

[user friendly]

I know the comparisons have been done to death but here's some new and some old I think, just to show how sweet it is. I wish there was a hide function on here to make it easier on the servers. If it's too much just delete them or let me know and I will delete them.


http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e261/terranz22/GOWcomp.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e261/terranz22/GOWcomp2.jpg

http://sr-388.net/images/gaming/ps3/scaling/thumbs/ffxii480p.jpg

http://sr-388.net/images/gaming/ps3/scaling/thumbs/ffxii1080pf.jpg



Huge differences here, simply awesome.

[Diresu]

^ Yea thats awesome. Big big difference indeed. Sadly I am ashamed that I do not have my ps3 yet. I do mooch of my friend that does though. I am saving all my cash for AX-2007, so I will buy 1 after I get back along with a new 1080p TV.

[LiquidEagle]

Has anybody actually tried Okami with the smoothing on? When I turned smoothing on for Okami I had some weird sound issues with a bunch of static.

[LiquidEagle]

Okay, I got media sharing to work (kind of), but I was really hoping there'd be some way for me to play a stream now for KCRW Music. They have iTunes/MP3 streaming which is a .pls file, Windows Media (.asx), and Real Media (which I don't give a shit about). Is there any way to play that streaming file and stream it onto my PS3? It's a long shot, I know :(

[OmniCloud]

I wish Sony would just release the games over PSN again...

If you don't have a 1080p display, the upscaling hardly does anything for games...

[Smokey]

I wish Sony would just release the games over PSN again...

If you don't have a 1080p display, the upscaling hardly does anything for games...

i can notice a big difference with my 1080i display

[Segitz]

Man, Kotaku gets worse and worse in it's anti PS3 bias.

They didnt even bother to say anything about the 1.80 update, but now they come out swinging...

No Pal BC update?? (http://kotaku.com/gaming/abandon-all-hope/180-firmware-sorry-pal-no-backwards+compatability-relief-263774.php)

Man, this is REALLY lame.

First of all, now MGS2 (non substance) works, MGS3S was fixed (got broken with 1.60) and whatnot...

This was one of the greatest Firmware Updates yet, and they just ignore it blatantly!

[VG Aficionado]

I tested several games and they all worked perfectly, so I really don't know what the hell they're talking about. They'll still keep improving the PS2 emulator because they will end up selling PS3s without PS2 hardware everywhere, so why won't they STFU... Stupid kraptaku.

[Epix]

It appears the 1.8 update also allows background downloading during F@H! Very nice update Sony! :hugegrin:

[VG Aficionado]

It appears the 1.8 update also allows background downloading during F@H! Very nice update Sony! :hugegrin:That's interesting. Some of the first games and F@h didn't allow background downloading, only more recent games like MotorStorm, GTHD Concept and some of the demos allowed it while playing. Maybe it will always allow background downloading from now on?

I'll make a few tests later.

[Smokey]

its a bit shit if youre using Component, etc that it dont upscale copyrighted stuff. feel sorry for me mate. but i tell ya ive watched heaps of movies (DVDs) since this update gives em a new lease on life :)

[section]

I've been playing MGS3-Snake Eater with PS3 and it seems to crash in some occasional situations. I can't understand why because there is no pattern to follow, it might be pulling up the "survival screen" or seeing some graphical effect and the game just freezes. I can shut down the game and start again but it's become very annoying, especially when you can't tell when it's going to lock down.

Haven't tried this with Subsistence, hopefully it's more stable.

Many other games work bugfree, some with minor glitches and there are still some titles which don't work at all:

F1 05
Spartan: Total Warrior

Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked in US) works but it's so slow it's unbearable.

[EvilTaru]

Man, Kotaku gets worse and worse in it's anti PS3 bias.

They didnt even bother to say anything about the 1.80 update, but now they come out swinging...

No Pal BC update?? (http://kotaku.com/gaming/abandon-all-hope/180-firmware-sorry-pal-no-backwards+compatability-relief-263774.php)

Man, this is REALLY lame.

First of all, now MGS2 (non substance) works, MGS3S was fixed (got broken with 1.60) and whatnot...

This was one of the greatest Firmware Updates yet, and they just ignore it blatantly!

Kotaku are just a bunch of stupid mother****ing asswipe ****tards, they didn't even TRY to do some research with zero credibility whatsoever.

[Overload]

Don't know if this has been mentioned but now your given more options for background downloads. Your now able to pause the first background download and start/resume a diffrent one. So now if you really want one download to finsih before another and you messed up the order you can now select your primary download.

These guys at Sony, hidden tweaks. Good stuff.

[Segitz]

Said it already, but no one didnt notice my post about it :D

[Overload]

All credits to you. I just missed it thats all.

[gibmonster]

Man, Kotaku gets worse and worse in it's anti PS3 bias.

They didnt even bother to say anything about the 1.80 update, but now they come out swinging...

No Pal BC update?? (http://kotaku.com/gaming/abandon-all-hope/180-firmware-sorry-pal-no-backwards+compatability-relief-263774.php)

Man, this is REALLY lame.

First of all, now MGS2 (non substance) works, MGS3S was fixed (got broken with 1.60) and whatnot...

This was one of the greatest Firmware Updates yet, and they just ignore it blatantly!

Kotaku sucks! I notice that Primal is now working perfectly and it's lookig even better to boot. Didn't even boot up before, which was odd for an SCEE game. There may be some other titles that are now playable...though perhaps a little obscure.

[LiquidEagle]

IGN posted: PS3 Game Upscaling: Fact or Fiction? (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/792/792156p1.html) Showing a bunch of "comparison" shots of the games upscaled, yet all the pictures are 640x480 (making it harder to see their actual benefit when on a hi-res display like an HDTV) and taken at really bad times where very little improvement can be shown most of the time.

This is their "Original" Shot:
http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/792/792156/ps3-game-upscaling-fact-or-fiction-20070525035537284.jpg

And this is their "Upscaled" Shot:
http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/792/792156/ps3-game-upscaling-fact-or-fiction-20070525035539566.jpg

Go ahead and go here to e-mail them and get on their case about misinformation and their horrible portrayal of 1.80's benefits. This is just straight up shitty journalism.

http://ps3.ign.com/email.html

[mario25]

stupid IGN

[curryking1]

I can personally notice a substantial difference in this particular shot of God of War, but in the others I'm seeing nothing to barely anything.

I agree, I think for IGN to be more correct in checking 'image quality' (lol) they definitely should've compared shots in full resolution, that's not a good comparison by any means.

[user friendly]

I can personally notice a substantial difference in this particular shot of God of War, but in the others I'm seeing nothing to barely anything.

I agree, I think for IGN to be more correct in checking 'image quality' (lol) they definitely should've compared shots in full resolution, that's not a good comparison by any means.

was it intentional though?

[curryking1]

Well ya, that's a question to ask. But being intentional wouldn't change that there is in fact a much better way to make the comparison. So I think they still should've posted the full resolution pictures.

Being unintentional in the professional world isn't normally a good excuse for making mistakes (if I may call it a mistake). Errors can be fixed though, so I think maybe for legitimacy's sake on IGN (I can imagine they don't really care about this, they are still making money) it'd be better to change it then, because surely someone mentioned that there was a flaw, unintentional or not.

It's not a difficult thing to fix, but then again it's not in their interest to care because it's probably getting more interest because it doesn't look like there was much improvement lol.

[OmniCloud]

well, call me retarded but I thought you had to have an 1080p set to get he most outta the update:huh:

[ShawtyRocc]

^^^ That is one sexy avi you got there Omni ;)

[curryking1]

Ya, that's what Omni looks like on Sundays. All other days he's really, really ugly! XD

[OmniCloud]

^:laugh:

[LiquidEagle]

well, call me retarded but I thought you had to have an 1080p set to get he most outta the update:huh:

That's true (the 1080p part, not you being retarded :-p), but the way IGN conducted this comparison was piss-poor at best, squeezing the upscaled images to be the same size as the SD 640x480. The big thing about upscaling is that those 640x480 (or 720x480 in GoW2's Widescreen case I think) games can look atrocious on a HDTV made to rock 1280x720 or even 1920x1080 (whatever it is). They aren't showing upscaling's benefit at all when they squish it back down to 640x480.

[Killing Moon]

You guys have NO idea how happy I am for the POne/PS2 resolution upscaling, man. Now I have something to tide me by on a PS3 until the actual worthwhile titles come into play.

[Smokey]

well, call me retarded but I thought you had to have an 1080p set to get he most outta the update:huh:

i can notice a big difference with dvds on my 1080i plasma, havnt really tried ps2/1 games yet v8s looks heaps better & plays without the framerate issue it had before the update. DVDs is coming through my tv at 1080i & v8s is coming through the same or 720p

[LiquidEagle]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but I just noticed that when you're in chat rooms you can now pick a photo from your hard drive to display to other people :)

[OmniCloud]

http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=69780

Just in case any1 missed how nice the last update was...

What was all that nonsense about people just wanting a "gaming" machine and Sony's is out of touch with what's important?

lol..Seriously though, really nice update for different types of PS3 users, and a nice (vague) hint that XMB in-game is right around the corner;)

[Shogun042]

hah XMB in game is probably only gonna work for like, an RPG game. but a sweet update nontheless. i need a Mac software that works WELL with DLNA. and for some reason i went to my friend's place and remote play from his WiFi would not connect. hmm

[frosty]

Don't be so sure about that...

[OmniCloud]

What're you hiding Frosty:shifty:?

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but I just noticed that when you're in chat rooms you can now pick a photo from your hard drive to display to other people :)

Yeah I saw that I was like, sweet. Now I gotta put a picture of me on the hdd now.

[Applefiend]

PS3 has chat rooms?

I think the IGN comparison article is understating the effect of upscaling/smooting. It's night and day on PS1 games.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

no, as in, starting chat with multiple people.

[NeoPlayStation]

Did you see that?

PS3 XMB Live Pay TV via TVersity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5z81DaD2MA)

Edit: Damn it! The video has been removed.

[Epix]

TVersity is the sh1t. Works very well for me.

[NeoPlayStation]

TVersity is the sh1t. Works very well for me.

But is possible to access TV live content too?

[cliffbo]

^:laugh:

that's sexy lol...

[NickSCFC]

Looking forward to playing my old PS1/PS2 games once I get a PS3 (sold my PS2 a while ago). Especially playing my old PS1 games, think the most fun I've had with gaming along with Dreamcast was PS1, Sony REALLY knew what they were doing back then, especially in the early days (before that Tony Hawks/WWF Smackdown shit came out).

[VideoGame mania]

Didn't want to start new thread.
I just got an hdtv and I noticed when I play games and move camera or character the image becomes slightly blurry. But when I dont move my character it goes back to normal.
By the way, I use composite cables, I was thinking maybe I need hdmi cables, that problem didn't persist on sdtv ?

[Epix]

But is possible to access TV live content too?Haven't tried it but I'm sure with a quality enough connection it would work. TVersity already streams live internet music.

[frosty]

Didn't want to start new thread.
I just got an hdtv and I noticed when I play games and move camera or character the image becomes slightly blurry. But when I dont move my character it goes back to normal.
By the way, I use composite cables, I was thinking maybe I need hdmi cables, that problem didn't persist on sdtv ?

If your TV is cheap and has a bad pixel response time (which you'll find measured in ms, you want it to be below 8ms max, but below 5ms is preferable, assuming you are using a LCD screen) it will result in a ghosting effect on the pixels when there is a lot of movement on screen, which will result in blurring.

[VideoGame mania]

It's 8ms but all Samsung LCD tvs support it no matter how expensive tv model is, I can't be screwed can I ?

[NickSCFC]

Didn't want to start new thread.
I just got an hdtv and I noticed when I play games and move camera or character the image becomes slightly blurry. But when I dont move my character it goes back to normal.
By the way, I use composite cables, I was thinking maybe I need hdmi cables, that problem didn't persist on sdtv ?
Why use composite with a PS3 on a HDTV? You need to use either componant or HDMI.

Sounds to me like you bought a really bad LCD TV, I have a Samsung and experience nothing like that. Other TV makes sometimes get this though, what make and model is your TV?

[VideoGame mania]

Why use composite with a PS3 on a HDTV? You need to use either componant or HDMI.

Sounds to me like you bought a really bad LCD TV, I have a Samsung and experience nothing like that. Other TV makes sometimes get this though, what make and model is your TV?
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNT325HAXXAA.asp
I'm on an edge to get hdmi but if it doesnt fix it what's the point ?
I just tried a couple of PS2 games and they worked slightly better.

[Coded-Dude]

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) 3
Composite video 1 rear/1 side
Component (Y/Pb/Pr) in 2
S-Video input 2(1 side/1 rear)
A/V input 1 rear
PC input 1
Headphone jack

3 HDMI'S!!!!!!!!

[frosty]

You should be cool. Try HDMI anyway though, the image quality is a lot better.

[VG Aficionado]

I have a Samsung as well and I'm also unsatisfied by the response time. I'm really looking forward to TVs with motion drive control.

[NickSCFC]

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNT325HAXXAA.asp
I'm on an edge to get hdmi but if it doesnt fix it what's the point ?

Funny that, one of our local nightclubs reopened at the weekend and they had about 10 of those in. I noticed they all had motion blurring...

but hey I was pissed ;)

Bought this from Comet a few weeks back, it's perfect...

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/dyn_imgs/prods/prod_large/387568.jpg

[Segitz]

My cheapo Samsung works really well :D

It has sth. along 5ms iirc, but still some extreme fast stuff blurs the hell out of it (so to speak)...

[LaLiLuLeLo]

yay for my 600 dollar Sanyo. That doesn't exist anymore lol.

[user friendly]

That's why you get the Sharp D82 with 4ms response time and 120hz framerate conversion (helps getting rid of motion blur and pixel breaking). High contrast ratio (3 HDMI ports) and probably the best price out of all the name brands.

[VideoGame mania]

Update:
What a relief the blur is gone after I purchased an hdmi cable.
The picture quality I would say a generation ahead of composite.
Sony must include hdmi in the box, otherwise games and movies look pretty bad.
Average joe won't see any difference between dvd and blu ray for sure.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Average joe won't see any difference between dvd and blu ray for sure.



i'd give people a little more credit than that. My friends immediately notice the difference, tech savvy or not.

[VideoGame mania]

i'd give people a little more credit than that. My friends immediately notice the difference, tech savvy or not.

Really? well, what connection and tv you were using ?
SDTV and composite= total mess in my eyes. Glad to be on hd train :thumbl:

[VG Aficionado]

I have 2 complaints with my Samsung HDTV besides the blur, and that's taking into account I'm using HDMI. I'll post pictures later.

[Segitz]

Hm, anyone, I have shown either 720P or 1080P material was immediately stunned by the clarity... Even my mum, who didnt even care, that her old tv had an angle (the pic was bent downwards for 2 or 3°).

Even my brother noticed it right of the bat. He always complains, when I post him links to HD trailers (only 3mbits line here)

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Really? well, what connection and tv you were using ?
SDTV and composite= total mess in my eyes. Glad to be on hd train :thumbl:

I'm just saying the difference between hd and sd is totally apparent even to laymen. I got a sanyo 26" hdtv 480p, 720p, and 1080i. And an hdmi cable.

[Sephiroth_VII]

I finally got 1080p to work on my TV, and the difference is apparent. My mom, who wanted to watch Casino Royale again, after seeing it for the first time in 720p a few months ago. She could see the difference almost immediately, even though I didn't say anything.

And btw; if any of you have problems with HDCP, just buy an HDMI splitter. Solved it for me.

[VG Aficionado]

Firmware 1.81 coming this week (http://community.eu.playstation.com/showthread.php?t=100324)

[Syncere Styles]

Firmware 1.81 coming this week (http://community.eu.playstation.com/showthread.php?t=100324)

You mind c&p-ing what's said in that article in here? I can't view that site @ work.

[iamabear]

first post:

----------

Hi
i recently contacted the Official PS helpline people about the RGB Full/Limited problem i've been having.
Today they rang me and left a message on my phone saying that my problem was a known issue and that either tomorrow or friday they would be releasing 1.81 and that it would rectify my problem.

Just thought id give you a heads up
(sorry if its old news)

----------

[Epix]

You mind c&p-ing what's said in that article in here? I can't view that site @ work.It's basically just the Full RGB fix where the setting doesn't stick after watching a BD movie.

[qzak]

Full list of features? Just a rumor so far.

We were tipped off of this information from our source Mr. C.C in regards to next patch. However, take this with a grain of salt as none of these features have been verified by Sony.


This firmware update looks very promising if these features get implemented on the patch day.

Users
You can now password-protect user accounts.

Settings
[Dynamic Normalizer] has been added as an option under [Sound Settings].
[Energy Saver] has been added as an option.
[Equalizer] has been added as a feature under [Music Settings].
[Full] has been added as an option for [DVD Wide Display] under [BD / DVD Settings].
[Photo Settings] has been added as an option.
[PS / PS2 Settings] has been added as an option.
[RSS Channel Settings] has been added as an option.
[Sample Rate] has been added to [Audio CD Import] under [Music Settings].
[Screen Saver] has been expanded under [Display Settings].
The method of selecting an output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].
[Theme Settings] has been added as an option.
[Zero Unused Disk Space] has been added as an option under [System Settings] > [Format Utility].

Photo
Additional slideshow effects have been added.
[Photo Effects] have been added as a feature.
Wallpaper feature has been added.
[Zoom] has been added as a feature.



http://www.ps3vault.com/next-firmware-patch-note-rumor-1621

[VG Aficionado]

That resembles the rumoured 2.0 upgrade so much (actually, it's a partial but blatant copy & paste job) that I'm going to call it BS now. A 0.01 upgrade can't be that extensive.

[user friendly]

Full list of features? Just a rumor so far.



http://www.ps3vault.com/next-firmware-patch-note-rumor-1621

Zoom has already been added, sounds made up but you did good and said it was a rumour still.

[LiquidEagle]

It also sounds too good to be true :(

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Yeah a lot of this was in the rumored 2.0 update....so...spoonful of salt on this one.

[Domination]

That resembles the rumoured 2.0 upgrade so much (actually, it's a partial but blatant copy & paste job) that I'm going to call it BS now. A 0.01 upgrade can't be that extensive.

I've been meaning to comment on this but was waiting for the right time. I believe the 2.0 upgrade is real - at least most of it. Think about it... Some of the very same upgrades in the 2.0 rumors, as they were claimed to be, have been added in the 1.8 version alone with some additions. Was it a coincidence that these features just showed up or was the launch date pushed ahead of schedule due to an early completion? I believe the later is mostly likely the case.

As far as the 1.81 upgrade, this just sounds like a security patch or a patch to rectify previous hiccups in the code, nothing more. If you have a PSP, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

[Leedogg]

I just checked my RGB and its still on Full, so mine hasn't changed yet.

[aclar00]

Anyone know if there is a way to turn of your PS3 controller when you are in remote play?

[Epix]

Hopefully Incog had some input to Sony on some possible fixes to further improve Warhawk's stability.

[VG Aficionado]

Anyone know if there is a way to turn of your PS3 controller when you are in remote play?No matter you're playing a movie, a long video, listening to music, folding, etc., you can always turn a sixaxis off by holding the PS button for about 10 seconds.

[Overload]

Yeah it actually works

[section]

No matter you're playing a movie, a long video, listening to music, folding, etc., you can always turn a sixaxis off by holding the PS button for about 10 seconds.Man, that tip was worth your weight in gold. Which I hope, for your own good, is a lot :D

Thanks a ton :)

[Epix]

DUMB QUESTION: Can the PS3 play PS2 games online?

[GTAce]

Yes, you just must have your Central Station and network settings on a virtual mem card afaik.

[VG Aficionado]

I haven't tried, but I'd say no simply because the PSP doesn't have enough buttons and I doubt you can launch any app that requires exiting the XMB. I'm sure that we would know already if we could do it, so it can't be done as of now. However, I think that would be very possible with a firmware upgrade, despite the control limitations.

I wouldn't ever expect such thing though.

EDIT: Yes, you just must have your Central Station and network settings on a virtual mem card afaik.One of us understood it wrong, I'm afraid :-p

[Epix]

I haven't tried, but I'd say no simply because the PSP doesn't have enough buttons and I doubt you can launch any app that requires exiting the XMB. I'm sure that we would know already if we could do it, so it can't be done as of now. However, I think that would be very possible with a firmware upgrade, despite the control limitations.

I wouldn't ever expect such thing though.

EDIT: One of us understood it wrong, I'm afraid :-pPSP?

[Fats]

^^I just created new network settings when I was about to play Battlefield II online (you can do it in-game), though strangely enough, no one was online. So, something didn't work.

[VG Aficionado]

I was talking about playing PS2 games through remote play on the PSP, which I don't think will ever be enabled. If Epix meant playing PS2 games with online modes, I think that's been possible for a while now, although some games have had some problems AFAIK.

[Epix]

I was talking about playing PS2 games through remote play on the PSP, which I don't think will ever be enabled. If Epix meant playing PS2 games with online modes, I think that's been possible for a while now, although some games have had some problems AFAIK.Yeah, I just meant like popping in Killzone in my PS3 and playing online. I've never tried it so I was wondering.

[Sephiroth_VII]

I just checked my RGB and its still on Full, so mine hasn't changed yet.

It doesn't matter that it says it's on full, it might be wrong:

THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM (that prompted the call to Sony)

After the last update we had, i changed the display setting to RGB full, lovely, rich colours and blacks....great.
The problem i notice now is this, when i power up the machine the screen is back on the limited colour setting although if i look in the display setting it still says full !....so what i have to do (every time) is change the setting to limited (which obviously doesn't change the screen) then change it back to full (at which point it will say the usual thing about "do you want to change this setting, blah blah blah" once Ive done this it will then revert to the RGB full mode again !

[Shogun042]

probably will be in the weekly Thursday updates.

[Nameless]

Content is posted on Thursdays at about 6PM EST.

For delays, bitch here: http://blog.us.playstation.com

This is for North America only unless specified otherwise and updated as we get more information.

Last week:
Heavenly Sword and Stranglehold Trailer from Gamers Day
Another MLB07 Trailer - Trailer #9

This week:
Go! Puzzle
Some more HOME beta invites went out.
FW 1.81 (bug fixes from the 1.8 update, details unconfirmed but rumored fixes for RGB-Full option turning off, network connection errors due to DLNA and Linksys routers, H350 headset and HRAP3 joystick compatibility)

Scheduled for June:
Lair - Demo

June 28th:
Super Stardust HD

Pending Title Updates (no solid date)
MotorStorm:
Free:
Increased friend list limit to 50 - fixes glitch where it will not display any friends in the list if you have more than 30
See game status and more game details in lobby
Voice chat more stable
Time Attack Mode
Boost exploit fixed
Japan players getting online play

For $$$:
New track, mode:
Coyote Revenge
New unlockable vehicles
Eliminator game mode

Resistance:
Free:
Balance changes
Lower player limits for breach and assault game modes (thank you spreadsheet)
WW servers (world-wide play optional)
In-game cheater reporting added
XMB support expanded (you can see friends list in-game on a separate tab, not an XMB overlay)

For $7.99:
Map Pack - Westmorland and Camborne:
Maps will support all multiplayer modes.
There will be 8p, 16p, 32p, and 40p versions of the maps.
Maps will be available for ranked and unranked matches.
All people in parties must have map pack to play new maps.
You can buy the map packs on the store or in-game.

Gripshift
Free:
This update will take place some time in the next couple months.
The NA version will be patched to be the equivalent to the European release.
Loading time optimizations which have resulted in much shorter loads in most circumstances
The ability to change/customize car, select level, change controls, and change music from within a level
Browsable scoreboards including viewing from menus rather than level complete screen, jumping straight to your position, and now with car type and number of resets info per entry displayed
Some changes to online connectivity to make it easier and more obvious how to connect with other people
Various other minor usability improvements and changes

Europe Store:
PS1 Titles - June 22
Calling All Cars - June 22

[Segitz]

DUMB QUESTION: Can the PS3 play PS2 games online?

MGS3 online (EU online^^) works ootb without central station cd... Also via WiFi :D


I also experienced the RGB mode error. Dunno why, but sometimes it says it is on Full but it is apparently limited...

Man, just saw the PSN updates...

Sony... get to grips with the EU PSN... I thought the EU market was essential for you, yet you seem to totally ignore it! CaC was done WEEKS ago, yet we dont have it... PS1 games are out in all other terretories, yet we dont have them... WHAT GIVES? I want, I really want to spend money on stuff (I recently got Tekken) but I cant, as you dont release nice stuff for us!

[GTAce]

One of us understood it wrong, I'm afraid

Good that it wasnt me. :-p

[PUNK em 733]

That's why you get the Sharp D82 with 4ms response time and 120hz framerate conversion (helps getting rid of motion blur and pixel breaking). High contrast ratio (3 HDMI ports) and probably the best price out of all the name brands.


And for a limited time only, free with your purchase, an unlimited supply of banding.

When I got my sammy 5265F I looked at these, but from what I found out they are a crap shoot. Sure all LCD's have their problems, but I think I found the best pic, and quality in the new sammies.

[Nameless]

^ I got the same display man! :cheers:

[VG Aficionado]

Good that it wasnt me. :-pLet's just say that Epix wasn't clear enough ;)

[VG Aficionado]

SCE firmware team talk about 1.80, important upgrades every quarter of the year. (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2 Fav%2Fdocs%2F20070614%2Frt033.htm&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8)

I hope that means that we'll see 2.0 around E3.

[Applefiend]

V1.81 is up I think.

Yup, up now, can't enjoy the new enthralling PS Store update until it downloads.

[VG Aficionado]

Make sure to tell us what the changelog says!

[Applefiend]

Installed now, think I missed the changelog, lot of use I am.

[VG Aficionado]

From 2007 June 15th, the update which renews the substance performance of PS3™ was started. With the latest update, version of system software becomes 1.81, the following function is renewed.

* The main function which is renewed with version 1.81

Setting


* [Display setting] [RGB full range (HDMI)]So, operation when setting was improved.


In addition


* With the online corresponding PlayStation®2 standard software of part, stability of the network connection which is in the midst of playing was improved.

* PlayStation® of the part in PS3™ and operational status of the PlayStation®2 standard software were renewed.So, RGB full range issues fixed, better stability for PS2 online games and improved PS2 emulation, I guess. Fine for a 0.01 upgrade.

[iamabear]

just installed the upgrade, here's the updates on the euro store:

rampart - £1.99
joust - £1.99
time attack mode for motorstorm - free
darkness: story trailer
super stardust hd trailer
lair trailer
haza ubidays trailer
paul hollywood interview

now that amount of content each thursday would be nice, considering what we've been getting for the last month or so :)

[Smokey]

is 5.40min good for 100meg off the PSN store?

[user friendly]

And for a limited time only, free with your purchase, an unlimited supply of banding.

When I got my sammy 5265F I looked at these, but from what I found out they are a crap shoot. Sure all LCD's have their problems, but I think I found the best pic, and quality in the new sammies.

I like the Sammy but the Sharp has the best pq. But the banding is something all lcd's are susceptible to. Yes the few Sharp models that do have are like 50% or something crazy like that but Sharp has no problem taking your set back and sending you a band free unit.

[section]

just installed the upgrade, here's the updates on the euro store:

rampart - £1.99
joust - £1.99
time attack mode for motorstorm - free
darkness: story trailer
super stardust hd trailer
lair trailer
haza ubidays trailer
paul hollywood interview

now that amount of content each thursday would be nice, considering what we've been getting for the last month or so :)Which store? EU store hardly gets any updates at all, wonder what's still wrong with them, don't they wan't to treat us right or what? :P

[iamabear]

is 5.40min good for 100meg off the PSN store?

that comes out at something like 300kbps, so not too bad really.

Which store? EU store hardly gets any updates at all, wonder what's still wrong with them, don't they wan't to treat us right or what? :P

you must've missed the part where i said 'euro store' ;-]

[Applefiend]

Check out the Darkness trailer, is it me or does it look like arse? Lousy frame rate, washed out.

Remember it looking quite nice on the device from Redmond.

[PUNK em 733]

I like the Sammy but the Sharp has the best pq. But the banding is something all lcd's are susceptible to. Yes the few Sharp models that do have are like 50% or something crazy like that but Sharp has no problem taking your set back and sending you a band free unit.


I have seen an ISF calibrated D82, and I just got my set calibrated...I think the sammy has the best pic quality out of all of the current sets. You have to understand I was paranoid about this purchase, and did an obscene amount of research/homework on this subject as this was my first "big" TV purchase.

Honestly I am thinking about giving this TV to my bro when the 71 and 81 series sammies come out...LED backlighting, 100,000:1 CR, HDMI 1.3,.....MMmmmmmmMMmmm:drool:

Bottom line is if one has found what makes them happy, then that is all that matters. It seems like you really found a great TV and that is awesome.:thumbl:

[VG Aficionado]

Check out the Darkness trailer, is it me or does it look like arse? Lousy frame rate, washed out.Agreed. Both the current trailer and the previous one look like utter crap. I'm afraid it was poorly encoded, something that seems somewhat common in third party game trailers.

[Fats]

The Darkness trailer was indeed encoded badly, the sound quality was awful. Still, I'm quite looking forward to the game, hopefully I'll get my hands on a demo before hand.

[user friendly]

I have seen an ISF calibrated D82, and I just got my set calibrated...I think the sammy has the best pic quality out of all of the current sets. You have to understand I was paranoid about this purchase, and did an obscene amount of research/homework on this subject as this was my first "big" TV purchase.

Honestly I am thinking about giving this TV to my bro when the 71 and 81 series sammies come out...LED backlighting, 100,000:1 CR, HDMI 1.3,.....MMmmmmmmMMmmm:drool:

Bottom line is if one has found what makes them happy, then that is all that matters. It seems like you really found a great TV and that is awesome.:thumbl:


I was the same way, after joining AVS I felt even worse about putting $3000 down on a tv. After reading through thousands of posts I feel I made a great decision. I almost went for the sammy as well. I also dont see this set being my main set for more than 3 years. I just hope the next gen of TVs are cheaper. HD FTW!!!

Back on topic. I think we should maybe sticky an updates thread, maybe not.

[Segitz]

rampart - £1.99
joust - £1.99
time attack mode for motorstorm - free
darkness: story trailer (not in Germany)
super stardust hd trailer
lair trailer (not in Germany)
haza ubidays trailer (not in Germany)
paul hollywood interview (not in Germany)

Just to let you know... this is what Germany got...

[GTAce]

Sure because of the ratings of the games....

I hope i can move to Austria sometime.

[Segitz]

Sure because of the ratings of the games....

I hope i can move to Austria sometime.

Of course, but I am freaking 25 years old and I am legally able to buy anything that is rated for adults, even Lair (the Pegi Rating in the Austrian Store says it is rated 18, the older PS.com site said Pegi 16 :D ). Why cant I myself decide whats good for me and whats not? If a minor creates a PSN account, it is against Sonys EULA (only adults may do so) but nearly NONE of the content rated 16 is even released here (I can only think of Tekken, which was released 2 - 4 weeks ago)... I find this to be a VERY disturbing move by Sony. TV laws say, they can broadcast movies rated 18 on any tv channel yet Sony doesnt even release USK 16 content??

Man, I hate that! I hope they fix this asap! (Post IDENT would work, I would even pay for it)

[GTAce]

Yeah i completly agree with you.
But i think Sony would release this stuff if they could.... nah Germany i hate it lol.

[Sephiroth_VII]

yeah, I don't think it's SCEE's fault, it's just that the German censors are very strict, as I'm sure you're both aware of. And just for the record, I feel bad for you. Go north of the border, guys!!!

[GTAce]

No south, Austria.
Because i can almost understand everything what they and they everything from what i say. :laugh:

[Sephiroth_VII]

But, but we have a Queen!!! That gotta count for something, right?

[GTAce]

No. :-p
I love Denmark but i would be to lazy to learn your language. 8)




So why im SO damn off topic? Jeez....

[Sephiroth_VII]

You can borrow my Megadrive :heybaby:

[/OFFTOPIC]

[Segitz]

I'd also prefer Switzerland or Austria, but englishspeaking countries (UK, Malta etc.) would work too.

Just not Germany, as its "youth laws" suck... But I hope, the EU law adaptation works both ways... So we get the same laws in Germany as everywhere else (PEGI Ratings would suffice, and then allow PEGI 18 dlc content :D)

[Applefiend]

I think that trailer was enough to remove it off my pre order list. Eugh....

[Smokey]

I think that trailer was enough to remove it off my pre order list. Eugh....

darkness? ya it was crap im sure its meant to be cell shaded lol

[<3frosty]

Holy Shnikes! My one real gripe with the PS3 solved? Upscaling!? YAY!

[VG Aficionado]

For some weeks already, man.

[<3frosty]

For some weeks already, man.

Sorry, dont keep track of this stuff like i used to. :whip:

[VG Aficionado]

SCE firmware team talk about 1.80, important upgrades every quarter of the year. (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2 Fav%2Fdocs%2F20070614%2Frt033.htm&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8)

I hope that means that we'll see 2.0 around E3.I did not bother with the broken googletranslated English, but this guy actually translated it (http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=567411):

Q. Upconversion was added half a year after the release. Please discribe the process leading up top it.

Kanehide (K2)
Sorry to keep you waiting for half a year.

Kawanishi (K1)
I said this in past interviews, but if we did a normal bilinear upconversion, then the picture quality would just be the same as what is normally done by TVs and computers. Since we had the Cell, we thought we had to do better than that.

Taste factors greatly in the quality of upconversion, so we had to have various critics analyze the picture quality. That is why we couldn't get the feature out in time of the release.

K2
I think we finally got it to a level that is not enbarassing as a product. We have gotten good reviews from critics, but it was tough considering the critics work with AV equipment that cost the same as 100 PS3s.

We have gotten feedback from them regarding several failure patters for upconverting, but we are getting closer to the goal. I think we can improve another 30 to 40%.

K1
And there's still power left in the cell processor.

Q
I have heard that the upconversion was specifically designed with anime in mind. Why is that?

K2
The upconversion is not specifically tuned for anime contents. It works just as well with CG, real life pictures and movies.
The misconception probably came from the fact that we used anime contents often to check for IP conversion errors.
Upconversion quality does not improve without IP conversion tuning, which is a lot easier to do with anime then natural pictures.

Its more acurate to say that tuning was done extensively with anime for our convienience, but quality analysis was done with various kinds of content.
Upconversion works better with content with high SN ratio. Anime is a good example of such content, but it varies with bitrate, and also if the content was created digitally or from old film cells.

The quality increase that will come from now on will probably depend more on the application of noise reduction than the quality of upconverison.

Q
An example of content with bad SN ratio is TV recording on DVD recorders. It seems the upconverion doesn't work as well on these contents.

K2
I agree. Quality for normal DVD recorder content with 4Mbps Mpeg2 will depent greatly on the quality of noise reduction.
Ofcourse, it cannot be perfect. The problem is how much noise to remove. Currently, the NR parameter has 3 levels, so a stronger NR on such contents may get better results.

The most difficult part of programming the upconverion was the routine for NR judgement to distiguish between noise and detail.

Q
What is the benefit of NR using the cell processor.

K2
The benefit is that NR can be melded into the entire process of picture processing, as opposed to it being a separate process within it.
For example, if we judge that a certain part of the picture is noise or artifact, we can choose not to upconvert that part. With dedicated chips, this is hard to do.

Also, we have put in the NR at various points for the processing, instead of applying it all at the end. For example, NR for common DVD players is applied AFTER the subtitles are inserted. We have have the NR applied before the subtitle, so that it appears clearer.

PS3 also contains many dedicated chips as well, but its application can be changed with flexibility. Higher picture quality can be achieved by tweaking the usage.

Q.
What improvements can we expect?

K2
I think we are currently making improvements that is easy to see. I expect much of the upcoming work to be a lot less visible, but never the less important. Improvement in the NR process is one such improvement.

K1
A lot of attention is put in the upconversion quality, but as HD contents become the norm, then picture enhancement for those contents will become more important.

Q.
How about upconversion of 1080i BD titles to 1080p?

K2
We are currently assesing such feature internally, but it is difficult to do until the Blu-ray spec is finalized. Blu-ray spec is always being updated, and we have to make sure that there is enough hardware resource left to accomodate the updates.

Even if we could do various updates and addition of functions now, we have to avoid using up the resources which may lead to us taking away such updates to accomodate spec updates.

Q.
Does that mean you have to leave some processing power and memory for spec updates like network functions?

K2
Maybe. Even if we could implement 1080i to 1080p upconversion, which is VERY heavy on the processor, the level of quality will have to be tuned.

Q.
Maybe the upconversion does not need to be done in real time. How about high quality upconversion by investing longer processing time?

K1
That's in the region of re-mastering. Currently, real time processing is the norm.

K2
It is one of the possibility that we are assesing, but I feel that the strengh of the Cell processor lies in real time processing.
I guess we could get superior quality by letting the machine work on it over night. For now, we want to concentrate on real time.
There is a limit to how much can be achieved real time, and deferred processing is a viable alternative. But such high end quality enhancements are hard to see by normal people.

But if there is a need, we will do it.

Q.
Regarding sound. I think nobody expected the SACD function of the PS3 to be so complete.

K2
We didn't intend it to be such a featured function, but we decieded that it would be one of the things we concentrate initially to get a handle on the Cell processor.

We were only able to do 24bit/88.2kHz degimation, but got it up to 24bit/176.4kHz. We worked the the department which makes Amps to really get a feel for how sound is processed. When SACD is playing, cell had nothing much to do. So we concentrated on how to use the cell to improve the quality of the sound further.

The know how we got from the process for immense, although it took us away from the the realm of playstation and into the world of high end audio.

Q.
Looking at eh SACD playback, it seems emphasis was placed on sending PCM over HDMI more than the quality of the analog outputs.

K2.
The reason for that is simple. Although the analog output quality of the PS3 is very high, it really can't win against AV amps costing thousands of dollars. Where we can compete in is the processing power of the Cell. So we concentrated of passing good PCM data to the amps through HDMI.
PS3 cell processor is a lot better than the chips found in AV amps, so we figured we will do all the processing on the PS3, and pass the result to the amps, getting much higher quality. Ofcourse, the only connection that can pass sound data at that quality turned out to be HDMI.

Q.
How about optical out?

K2
Optical out does not have the copy proctection mechanism necessary for SACD output. Its unfortunate.

Q.
How out CD upsampling?

K2
Its being worked on. CD don't have the restriction on optical out, so it will be easier to use.

Q.
What other functions are you working on? How about virtual surround for 2ch stereo?

K2
That would be interesting. We are trying to figure out what people want.
For example, what was done before by AV amps can pretty much be done by the PS3. So functions like virtual surround can be added to accomodate people who do not own an AV amp.

Q.
There is a lot of demand for a jukebox function. How about functions like lossless transfer into the PS3 and album shuffle? Also, how do you see the link with portable players?

K1
We haven't really decided on the positioning of the PS3 as a music player. We don't know how much people want a music player that requires you to turn on the TV, for example. SACD really pushed the PS3 in terms of audio, but we have to guage user demand.
But Sony produced many products, and I could forsee the PS3 becoming a "mother ship" to all the equipment.

Ps3 really is a feature rich player, but the basis for all this is that it is a game console. (laugh)

Q.
Linking to games, the 360 has a feature to allow music in the HDD and network to be played back as game BGM.

K1
PS3 already has such function in the system software. It is up to the game developers to use the function. Same goes for pictures and videos.

Q.
The upscaling routine is different for BD/DVD, video files, and games?

K2
Yes

K1
The games require a lot more processing power, so less is left for upscaling.

Q.
Right now, output from the GS (PS2 graphics chip) is upconverted. Can the GS output higher resolution by itself?

K1
Currently, the upconverion is done at the final stage of the output. For PS2 software, it would be difficult to increase the resolution natively. PS1 is a different matter, since it is software emulation.

Q. Why only client for DLNA? I think PS3 should have a server function.

K1
The primary reason is that PS3 does not have a tuner.
Another reason is that consumers are not yet familiar with DLNA, and emphasizing the server function may lead to more confusion.
I personally feel that DLNA has a lot of restriction that may make it hard to use. I think the easiest way is to allow network browsing of files by using samba, for example.

People who are using the DLNA function right now are people with high PC literacy. So we tried to make the PS3 DLNA clinet as compatible as possible with various PC DLNA servers. We also tested with various NASs with server functionality.

Q.
One thing about video file playback. It seems that quality is not constant, and picutre quality falls from time to time.

K1
We don't have an answer to how much quality we can guarantee from playback of video files created by PCs. Although there is standards such as "mpeg-4", there are many cases where the files contain data that are way off the standard.

K2
We have codecs in place that play back data following proper standards, and functions to improve the quality of these picutres. We need more work on handling data that is outside the standard.

K1
For now, out main goal is to allow playback of as many standard as possible.

Q.
From that point of view, how about playback of WMV and Divx?

K1
The problem with those formats are that they are not industry standards like "mpeg-4", but format that is locked in by various corporations.
But I understand the demand (laugh).

Q.
How about overcoming the licencing fees for such formats by selling update for WMV playback at the playstation store for 500yen?

K1
We don't want to resort to such measures (laugh). And its not a matter of not implementing because it is by another company.

Q.
Your intention for remote play is to make people play outside the home?

K1
Yes. There are SDKs out to allow game developers to integrate remote play into their games, so it is a matter of time before such games arrive.
However, it is now suitable for all types of games. There is a certain amount of latecy involved.

Q.
The output has to be handled by SDKs? How about a simple frame buffer transfer with encoding to allow any games to be played this way?

K1
To be honest, that's how it works behind the SDK. The reason why SDK is needed is because the encoding requires processing power that may or may not be left over from the game. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that it will work for all games.

K2.
On top of that, the controller button configuration is different too.

Q.
The biggest problem with the use of remote play right now is that the PS3 has to remain turned on when you leave the house. Is there a solution to this?

K1
Wait and see (laugh).

Q.
How about allowing usage on other than PSP?

K1
Good question. Oficially, no comment. But if you can imagine, it should be possible on any terminal. The only problem is support and service quality.

Q.
What is the current system software development span?

K1
We try to get one out every quarter.

Q.
For how long?

K1
The scary thing about the PS3 is that we can continue to add updates as long as there is space on the HDD (laugh)
We won't stop though, since adding new functionality is a lot of fun. We really enjoy getting feedback from the customers, and finding thing we really didn't think of.

Q.
How do you position the PS3 with other home appliances? I feel sorry for the other AV devices that don't have the benefit of powerful processor and constant updates. Especially inside Sony, you have MANY rivals within the same company.

K1.
We are in difficult position sometimes, but we don't ristrict what we do. If we do, we are finished as engineers.

K2
Also, we don't have the benefit of releasing a new model every 2,3 years. So even if we are at an advantage now, they will catch up with ease if we don't improve.

K1
Ofcourse, we will eventually reach the limit with the current Cell processor. There is a limit to how much one machine can do. I hope we can keep on going until we pass the torch to the next generation gracefully.

Q.
Has anything changed now that Mr. Kutaragi is gone?

K1
No.

Q.
The reason I ask is that many people think that good AV centric updates like the 1.80 would now be over with Mr. Kutaragi gone. Mr. Kutaragi was a REAL audio visual equipment "geek" and without him the priority may be different.

K2
I can see why you would ask that question. The timeing (of Mr. Kutaragi's change and update release) is impeccable (laugh)
It is all a coincidence.

K1
Sony view towards AV technology can never change. It is the foundation of what we do.
Business choices may change, but the foundation is there.

Q.
PS3 is a very powerful hardware, but as more processing power is used, electricity consumption and fan noise increases.
For AV equipment, noise is a big factor.

K2
So far, we are not worried too much since we have plenty of processing power left even at peak usage.
On the other hand, from a software programming point of view, we have arrived to a stage where things work as they should.
But there are plenty of optimization left to do. We have to balance function with load and noise.

K1
Nothing yet comes close to the load that Folding@Home applies. And I can see the possiblity of a fanless PS3 in the future, just like there was for the
PS2.

Q.
Which areas do you think the PS3 has the most chance of growth?

K1
For Audio and Visual function, it will evolve in the current route. PS3 has many input / output capability, and processing the input for various use will be interesting.

K2
There are other functions for Audio and Visual that are upcoming. Wait and see.A very technical and unusual interview.

[user friendly]

Im going to go out on a limb and say that 2.00 won't come out until Sept. and we still wont get full in game xmb access. I think home will get XMB access but that's it. I do however think it will come as well as a lot of features that Live has but not until next year. I hope this thread is still alive by Sept in case Im right. Or maybe I have a little inside info.:buldge:

[Z]

very good and informative interview.

Q.
Linking to games, the 360 has a feature to allow music in the HDD and network to be played back as game BGM.

K1
PS3 already has such function in the system software. It is up to the game developers to use the function. Same goes for pictures and videos.
that is as tupid move. MS did that for Box and look how far that got them. they should have done the obvious (which X2 has been doing for a year) and made such an option default for any game. the devs don't even have to bother- more than making the standards.
Q.
From that point of view, how about playback of WMV and Divx?

K1
The problem with those formats are that they are not industry standards like "mpeg-4", but format that is locked in by various corporations.
But I understand the demand (laugh).
that is the answer for another guy on another thread. MPEG4 is the industry standard. though it would be nice to have WMV, but I would love it if I could have .avi since it would be much better watching all my anime on my TV with a pad then on my laptop. oh, well.

PS. I think it is a given that the Home update will be the 2.0 one. hopefully, it'll have XMB in-game access since that seems to be one of the main demands left.

[BruceWayneIII]

Firmware 1.82

Posted by Eric Lempel // Director, PlayStation Network Operations
Hey everyone, you told us you wanted to hear about updates a few days in advance, so here’s a quick heads up that we have a PS3 firmware update in the works. Scheduled for release in the next few days, firmware 1.82 is an update that enables the playback of AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) files. As most of you know, these are high quality files that you’ll now be able to play on your PS3. Hopefully this update is moving us closer to the audio playback features many of you commented about in my post the other week. We’re continuing to evaluate and improve things across the board, including PS2 software compatibility. I’ll chime in here quickly with an update once the firmware is live and ready. Thanks for all of your support and feedback, keep it coming!

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/06/26/firmware-182-coming-soon/

[user friendly]

very cool!

[Shogun042]

i like this whole blog thing. a lot.

[Segitz]

Firmware 1.82

Posted by Eric Lempel // Director, PlayStation Network Operations


http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/06/26/firmware-182-coming-soon/

Freakin fucking YES!!!

High Profile MP4 was ALL I was waiting for! Most of my media (HTPC records and such stuff) is encoded in high profile!! So I dont have to reencode them anymore!

[VG Aficionado]

I guess this could be the last minor update until 2.0 is unveiled at E3. Hopefully.

[BruceWayneIII]

A bit related to upcoming firmware.

Home Beta update

The Home Beta has received a decently sized update, its first since launch around two months ago.

This update provides several graphical enhancements, mainly noticeable during bowling and pool. However, characters look better as well and have multiple new customization options (weight, crazy hair colors, more clothes). Also, a few new items are available in your HomeSpace.

Another new development - it looks like our homies have gotten a bit of exercise as they can now run around Home after walking for a bit.

The Home Cinema has received several new trailers as well including the likes of Around the World and Reign Over Me. It also appears that new streaming methods have been implemented for videos in public spaces, as they play more smoothly the closer one stands to them.

Finally comes the most exciting feature of them all - the first true form of in-game XMB access. Anytime during and anywhere inside Home you can access your friends list (and therefore message people and read messages) by pressing select.

So while the promised Chess game and new arcade machines didn't pan out, we are more than satisfied by this newest update. Hopefully Home will continue to be improved over the coming months before its scheduled Fall launch.

http://www.psu.com/node/11824

[VG Aficionado]

You beat me :-p

Select button? That sounds like a Home software feature rather than true XMB access through the OS, but then again it's a beta.

[Z]

again, I am very impressed by how they are updating the firmware like this. one could say that they could have held the last one to release with this one as well, but no; they went for what they finished first while continuing working on other features. keep up the good works firmware guys!
i like this whole blog thing. a lot.

it's looking good isn't it? I am waiting for their "So Awesome" PS3 poll. lol

[user friendly]

I was right about home being the only thing to get true in game xmb access.


Check post #425 (http://forums.e-mpire.com/showpost.php?p=1568466&postcount=425)

So take heed to the rest of my post and believe that 2.00 will come out in Sept. and still won't have in-game XMB access and home being the only software to have this feature. I still know it's coming but probably not until next year sometime. (full in - game XMB access that is)

You can call me firmwaredamus from now on, I wont mind.

[VG Aficionado]

Oh, by the way: could this update have something to do with Youtube's latest change/upgrade?

Beginning in June 2007, newly uploaded videos will additionally be encoded using the H.264 video standard to enable streaming of YouTube videos on the Apple TV (styled Apple tv) as well as the iPhone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube)

[Segitz]

Oh, by the way: could this update have something to do with Youtube's latest change/upgrade?

Why would you think so?

Youtube already worked well with the Internetbrowser of the PS3 (at least for me, but I didnt use it much).

H264 is a much more sophisticated codec than the rest out there (but it takes much more time to encode it), so for a bandwidth heavy site like Youtube, it makes more than sense to adapt to a better codec as soon as possible.

And speaking of it. I dont think youtube takes the high profile. Simple profile (PSP ie.) is more than enough for low res stuff. And this, the PS3 already supports in the XMB.

[VG Aficionado]

I just wonder if the next firmware upgrade will allow PS3 to play youtube's higher quality videos. I don't mean they have to be high profile or that they wouldn't work now.

[NeoPlayStation]

Massive XMB update coming:

I've just been told that there's HUGE Xmb update going to be shown at e3 - with folders availible in all sections (e.g Demo's, PSN, Classic, etc in the game heading) also a new 'profile' section that will include a gamerscore, pictures, logs, and achievements / trophies (which will also link into home and be viewable as a 'screen' in your apartment if you wish). This new section will also include account management and the friends list and messaging will be a seperate heading.

Finally, the PS Store is getting a MAJOR overhaul... it will use a more console-type interface, and be more effectively laid out - the current store simply won't be able to handle the content sony have got planned in terms of the different types and volumes.

Oh... and you'll be able to 'wear' your trophies!!! you can select a trophy and it will appear as a graphic on your T-shirt or whatever. brilliant!

http://www.ps3forums.com/showpost.php?p=1596147&postcount=1

Great if true!

[VG Aficionado]

Hmmm... I'd like to believe that, but I'm skeptical as of now.

[BruceWayneIII]

Absolutely no real source. Everything without a source is suspicious - especially leading up to E3.

[Domination]

http://www.ps3forums.com/showpost.php?p=1596147&postcount=1

Great if true!

This source is bogus.

Right here:pointer: "section that will include a gamerscore" is where I realized it was just a bogus rumor.

PSN is not built around a server; it's built around the console's hardware, at least as far as this functionality goes. For that reason is why this can never be possible.

[BruceWayneIII]

The word 'gamerscore' is more than suspicious. Phil has stated earlier, that he doesn't really see them having one accumulated score, because, what does it really say? Maybe I got 100000 by playing tetris and another by playing a racing game.

[Fats]

1.82 is out and ready to download apparently.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Lies.

[user friendly]

I heard the same, cant confirm because Im at work.

[indiekid4]

I heard the same, cant confirm because Im at work.

I can confirm this, I just downloaded 1.82

What does the .2 have in it?

[Shogun042]

H.264/AVC video codec support

[Smokey]

1.82 is out and ready to download apparently.

yep

[Applefiend]

Ohhh, wonder if it'll play the H264 MP4 reviews off gamespot now.

I shall discover and report back.

[Smokey]

are we meant to turn it on or somethng though??cant find anything

[Applefiend]

Bloody thing keeps coming up with an error at 33% or there abouts. It's like the evil wish thread in General. "Granted, you will get a new update for PS3 but it will quit a third of the way through".

[Applefiend]

Right, it's getting to 44% then quitting with an error. Anyone else getting this? lots of space on the HDD.

If I'm still locked out when Super stardust is up I'll be quite p*ss*d.

[Applefiend]

Just plain not working, but stolen from the ps3forums: http://dus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/image/us/2007_0628_25de800491e8e88104d7e30b7524e9dc/PS3UPDAT.PUP

Apparently a direct link, tell you if it works real soon.

[edit] the direct link freezes at 61.46%. Progress. :)

[Applefiend]

Me again. The b***ard ****ing mother******* thing stops at 61.46% with a direct download. So somewhere between Sony and my ISP there's a faulty web cache.

Solution, bounce it off a proxy server.

Longest URL ever, but if the previous one jams for you, this should work: http://www.elanceconnect.com/cgiproxy/nph-proxy.pl/000010A/http/dus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/image/us/2007_0628_25de800491e8e88104d7e30b7524e9dc/PS3UPDAT.PUP
downloaded, updating...

Installed. After all that Gamespot HD MP4s still don't play... :)

[Segitz]

Works for me like a charm, didnt test it yet though

EDIT:

Will check, what settings the H264 GS videos have...

[Z]

I just download it on PC from the official (http://www.us.playstation.com/ps3/network/updates) site to a MS then transfer it to PS3. that is another way of doing it if you are having any problems.

just make a folder called PS3. inside it, make another folder called UPDATE and save the actual update inside it. all caps.

[Applefiend]

I've tried it with a bunch of MP4s it didn't play under 1.81 and they still don't play... Hmmm.... :(

[iamabear]

this sucks, the download just stays as 0%, and I don't have any removable storage :cry2:

ok, maybe it's just my crappy internet, it's now at 1%. and all for something i probably won't use.

[user friendly]

I know you shouldn't have too but try putting the cat.5 cable from your ps3 straight into the modem, Ive been having problems with my router and last night I got the update literally in 10 minutes going straight through my modem.

[iamabear]

cat.5? do you mean the ethernet cable? if so, i'm already doing that. anyway, it's downloading, so i'm not too bothered about the speed of the download.

[GTAce]

If your PC is on and you do something in the internet it can slow down every download from the PS3.

[section]

^^For some reason the update faded 2 times on me and the third time it downloaded very fast. Although my WI-FI signal strength seemed to get significantly lower with the few latest firmware upgrades, it's been signing me on/off the PSNetwork all the time now.

Or maybe it's my WI-FI just dying, who knows. Maybe I should just use a hub. But man I hate too much cables running on the floor.

BTW I don't see a thing this 1.82 does, maybe it's more robust B/W compatibility with PS/PS2 titles.

[iamabear]

^^i realise that. my isp also has peak and off-peak times, and the speeds are slower at peak times (4pm-midnight). also, this isn't the faster connection in the world.

[section]

^^Well my conn is 8MB these days and it was slow today with the firmware update so it's mostly about tens of thousands of users running at the same time to update their precious :)

[jaxmkii]

im hoping the next update fixes my problem where only half my games both PS3 and PS2 play.

[Epix]

im hoping the next update fixes my problem where only half my games both PS3 and PS2 play.Which PS3 games won't play?

[Z]

you all think you have connection problems and slow speeds? how about 14 hours to download a freakin' demo? how about the firmware update taking 5 hours? and to top it off, how about paying for that shit more than the fastest connection in ANY country? I can get Japan's 100Mps or fiber in the US or the fastest Europe can offer for less than what I am paying for this shit...

yeah, that's right.

[Z]

Which PS3 games won't play?

the ones he used as frying pans when making breakfast.

[Coded-Dude]

Z, F/W updates are much faster if you can dowload to a PC, and transfer to a Memory Stick.
(just a recommendation) PSN bandwidth is frustrating at times.(even though I have fibre at home)

O:-]

[Applefiend]

Actually before the firmware update I had one PS2 game that wouldn't play, Ico. Now it plays. I dunno why, might be a fluke.

[Epix]

the ones he used as frying pans when making breakfast.Sheesh, some people need to realize there are just some things you CAN'T do with Blu-Ray.

[VG Aficionado]

For some reason, PSN downloads from the Spanish store are much slower than from the US or Japanese stores :shrug:

Actually before the firmware update I had one PS2 game that wouldn't play, Ico. Now it plays. I dunno why, might be a fluke.The 1.81 update also improved PS2 BC compatibility support. Even though they're not adding many new features, they actually manage to provide better BC.

[Applefiend]

But on my fine import US PS3 with a genuine Emotion Engine, I dunno mister....

[Sephiroth_VII]

The compatibility is still being improved, even for the good ol' US PS3's. I have one too, and I just popped in ICO and it works. it didn't when I last tried (1.60)