Hot off the press is this release from Sony about Firmware 1.8 for the PlayStation 3, out tomorrow, May 24th!
After all the hoo-har last week about the rumoured 2.0 update, Sony have surprised everyone with the firmware update 1.8. Though of course - that's not to say that 2.0 won't be out with all those features too.
Anyway, 1.8 is out tomorrow and includes the much requested PS1/PS2/DVD upscaling plus REMOTE PLAY over the internet. Wow. After actually having the chance to ask Phil himself, and being wrongly told it was in 1.6, I'm chuffed they've pushed it in this update... Users wanting to share data over networks with other devices, such as PCs will be pleased to learn that the update supports all of this, and it complies to the DLNA3 standard, which is great news (no Microsoft software needed there).
Anyway. On with the news:
Latest PLAYSTATION 3 Firmware Update Provides PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and DVD Upscaling
Remote Play on PSP (PlayStation Portable) via the Internet and DLNA transfer of media content also enabled
London, 24 May 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced today availability of the latest version of the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) firmware. Version 1.80 features upscaling of PlayStation® and PlayStation 2 games, and DVD movies up to full 1080p HD resolution when viewed on a compatible HD TV set.
The capability to upscale DVDs to HD quality is a feature normally only associated with top range DVD players, and its inclusion in the latest firmware upgrade now allows PS3 owners with an existing DVD collection to dramatically enhance the viewing pleasure of their DVD collection when viewed through a compatible HD TV set1. Not only can DVD movies be enhanced to full 1080p HD quality but so too will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation games be upscaled to provide much improved gaming pleasure.
In a comprehensive update to PS3’s already impressive capabilities, Version 1.80 also allows users to enjoy Remote Play on their PSP across the internet, allowing them to access their PS3 anywhere in the world where a broadband internet connection is available2.
Version 1.80 also allows users on a home network to seamlessly view and play rich media content such as images, music and video on their PS3, that is stored on their DLNA3 enabled devices such as PCs and laptops elsewhere in the house, reinforcing PS3’s credentials as a home entertainment hub that truly deserves pride of place in the Living Room.
A host of other enhancements include the ability to print photo images stored on PS3’s hard disk or inserted storage media to a selection of Epson printers.
PS3 owners will be able to upgrade their PS3 with the latest Version 1.80 firmware from 24th May 2007.
SOCOM was a great game. It set PS2 online, on fire. Well, for a bit anyway. SOCOM I and SOCOM II were great but subsequent sequels for me, failed to keep the simplicity of the first two.
It's good to hear that a PS3 version of the series is in the works, SOCOM: Confrontation had it's first screens and footage released today from the Sony Gamers Day in the States. It's set to be online only, which probably won't be a bad thing. In an interview on Gamespot it was made clear that at this years E3 there will be big announcements about the game. But some beans were spilled: Expansion packs will be available on the PSN and will include maps, characters, weapons, bonus content and will often be 'themed'. This immediately makes me think of Battlefield 2 and it's themed add on packs like Special Forces and Euro Force. A release date of Christmas 2007 is also hinted at, though no date has been set.
It's looking very good and they've obviously decided to take SOCOM back to its roots, it looks alot like SOCOM II gameplay...
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Still looks beautiful. Carboard box dude ftw.
Oh, sorry - and the trailer (complete with typo):
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The PlayStation 3 receives regular firmware updates and details of the next 2.0 update have recently flooded on to the net. Whilst at first rumoured to be false, it's clear that Sonys behaviour about these details has certainly shown that they've been concerned about the release of the information. Official boards are locking down threads about the details and the original forum post has been removed, with the author apparently getting a telling off. But with features like Zero Unused Disk Space has been added as an option under System Settings, it's unlikely that these are made up.
Sony hasn't been treating the leak very well, but there has been some great feedback from a rather excited PlayStation 3 community. The update looks absolutely great - So, without any messing, here are the new features:
- 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.
- Music
- Additional visualization effects have been added.
- CD information can now be entered.
- Three-speed fast forward and fast reverse has been added as a feature.
- Video
- Files can now be played sequentially.
- Three-speed fast forward and fast reverse has been added as a feature.
- You can now select [Zoom] under [Screen Mode] when playing video files saved on the hard disk or storage media.*.
*An appropriate USB adapter (not included) is required to use storage media with some models.
- Game
- Support for PLAYSTATION®3 format software titles has been expanded.
- XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) is now accessible during gameplay.
- Network
- [RSS Channel] has been added as a feature.
- Friends
- You can now have multiple chat sessions.
- You can now select an image to use as your Avatar from [Photo].
- Other
- Date and Time is now shown when the PS button is pressed. (yay!)
- File sorting has been changed.
- [Help] has been added as a feature.
- Playability status with the PS3™ system has changed for some PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format titles.
To check on the latest status, visit the search site for compatible titles. - [Secure Delete] has been added as an option.
- Some PLAYSTATION®Network features have been revised.
So, there are a number of key features being added, like accessing the XMB in game. The PS/PS2 settings option might spark some immediate speculation about the possible up-scaling of PS and PS2 game software. There are a number of small features from the PSP that have been added too, such as the ZOOM on photo and video, RSS news feeds, (ahem) and more audio visualizations (HD again hopefully). ALl in all - 2.0 looks set to be an excellent update. My only niggle (once again) is... Where is remote play!?
This feature list was posted on the PlayStation forums by Leia, who we all now obviously love to bits.
There is a fairly drab selection of Blu Ray discs available in UK shops currently and if you’re a PlayStation 3 owner looking for juicy High Definition content for your juicy new console and HDTV, then it’s frankly disappointing.
I was pleased to discover however that seemingly most Blu Ray discs are infact region free. They have a region, but they’re still region free. Odd. It’s not as clear as HD-DVDs, where, apparently they are all region free - but still. Most are.
So, armed with that knowledge, provided by a very helpful webpage, a few weeks ago I went shopping over at U.S retailer (but distribution based in U.K) movietyme.
I picked myself up 4 discs:
- BBC Planet Earth 4 disc set - Seriously worth buying. Simply amazing HD footage and quite possibly the best HD disc available. Of course, I won’t even begin to rant about how the hell America gets this BBC series on HD-DVD and Blu Ray before us, in the U.K.
- Superman Returns - Ok movie (Kevin Spacey is great), excellent quality HD video and even better sound.
- A Scanner Darkly - The animation is great and looks fantastic in HD awesomeness. But the film itself I found very boring. Straight to eBay.
- The Corpse Bride - One of the visually highest quality Blu Rays available, it really does look staggeringly good in HD. Good movie and definitely a keeper.
So yes. Once again, if you’re thinking about buying some U.S Blu Ray discs, then be sure to check out this very useful page about which discs are region free.
A Community Team Coordinator over at the Official PlayStation Forums posted fresh news today about a forthcoming MotorStorm update, v1.2.
Set to arrive mid-May, it will automatically pop up to download and install, once you choose ‘Online’ from the MotorStorm main menu. There are no new maps or anything too exciting, but the patch looks set to fix the major bugs experienced when playing MotorStorm online. Though some might question why things as simple as being able to tell who the host is - were not in there from the start.
Unfortunately, the update will wipe all the current rankings, and although this might upset a few players, it’ll at least mean everyone can start off on the same foot this time round. No more boost exploits!
- Game List Improvement - ‘Game Status’ is now displayed with the game list in the online lobby making it easier to find a session where you’ll be able to join and race promptly.
- Host Identification Within the game lobby the host is now clearly identified by a ‘host’ icon visible to all players and updated during host migration.
- Boost Exploit A bug involving the boost system that allowed a player to use boost in an exploitative manner has been resolved.
- Buddy List Size This has been updated to support up to 50 friends.
- Text Cut-off When playing in standard definition all messages will now display as intended.
- Improved Stability Online Online gameplay stability has been improved.
- Audio issues All known issues with 5.1 / 7.1 surround have been fixed. Audio issues within the front-end have been resolved.
- Player Ranking Players were found to be ranked incorrectly due to a bug. Because of this all online rankings will be reset and the ranking system should now function correctly. Evolution and Sony apologise for this measure but it will result in a fairer and more stable ranking system for all players.
- Auto-Start Races will be forced to start after a fixed countdown which should dramatically reduce the waiting times in lobbies. Hosts may delay this countdown up to three times.
- Save Data Corruption When quitting the game using the PS button it was possible to corrupt the save game data. This will no longer occur.
- Lobby Information Upcoming track and current lap details will be displayed in lobbies.
- Vehicle Damage When restarting a single player race during a death camera the damage wasn’t always reset at the start of the next race. This has now been resolved.
- Missing Audio Audio effects were missing from the death camera, these have now been reinstated.
- Name Tags Added ability to switch the player name tags on / off during online races using a single button press (L1).
Previously, I posted my 100% EU MotorStorm game save for those poor souls, who like me, had spent so many hours completing the Japanese version of the game. But then had to complete the game again to unlock the juicy cars on the E.U version.
Sonys 'unofficial' blog, ThreeSpeech.com has just announced a summer launch date for PlayStation 3's much anticipated EyeToy.
PlayStation 3 is very good at being compatable with any plug and play USB webcam, including the XBox 360's own special camera.
So? What can we expect from the shiny new camera, designed specifically for PlayStation 3 and it's future apps such as Home.
Here are the key features of the new EyeToy:
- A sophisticated microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and focus on the spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition and transfer
- The ability to capture videos and audio clips directly to your PS3’s hard disk drive
- Engineered to perform well even in low-light conditions
- A range of different capturing modes, including slow motion and time-lapse
- Faster frame rate for improved tracking, responsiveness and smoothness
- Two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options
- A range of eye-catching visual effects to apply to photos and videos
- Bundled with EyeCreate™ editing software, which allows users to save and edit photos, video and audio clips
I've many happy memories of playing with the original EyeToy, I even had my Dad waving his arms around trying to play EyeToy once. It was prone to the novelty wearing off after a while though. With Wii and social gaming now more popular than ever, many people have some high hopes for Sony's next generation Eye Toy.
Features such as the better performance in low light conditions are much needed. Capturing photos and video is also a good feature (which makes me wonder about the extent to which SingStar might take advantage of these capabilities).
ThreeSpeech goes on to say more about the software included, and some of the functionality in the New PlayStation Eye...
EyeCreate software
EyeCreate editing software, bundled free with PLAYSTATION Eye allows you to save photos, video and audio clips to your PS3 hard disk drive and apply eye-catching visual effects to your images. Different capture modes like time-lapse and slow motion open up a world of possibilities to be explored further in EyeCreate’s editing suite, where you can turn your media into professional looking movies.
New microphone functions
An all-new four microphone array, incorporating multidirectional voice location tracking, enhanced echo cancelling and background noise suppression allows for clear audio chat in even the most noisy of environments, without the need to hold or wear a headset.
Next-generation camera features
A frame rate of up to 120 frames per second allows for super-smooth video and sophisticated low-light operation means that the room doesn’t have to be brightly lit for the camera to deliver crisp, perfectly exposed video. The adjustable zoom lens features a 56º field of view to capture head and shoulders action for close-in audio-visual chat, and a 75º field of view to capture the whole body for a fully physical gaming experience.
Technical Specifications:
- 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
- 56º to 75º Field of View zoom lens
- 2.1 F-stop, <1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75º FOV)
- 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
- 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
- USB2 high-speed data transfer
- Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression
Previous rumours of the new EyeToy were all touting 'HD' but it appears as if HD has been left out of the equation for the EyeToys video capture. Just VGA resolution? Pffft. They could've least have given us a widescreen format. The 120fps is at a mere 320x240. Whilst this may have little or no compression, it's the same physical dimensions that my mobile phone captures video at.
The original EyeToy had a maximum resolution of 640x480, so I'm guessing that the 60fps is a big improvement (though I can't find technical specifications about it's framerate).
So, perhaps not the revolution we were hoping for, but a nice little accessory none the less. Now - on to the games!
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The new trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Not normally my cup of tea (other than dressing up as a Pirate), but then I do love the films and this game is looking very nice. The swagger of Capt' Jack Sparrow as he walks up the sun-drenched mooring is really quite good.
Coming to 360 & PlayStation 3 sometime in the future.
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The new Ninja Gaiden Sigma trailer hit the web recently and it's not looking too bad. Re-developed for PlayStation 3 and apparently running at a smooth 60fps @ 720p, it's no ugly duckling. Mind you, it's not quite Heavenly Sword...
The HD version is worth checking out if you're picky about these things...
I'll be checking out the demo which is touted as hitting the Jap & U.S PS Stores by the end of April, so watch out for those updates.
It looks like Ubuntu is now available for PlayStation 3.
Ubuntu is regarded by many as one of the most user-friendly Linux installations, dubbing itself ‘Linux for human beings’. The version available is v7.04, aka Feisty Fawn.
Linux on PlayStation 3 isn’t for everyone, but then if you’ve shelled out £425 for a PlayStation 3, having the ability to use it as a full desktop operating system is a definate bonus.
Previously, I installed Fedora Core 5 on to my PlayStation 3 and was very impressed with the results. I’ll probably be poking around with this latest Ubuntu release at some stage to see how it competes with Fedora.