PS3 Firmware 2.50

[rabidrabbit]

I noticed jerkiness in "Life With PlayStation" app after 2.50 update.
Deleted the app and downloaded and installed it again, after which it was smooth again.

 

[inefficient]

Yes, it's all buggered up. When scrolling through letters it flicks to the curser at every change - making the whole keyboard flicker and jerk about...making it impossible to see the words you're trying to type, jumping to letters you don't want. And ingame...since the whole activity has a slower response time, it's almost unusable.

That sounds like a controller issue. Do you have another one to try?

 

[Cheezdoodles]

About time. This is a godsend when considering the fact that external harddrives can only hold 4GB max and most hi definition movies need to be broken down if thats your method of storage.

I dunno about you but i have a 2 year old 300gb external hardrive that was bought for like $300 at the time. Im sure you can buy something with 2TB for the same money now.

High definition movies fits nicely on external harddrives.

Hell. Even USB sticks come in sizes up to 32gb,(or you have the mini portable usb hard drives that holds 300+ gb and can be considered a slightly fatter usb stick)

 

[Gradthrawn]

I dunno about you but i have a 2 year old 300gb external hardrive that was bought for like $300 at the time. Im sure you can buy something with 2TB for the same money now.

High definition movies fits nicely on external harddrives.

Hell. Even USB sticks come in sizes up to 32gb,(or you have the mini portable usb hard drives that holds 300+ gb and can be considered a slightly fatter usb stick)

I think he was referring to the 4GB file size limit for FAT32 drives.

 

[rounin]

Yes me and my late night posting.

 

[patsu]

Okay, catch up time.

I finally installed PSP 5.0. The new PSN category is the same as PS3's. The PS Store has been tailored for the PSP. On cursory look, it seems easy to browse the store. The PSP figured out my PSN login id and auto-filled it too, which is a surprise.

What I liked best about this update is the automatic USB sync. The moment I plug a USB cable into the PSP, I saw the PSP icon on my PS3 right away. No more manual USB mode. Makes it painless for me to copy files between the systems.

I have not tested any PSP downloadable movies or games. Will try after I bought all my PS3 games.

 

[patsu]

What does the DiVX VOD registration code do ?

EDIT 2: Found http://vod.divx.com/?lang=en
Looks like someone will launch a VOD service accessible from PS3 in the future.

Answering my old question. According to Engadget...

* http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/09/sony-pictures-televisions-serving-up-content-to-divx-certified/

DivX announced Sony Pictures Television will be offering "high quality, secure" content for download-to-own to DivX Certified hardware (like the PlayStation 3 or DSM-33...

* http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/14/warner-bros-gives-green-light-for-divx-distribution/

Today, DivX and Warner Bros. have announced that the studio's material will soon be available for distribution in the DivX format, meaning that any DivX Certified consumer electronics device could play it back. The pact is similar to the one signed with Sony Pictures Television and Sony Pictures Television International, though not everything is particularly peachy. Content will be available in SD DivX as of this month, but HD DivX won't be streaming until September of 2009.

 

[vazel]

Be sure to take note of the new recovery feature. http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=32783

 

[patsu]

Good find ! I am scouting for a 500Gb HDD now. Nice to know these options are available in case something screws up. Why didn't Sony mention this in their release note ? To me, this feature is equally significant to the Flash 9 and browser upgrade.

 

[BoardBonobo]

One thing I have noticed with the new firmware is that DVD playback seems to have been enhanced, as in the picture quality. For some reason everything looks brighter and sharper, there's less colour bleed. Anyone else noticed? Made no difference to Blurays though.

 

[patsu]

It's Chroma Upsampling.

Chroma Upsampling

During BD (BDAV) and DVD playback, a technique known as “chroma upsampling” is now automatically selected based on the movement of objects within the video content and then applied to enhance images in the content.


Hint

For Blu-ray Discs, chroma upsampling is effective only on video content recorded in BDAV format. BDAV is a Blu-ray Disc video format. Generally, when video content is recorded on BD-R or BD-RE media using a Blu-ray Disc recorder, the content is recorded in BDAV format. Chroma upsampling is not effective on video content recorded in BDMV format, including most commercially available BD video software (BD-ROM) now on the market.

From here

 

[vazel]

Does that also work with the 480i/p extra features on BD movies?

 

[patsu]

No idea.

I just found out the release note on uk.playstation.com is the most complete while the us.playstation.com one is the most user friendly (but incomplete). I wonder if the firmwares are the same.
UK release note: http://uk.playstation.com/help-supp...detail/item124649/Update-features-(ver-2-50)/
(It mentions Flash 9, keyboard changes for German and French, ...)

As for Chroma Upsampling, uk.playstation.com has this additional bit to say:
http://uk.playstation.com/help-support/ps3/system-software/detail/item124937/Chroma-Upsampling/

Usually, video content that is provided as digital broadcasting or video media compresses colour information to keep the data size small. Using a chroma upsampling technique, the PS3 system then processes the compressed colour information and applies it to the video content so that the content appears more vivid and sharp on the screen.

Looks like it should work on any DVD-quality videos but the best way is to eyeball it yourself.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Without disabling the effect, I dunno that I'll ever be able to determine the improvement. I think I've watched one DVD on my PS3.

 

[patsu]

As far as I know, BDMV is similar to BDAV albeit with additional features (e.g., BD-J, interactive menu) and higher bitrate. It is the structure movie studios adopt to publish Blu-ray movies. Technically, there is no reason why Chroma Upsampling can't apply to the BDMV DVD videos.

Then again, if the DVD special features are authored by professionals, it should be treated with care (perhaps left undisturbed).

The best way to test is probably to compare 2 PS3es side-by-side (I might get one more end of this year).

 

[patsu]

Answering my old question. According to Engadget...

* http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/09/sony-pictures-televisions-serving-up-content-to-divx-certified/


* http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/14/warner-bros-gives-green-light-for-divx-distribution/

Found this paragraph on their FAQ: http://www.divx.com/company/partner/ovs_faq.php#1

Can DivX VOD files be copied and played on another computer, such as the consumer's work computer?
Yes, DivX VOD content belongs to a user account, not a computer. While the video file may be copied, it remains encrypted and can only be viewed by the user who has the rights to view it. The user would simply register the second computer with their username and password to play the copied content.

Not quite sure what it means w.r.t. the current Playstation Video Store. Right now, the purchased movies are tied to the PS3 hardware. Hopefully it means we can view PS Store downloaded videos on any DivX VOD players soon.

 

[patsu]

Video on PSP Ad-hoc Party service in Japan: http://www.jp.playstation.com/ps3/psn/adhocparty.html

Only usable by Monster Hunter Portable and MHP 2nd G.
Originally scheduled to launch on 30th Oct, it's now delayed to early November.

 

[archie4oz]

Not quite sure what it means w.r.t. the current Playstation Video Store. Right now, the purchased movies are tied to the PS3 hardware. Hopefully it means we can view PS Store downloaded videos on any DivX VOD players soon.

Probably not going to happen. The DivX VOD support is simply another level of certification for the PS3 (essentially allowing anybody building a DivX video store to target the PS3 (as well as other DivX VOD certified players (there's several DVD players with this certification))).

 

[patsu]

Neat Internet Search feature

Ouch. I googled for DivX VOD to see who's offering movies on the platform. Nothing came up other than the Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers plans I listed above. The certification as well as the development effort would be wasted if no one takes up DivX VOD beyond planning stage.

In any case, I accidentally found a small feature while posting this note. I am posting from my PS3 now since my PC/Mac is being upgraded. Everyone knows that there is an "Internet Search" (Google) icon on XMB. I always assumed that the function will be turned off (in in-game XMB) when I'm already in the web browser.

Turns out that when I'm in the web browser (Say, posting a B3D note), I can press the PS button and use the "Internet Search" feature. The google result will appear in the current browser window directly. All I had to do is to press L1 to go back to my B3D post. It saves quite a few steps when you want to google for something quick. ^_^

 

[AntShaw]

Firmware 2.52 is up in NA at least.. Wonder what we get.

My recently found complaints that need updating.

Trophies - Why does it take 1-3 minutes to load my trophies everytime I try to look? There needs to be a faster way to view what the trophies you get are. When they pop up in the corner, need something faster to just see what they are. Instead of seeking through XMB which takes to long as I just noted.

In Game Playlist - I know this firmware won't do anything for this, but it is pitiful how many games/developers deny you the ability to play music from the XMB in game. I wish Sony will wisen up and see this needs to be OS specific and not left up to the developers to implement.

Better update with the settings and what they do. I.E. Bitstreaming. There should be NO need to have to scramble on the internet to see what the different options are.

Faster Syncing with Others - When looking at their profile, or trophy list in your friends list. I am on high speed cable and it takes way to long to make it almost not worth my time to check.

I'm hoping those are the fixes. Im updating now to and shut down selected. I'll wait till the morning to see what patsu has to say on the firmware updates. We are still missing some good functionality.