PS3 System Update 3.30

[draconian]

While you may not be interested in 3D stereoscopic gaming, I am. It's a gaming feature alright. 3D Blu-Ray is coming later. Trophy sorting/organization is also a gaming feature.

They have already mentioned that cross game chat is being worked on. A NaughtDog dev leaked it accidentally. So other gaming features may still be coming.

I'd say Sony's firmware team is excellent but has too many things to do. Their Blu-Ray stack and the XMB chartroom are awesome !

If MS thinks the SPUs are only DSPs and do not contribute to gaming, I wouldn't expect much from them on Cell either.

well, I agree, those features are good gaming features. But I still contend that the sony firmware team is technically just bad.

Ps3 had issues with detecting available disk space a while back, it may still exist. Because of this problem, Rachet and Clank tool of destruction couldn't be installed. There was a workaround of adding / deleting 500 megs or so. I think this same problem existed on infamous.

To install the newest firmware, ps3s need to download and install the whole thing. Why not just patch individual files?

When the new psn store came online, the ps3 wasn't even caching the pictures. So every time a user went into the store, all the images were being redownloaded. They fixed it eventually.

The psp has problems with rss feed text being mixed up. It's been there for like 2 years now.

The psp can't multitask in many ways. I can't download and do other stuff. The wifi doesn't consistently connect.

The list goes on and on. First, they need to hire a new product manager. Someone who really understand the needs of ps3 users and can prioritize new features. Then they need to hire a new systems architect, someone who could get the memory footprint down to 32 megs and still support crossgame voice chat.

Edit:
For all we know, the ps3 gpu could even be better and faster than the xenos. It's just that the ps3's OS layer is clunky. I remember a while back an interview with one of the proevolution soccer producer/designer, and he said something along the lines of the ps3 version had slow downs that would occur intermittently and they had no idea why. I'm betting there is something at the hypervisor or OS level that takes up resources during those times.

 

[tha_con]

Someone on GAF also mentioned that this update fixed region free Blu-Ray support for EU.

OMG. Please find this post for me. I'd love some confirmation. I've been barking down Jeff's throat over PSN for AGES to pass the word and get this fixed! I need LIFE w/out Oprah Freaking Winfrey!!!

EDIT: Read a bunch of posts floating around the web that LIFE works on Blu-Ray now, ordering my import today

 

[Trejser]

I don't think we can expect anything that gamers really want (like cross game voice chat, party chat, etc) from the sony's new firmwares until ps4 comes out.

Sony firmware team is pretty bad. They are still using like 50 megs of ram and adding voice chat and such would probably increase it more.

What is with these guys? someone needs to tell them that the 360 uses 32 megs, then they'll see that its actually possible and try to rewrite/organize their libraries.

They can't do that


But...

Despite a reasonable update list, version 3.30 was mostly tweaks and additions to the software development kit, changes that we as consumers won’t be seeing for a little while yet. Recent such SDK changes include a smaller footprint for the firmware, and although there’s no games that yet use the extra RAM now available, the improvements were welcomed by developers.

 

[patsu]

I dare say you're in a very small minority though, and far, far more PS3 gamers would prefer to see cross-app chat. The fact ND leaked its existence only infuriates more, because the tech exists, only Sony aren't rolling it out. I can't remember the last FW update I applied where I was pleased with the advances. I suppose the iPlayer one was nice in that it added a feature that was worth using. Don't you think that cross-app chat is a more important, more desired thing to release than 3D gaming?

Most certainly I'm in the minority (It's a new thing !). ^_^ 3D gaming is a gamer feature nonetheless.

I place "a common party and invite system" (a la Home game launching) higher than cross game chat too.

 

[tha_con]

I dare say you're in a very small minority though, and far, far more PS3 gamers would prefer to see cross-app chat. The fact ND leaked its existence only infuriates more, because the tech exists, only Sony aren't rolling it out. I can't remember the last FW update I applied where I was pleased with the advances. I suppose the iPlayer one was nice in that it added a feature that was worth using. Don't you think that cross-app chat is a more important, more desired thing to release than 3D gaming?

It's almost certainly one of three things.

1) It's financially necessary for Sony to charge for such features.

2) There are technological hurdles that are preventing them from rolling it out, so it may not be ready for prime time. I'd be willing to bet there are significant stability issues keeping it from releasing.

3) There are legal issues they have to get around.

I can't for one moment think that they have it and just refuse to release it. That's quite silly.

 

[patsu]

well, I agree, those features are good gaming features. But I still contend that the sony firmware team is technically just bad.

Ps3 had issues with detecting available disk space a while back, it may still exist. Because of this problem, Rachet and Clank tool of destruction couldn't be installed. There was a workaround of adding / deleting 500 megs or so. I think this same problem existed on infamous.

To install the newest firmware, ps3s need to download and install the whole thing. Why not just patch individual files?

When the new psn store came online, the ps3 wasn't even caching the pictures. So every time a user went into the store, all the images were being redownloaded. They fixed it eventually.

Is the R&C:ToD problem a firmware issue or an installer issue ?
It only affected US deployment: http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/49587

"We recently discovered a bug on the US version of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction that some of you may encounter the first time you boot the game," Insomniac community manager James Stevenson told Shacknews. "With specific amounts of free space on your drive, you may see a screen that tells you have insufficient space to create game data even though there is plenty of free space on your drive."

For their PSN store launch woe, I think the edge servers were not pre-caching the images. So many image request ended up hitting the source server. As for local image cache, I believe the initial roll out has it, but the cache size might be too small (since some images showed up almost instantly). Hence, the thrashing.

For a free service, PSN is actually pretty robust since we didn't have any global meltdown until APOCALYPS3. >8^)
These boo boos are detrimental to the user experience but technically they don't really compare to the difficulties they overcame in delivering the best Blu-ray stack since day 1, retro-fitting in-game XMB, etc.

The psp has problems with rss feed text being mixed up. It's been there for like 2 years now.

The psp can't multitask in many ways. I can't download and do other stuff. The wifi doesn't consistently connect.

The list goes on and on. First, they need to hire a new product manager. Someone who really understand the needs of ps3 users and can prioritize new features. Then they need to hire a new systems architect, someone who could get the memory footprint down to 32 megs and still support crossgame voice chat.

They need a better product manager, yes.

PSP is another animal altogether. It doesn't seem like Sony's focus in the western world. The issue there is not firmware related (or rather, it may be custom firmware driven. ^_^).

 

[tha_con]

well, I agree, those features are good gaming features. But I still contend that the sony firmware team is technically just bad.

Ps3 had issues with detecting available disk space a while back, it may still exist. Because of this problem, Rachet and Clank tool of destruction couldn't be installed. There was a workaround of adding / deleting 500 megs or so. I think this same problem existed on infamous.

To install the newest firmware, ps3s need to download and install the whole thing. Why not just patch individual files?

When the new psn store came online, the ps3 wasn't even caching the pictures. So every time a user went into the store, all the images were being redownloaded. They fixed it eventually.

The psp has problems with rss feed text being mixed up. It's been there for like 2 years now.

The psp can't multitask in many ways. I can't download and do other stuff. The wifi doesn't consistently connect.

The list goes on and on. First, they need to hire a new product manager. Someone who really understand the needs of ps3 users and can prioritize new features. Then they need to hire a new systems architect, someone who could get the memory footprint down to 32 megs and still support crossgame voice chat.

Edit:
For all we know, the ps3 gpu could even be better and faster than the xenos. It's just that the ps3's OS layer is clunky. I remember a while back an interview with one of the proevolution soccer producer/designer, and he said something along the lines of the ps3 version had slow downs that would occur intermittently and they had no idea why. I'm betting there is something at the hypervisor or OS level that takes up resources during those times.

There's a lot of misinformation and assumption within your post that sways things to your perception of the PS3 OS. I think the fact that you continually source launch issues speaks volumes. I don't think it's a priority issue, Sony knows what they need to do, bu I don't think it's as easy as some of you think.

"Hit cross game voice chat button". Yea, that doesn't exist

 

[patsu]

MLB.TV on PSN today

3.30 is probably driven by this announcement:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/04/22/watch-major-league-baseball-on-ps3-mlb-tv-app-live-today/

I’m excited to show everyone the new MLB.TV application for the PS3 that will be available from PlayStation Network, in both U.S. and Canada, later today. This app allows MLB.TV subscribers to watch every regular season game live in HD (local blackout restrictions do apply), with tons of new interactive features designed exclusively for PSN.

Some of the unique interactive features that we show in the demo include:

MLB Scoreboard – See a schedule of today’s games (and set options to control whether or not you see the scores)

Home and Away Feeds – Choose to watch either the home or away broadcast feed

HD quality video and DVR functionality – watch a live game in HD (with Live Game DVR functionality that lets you pause and rewind live games of fast-forward back to live game action)

Season Archive – Want to re-live a great moment? Go back and watch games you’ve missed from earlier in the season.

Scrollable Linescore – Go directly to any half-inning to watch only that portion of the game.

Favorite Teams/Calendar Schedule – Scroll through the entire 2010 Major League Baseball schedule in calendar format or designate your favorite team(s) to see the schedule for that team.

Sh*t, PS3 hard core MLB fans must be very happy this year.... MLB The Show 2010 and MLB.TV.


They might as well expand and highlight the Sports focus in Playstation Home since they already have EA Sports Complex there (and the Sports league T-shirts)
[size=-2]Quick ! Get the L'cies to work on it or turn them into crystals[/size]

EDIT: There are also isolated reports saying that 3.30 supports Hori sticks for PS2 B/C.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Nice! Do Sony sponsor MLB or something?

 

[patsu]

I have no~~~ idea !

But I know Sony sponsors FIFA big time (with FIFA channel, 3D filming and other promo stuff). I think they owe it to the EU audience to make a FIFA-equivalent for MLB here. I have a friend who is going to abandon his 1 year old and wife to go watch FIFA in Africa in June (?).

Note that you need to subscribe to MLB.TV to use the free app (around $100/year). I was told DirecTV charge twice as much over the Internet version.

 

[patsu]

From a technical perspective, the real question is whether MLB.TV is done on top of Qriocity:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/11/sony-qriosity-on-demand-movie-service-coming-february-2010/

As I understand, it's supposed to be the successor of Bravia Video Link, hence ends one of the high profile examples that Sony divisions don't talk to each other.

EDIT: Qriocity was scheduled to arrive in Feb 2010 (on Bravia).

On the softer side, yet another piecemeal announcement from Sony. Can someone in Sony summarize what a Sports fan can get, exclusively and otherwise, on PS3 now ? Btw, I have finally broken my policy of not buying a digital video from PSN (renting is okay). Bought Sports Illustrated swimsuit videos last month.

Where is the [strike]bacon[/strike] beacon for signalling and attracting Sports fan to the PS3 ecosystem ? How do they know/find other heavily buried sports related goodies on PS3 ?

 

[Murakami]

Update: This 3.30 update is more than meets the eye... as well as adding a Bitstream(mix) audio output option for optical digital connection.

What's that? DTS transcoding?

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Someone on GAF also mentioned that this update fixed region free Blu-Ray support for EU.

Meaning what? That all Blu-ray movies are watchable on Euro PS3!?

 

[patsu]

Noo.... I believe region free Blu-ray discs used to be not playable on other region PS3. Now they are.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Noo.... I believe region free Blu-ray discs used to be not playable on other region PS3. Now they are.

I knew it was too good to be true . I dunno I have ordered atleast 20 region free Blu-ray movies from US Amazon and all have worked fine.

 

[patsu]

I knew it was too good to be true . I dunno I have ordered atleast 20 region free Blu-ray movies from US Amazon and all have worked fine.

I think it applies to EU region free discs. That's why tha_con was mumbling something about importing movies. ^_^

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I think it applies to EU region free discs. That's why tha_con was mumbling something about importing movies. ^_^

Ok I got it now. Thanks for the info!

 

[Rolf N]

I think it applies to EU region free discs. That's why tha_con was mumbling something about importing movies. ^_^

There's a difference between EU region free discs from a US region free discs? Aren't they both region 0?
Is there some sort of SD encoding on there that botches things up (the old 50Hz/60Hz dilemma)?

 

[RobertR1]

A big yay! if they finally fixed the Blu Ray issue. I had to borrow a BR player from a friend to watch "life" Now I'm good to go on my own PS3.

 

[rabidrabbit]

So was the problem in non EU region PS3's that weren't able to blay region free discs from EU?
Because I never had any problem playing Life bought from UK in my EU PS3.