PS3 Fanboy

People have been excited about the latest PS3 firmware, 2.20. However, some many be confused by all the features hidden in this latest update. SCEA's Eric Lempel walks us through the firmware in this very informative feature. Not only does he talk about BD-LIVE, he talks about connectivity with the PSP. Watch how he transfers a playlist to the handheld. Not bad, huh? The internet browser has also been enhanced -- something we've all been waiting for. All in all, this seems like a solid update.

We're sure there's a more glorified term for the feature other than "customized soundtracks" but we don't feel like using any lavish vocabulary right now. This is coming from a picture supposedly taken at E3, pardon our resizing policy and click the link to see the original, where the PS3's where supposedly running a very different version of the firmware we've currently got. The difference? For starters, the "Select Music" option. It seems all those people crying to stick their own music into a game might get that chance, even if it's just a looping playlist of whatever they want.

Second, the "Adjust Screen Settings" doesn't ring any bells. Could there be resolution-switching on-the-go now, instead of exiting the game back to the XMB? What happened to the assigning of memory card slots? Perhaps these features are specific to what era of PlayStation game you play? As in, slot assignments appear only if a PS One or PS2 game are present?

This is all conjecture, of course, since the picture hasn't been proven real. Some people do have a lot of time on their hands and really enjoy Photoshop, but to mock a picture of bright, blurry text? It's a tough call, since it has been a while for a firmware update. What do you guys think? Is this for real or for bogus?

[Thanks, SpiderMikey!]

The PlayStation 3 has yet another firmware update coming our way. Over at PlayStation.Blog, Eric Lempel announced that the team has 1.82 in the wings for release later this week (we assume the usual Thursday night update). While we're used to scrambling for data about what will be changing in each update, Sony has really gotten its act together and let us know already in their post. Firmware 1.82 will enable "the playback of AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) files." Along with that, the PSN team is hard at work increasing backwards compatibility further and further. We're glad to see Sony is taking the time to let us know what's getting updated, so our hats go off to them for this heads up.

Unless you're having problems with the RGB Full feature that was added as part of firmware version 1.80, however, I wouldn't get too excited. The update is simply a fix for people who found that the RGB Full option in the setup section of the XMB was slipping from "full" to "limited" whenever they reset the system. If that includes you, then rejoice. If not, then just ignore this post and wait a wee while for the next monthly firmware update.

This is classified as a rumor, but we really hope it's as RumorReporter says and consider it more of on the Report end, rather than the Rumor. We've kicked the whole "replacing hardware backwards compatibility with software" story to death (and we've got one more post to go on it, actually), so you know all about that. But now, an "anonymous industry insider" (who else gives us these rumors?) tells us that Sony is toying around with something else, beyond the 1.60 firmware update coming up soon.

HD upscaling of specific PS2 and PS-One titles is rumored to be in the works for, possibly, summer. We're not talking about 480p support -- the internal PS3 upscaler will move these games into 1080i/720p! Just think how some of your favorite games would look if they're supported by the PlayStation 3 into 1080i/720p... it's almost legendary in awesomeness. Let's hope we get more official word on this closer to summer.

[thanks, Bruce!]

The official PlayStation 3 update page has finally updated itself to explain what was updated in the firmware update that you all used to update your previously out-of-date PS3's. Are you up to date on that? Here's what changed:

• Users
  
  • You can now select an image to use as the User icon from [Photo].
    
• Settings
  • [Key Tone] has been added as an option under [Sound Settings].
  • [Delete Backup Data] has been added as an option under [System Settings] > [Backup Utility].
  • WEP 128, WPA-PSK (TKIP) and WPA-PSK (AES) have been added as security methods that can be used with [AOSS™] under [Automatic].*
    * If you have already set up for AOSS using an earlier version of the system software, you must perform AOSS setup again to use the security methods listed above.
    * When [Automatic] is selected, the security method to be used is automatically set.
    * AOSS is a trademark of Buffalo, Inc.
• Friends
  
• New for 1.54: [Screen Mode] has been added as an option in the options menu for video chat.
  
• The image of the person you are chatting with during video chat can now be changed to match the screen size.
  
• New for 1.54: You can now use a compatible USB camera compliant with USB video class (UVC) for video chat.
  
• * For information on supported models and usage instructions, contact the retailer where the cameras are sold.
  
• The method for saving your password / signing in automatically under PLAYSTATION®Network has been changed. There are now two separate options.
• Other
  • You can now enter text in Korean using the on-screen keyboard.

That's it. Nothing major yet... a few more weeks, though. Has anyone used the video chat function? That would be kind of fun.

[thanks to everyone who sent this in!]