HTML5 on consoles

[Arwin]

Nah, it's not fast, but it is much, much faster than the old one. I think it is also faster than the Vita's browser - i.e. if it is the same browser then it seems to be optimised enough for the PS3 to be faster. It's just still not really fast compared to many other platform's browsers. I think that particular Playstation page was just getting hammered?

It's not perfect, but remember that the old one if you went to beyond3de the adds would get in the way of the new post and search buttons and such, was really bad. That one scored 1 on the HTML5 benchmark, this one 80. And it went from 29 to 99 on Acid scale. There are really some big improvements here.

And yes, there is a fair chance we'll get more improvements, though I'm expecting more useful developments coming from Apps that run on Vita also coming to PS3, say like a Youtube App, which would be far superior (as the 360 version also shows) to anything they could do in a browser.

Nevertheless, this is a pleasant surprise, definitely much better.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

A YouTube app could already be added as it exists in Uncharted 3. I'm a little lost now as to what to expect. Are Sony going to improve things according to a plan and purpose, or are these the sporadic updates of a clueless company patching their ideas together? I really do hope the former and Hirai has tight control or the reins. At least the head of Sony is now a PS guy, which I hope bodes well, but he also didn't roll out any of these improvements to PS3 while in charge.

 

[Arwin]

Yes, we'll have to wait and see. However, PSSuite looks real and promising. We can hope, at least!

EDIT: looks like that beta thing is in the wild here and there:

http://wololo.net/talk/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=9828

And this is the original promise:

Tokyo, September 15, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that it will offer software development kits (SDK) for PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), called “PlayStation®Suite SDK,” *1 for content developers starting this November. PS Suite is an initiative solution to deliver the world of PlayStation® to Android™ based portable devices.

Through PS Suite SDK, content developers can create content for PlayStation™Certified (PS Certified) devices, hardware certified through the PS Suite license program, as well as for PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita).

Supporting C# as the programming language, PS Suite SDK can run programs developed in C# on virtual machine equipped on both PS Certified devices and PS Vita. By supporting development for multiple devices and by adopting libraries to create a variety of content not only limited to games, PS Suite SDK will not only help developers save their cost in creating new content but also allow them to efficiently create their content on one SDK and without having to create on several different SDKs.

Through PS Suite SDK, SCE will provide to game developers and publishers the potential to further expand their business opportunities to Android based portable devices. In addition, SCE can approach to a wider range of content developers, non-gaming developers and individual programmers. The detailed information of PS Suite SDK, including how to download, will be announced via a dedicated PS Suite section on SCE’s official website.

As of September 15th, 2011, PS Certified device line-up includes Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB’s Xperia PLAY, Sony Corporation’s "Sony Tablet" S, "Sony Tablet" P, and SCE will continue to further accelerate the expansion of PS Certified devices in addition to the current hardware line-up.

Furthermore, SCE will provide a variety of content towards these PS Certified devices from end October through PlayStation®Store*2 on PlaySation®Network, starting with original PlayStation games (PS one® classics). The service will start in nine countries including Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia and with more countries to follow. In next spring, SCE will enhance the PS Store for PS Certified devices and provide content created by PS Suite SDK, further prevailing the world of PS Suite.

Through PS Suite, SCE will deploy various measures to support content developers in their business for rapidly prevailing Android based portable devices and will expand the PlayStation entertainment experience on an open operating system.

*1 Software Development Kit is a set of development tools and software libraries. Developers are able to obtain this SDK by signing a license agreement with SCE and by purchasing tool products.
*2 Users can download vast digital content including games through PS Store for PS Network for PS3, PSP, PS Vita and PS Certified devices.
*3 Number of content differ by regions.

 

[BoardBonobo]

...Indeed, it’s now infinitely better, with a quick HTML5 test kicking out a score of 80 (it had a zero before) and ACID3 scoring 99, which is remarkable (the Vita scores 53). Better still, YouTube and Twitter now work perfectly...

SRC

Finally 4.10 brings decent HTML5 browsing!

 

[patsu]

Nice ! Google Maps works like a champ too ! The new browser is very fast/usable now. I think they improved keyboard navigation too. Navigation by the TAB key is more reliable/logical now.

Interestingly, CNN.com now tells me that I'm coming from an International address, and would I like to make the international page my default.

My domain is very much in the US.. wonder if Sony's doing some kind of web proxying?

This is interesting indeed. Gives Sony control over PS3's net exposure if true. I am a little worried about WebGL-based malware. Sony may be concerned over WebGL providing unlicensed game developer access to PS3.

Would love to see the following next !
1) Gaikai-like game services and demoes
2) WebGL apps
3) PS Home integration (if it's still using HTTP to load/stream game assets)

It sounds like they really need to work out some deal with adobe for flash on both the PS3 and vita still though.

Yeah, they initiated a talk with Adobe after Adobe gave up on Flash for embedded platform.

 

[patsu]

I just want to congratulate jeff_rigby. :smile: I don't have an account at neogaf but I think he has taken a lot of stick over his PS3 browser investigation. Some people seem to be angry at him for something I don't quite understand. Not that I understand the details he posted, but I guess it's vindication at last.

jeff_rigby believes in HTML5 for PS3. However the underlying implementation may not be GNOME, GStreamer, etc. based. We have no idea where it's going yet, but I'm really happy to send the old browser off.

Firmware 4.10 also fixed the clock sync issues. The PS3 clock will sync with Internet time servers automatically now. No more adjusting the clock manually. I remember someone complained about multiple-PS3 game save sync before. Fixing the clock sync would be the first step.

Hopefully, PS+ will enable multi-PS3 cloud sync soon. Right now, only one of my PS3s can be sync'ed to the cloud automatically.

 

[Nesh]

For some reason, since the second last update, my PS3 everytime it updates to a newer firmware it gets slower and slower. The firmware probably fucked up with my HDD data!

 

[patsu]

My update yesterday was unusually slow too. Was on a corporate network. Perhaps the patch is large this time.

 

[Nesh]

Well mine isnt slow during the update. My PS3 is getting slower and slower in general after the update

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

My update yesterday was unusually slow too. Was on a corporate network. Perhaps the patch is large this time.

The patch IS larger this time.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

[Speechless]

Folks. Check your PS3. Firmware Update 4.10. I have an inkling the WebKit web browser is finally here.
ACID3 score is 99/100 (Same score as Vita). Yes I just ran the test. ^_^

It was 27/100 before.

And JavaScript hasn't crashed yet. T_T

EDIT: I'll wait for someone else to confirm. Too busy right now. But sweet mother of God, it has been 6+ years in the waiting -- if true.

Google result page doesn't run out of memory now too.

Damn! I can't wait to try this out! It's about time, but I'm glad most of the old browser gripes are officially dead.

 

[jonabbey]

The new browser engine does a great job of rendering pages, but the shell around it remains the same. Same menus, same features exposed to the user, same lamentably slow rendering and scrolling time, especially if you let it run Flash on a page.

It's not nearly as nice to use as Firefox was on Yellow Dog Linux on the PS3, back when that was an available option, but it's no longer a complete waste of space and time.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

It's not nearly as nice to use as Firefox was on Yellow Dog Linux on the PS3, back when that was an available option, but it's no longer a complete waste of space and time.

The browser was bad for a long time, but it was never a complete waste of space for me. I've used it quite often with success over the years.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It was vaguely useful for looking stuff up after watching a movie, but the lack of YouTube support and eventual crash of Google made it useless. Now we have tablets for the most convenient websurfing experience.

 

[patsu]

The new browser engine does a great job of rendering pages, but the shell around it remains the same. Same menus, same features exposed to the user, same lamentably slow rendering and scrolling time, especially if you let it run Flash on a page.

It's not nearly as nice to use as Firefox was on Yellow Dog Linux on the PS3, back when that was an available option, but it's no longer a complete waste of space and time.

The only problem I have with the PS3 web browser right now is the "Do you want to run this plug-in" prompt. It should only appear once per site in a new session.

I have switched to using the PC YouTube web page instead of the TV version on the PS3. The PC YouTube page allows you to manage and play your playlist automatically. I use it like a music video streaming service (a la VidZone) sometimes.

Unfortunately, the pop-up plug-in prompt halts the playlist playback every time. It's just a simple change. Tweak it please, Sony.



I have also tried using PS Move to navigate. When you depress the T-trigger, the pointer hops between HTML elements as you move the controller. It's functional but of course not as great as touch screen browsers. There is a big problem though. In YouTube, the buttons are rendered objects (not HTML elements), so I can't jump to the movie controller at all. 8^(

They should allow me to move the pointer freely when the T-trigger is not depressed. I can do so with the dual sticks.

 

[Arwin]

The only problem I have with the PS3 web browser right now is the "Do you want to run this plug-in" prompt. It should only appear once per site in a new session.

I have switched to using the PC YouTube web page instead of the TV version on the PS3. The PC YouTube page allows you to manage and play your playlist automatically. I use it like a music video streaming service (a la VidZone) sometimes.

Unfortunately, the pop-up plug-in prompt halts the playlist playback every time. It's just a simple change. Tweak it please, Sony.

I can't exactly remember what I did to get rid of it, but I haven't seen this plug in message in over two years now. And I've used the browser since it's recent update quite a lot again, and still never get that message.

I have also tried using PS Move to navigate. When you depress the T-trigger, the pointer hops between HTML elements as you move the controller. It's functional but of course not as great as touch screen browsers. There is a big problem though. In YouTube, the buttons are rendered objects (not HTML elements), so I can't jump to the movie controller at all. 8^(

They should allow me to move the pointer freely when the T-trigger is not depressed. I can do so with the dual sticks.

Yes, and with a mouse. I have a bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad, and that also works perfectly. Would be nice if they gave the Move controller that level of pointing support.

 

[patsu]

I can't exactly remember what I did to get rid of it, but I haven't seen this plug in message in over two years now. And I've used the browser since it's recent update quite a lot again, and still never get that message.

Did you turn off JavaScript ?

EDIT:
While we are at it... NetFront NX 2.0 was released a month ago:
http://www.access-company.com/news/press/ACCESS/2012/print_release_1_56554_56554.html

Key Features and Benefits of NetFront Browser NX v2.0 DTV Profile

Unique platform-agnostic porting library for high portability
Unique API provides flexible UI customization
HTML5 support – Audio/Video tag, Canvas 2D, Web Workers, Web Storage, WebSocket* (new) and WebGL* (new)
CSS3 support – CSS3 3D Transforms, Transitions and Animations
CE-HTML (newly supported)
HbbTV, BBC iPlayer, and Major Japanese VOD specifications by Digital TV Informatization Research Group (newly supported)
URL filtering (new)
Supported devices - Connected TVs, IP set-top-boxes, Connected DVD players
Automobile infotainment systems and Internet appliances

*Note: NetFront NX 2.0 DTV Profile helps to ensure the stable operation of WebSocket and WebGL under circumstances in which viewable web content is limited.

EDIT 2:

Yes, and with a mouse. I have a bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad, and that also works perfectly. Would be nice if they gave the Move controller that level of pointing support.

Yes, adding better motion input to PS3 would benefit mouse, PS Move, iOS/Android and Vita. e.g., In RemotePlay for Vita, you navigate XMB with the dpad as usual. If XMB also supports gesture/motion input, then we can use Vita's touchscreen to navigate PS3.

 

[whome0]

(please don't hurt me for reviving this topic)
I was studying DRM, Wowza, mobile devices and whatnot magic. I came to this WebMAF framework comment. Never heard of this framework and Googling did not help much.

Wowza Playready and HLS

Moreover, the new devices that are coming in 2012 (Samsung TV, PS3 WebMAF, LG TV, etc...) will all have HLS and Playready capabilities. So why don't we use the better of the two world: HLS(Cupertino http streaming) + Playready(Microsoft device and OS independent DRM)

Developer - JavaScript, MVC, CSS, posted 08/06/2012 (09:27)

I am seeking a Developer with strong Javascript application development skills, with some experience in developing Playstation/PS3 media applications, to join a fast growing and game console development team.

Essential Skills
-Javascript application development, preferably with an MVC framework (Backbone, knockout, Angular etc.)
-Javascript unit testing, preferably using -Cucumber/Gherkin or TestSwarm
-CSS 3
-Good written and verbal communication skills in English

Desirable Skills
-Playstation Network/PS3 development with Webkit browser & WebMAF framework
-Movie playback on PS3 with DRM encoding
-Javascript framerworks, eg JQuery, Angular, browsercap
-Playstation Network
-Experience of consuming RESTful services and JSON
-Experience working with bug management and source control system