PS3 Firmware 3.0 Secrets Revealed
Thank goodness for those debug machines, then.Published 27/08/2009 at 22:27 by nofi
Sony’s Satoshi Hashimoto, in an interview with Impress Watch, has revealed a few of the new features in Firmware 3.0 that haven’t yet made the full change log we reported on earlier in the week. There’s quite a few new snippets of information to be gained from the interview which the AndriaSang blog has translated for us below – note that in addition to the bulletpoints Firmware 3.0 will not be enforcing a removal of any installed Other OS systems, that’s just for the new slimline PS3s and not any that have Linux already running.
- Version 3.0 of the the firmware will add the ability to upconvert audio from hard disc and USB sources to 88.2KHz or 176.4KHz. This is something that was added with version 1.8 exclusively for CDs.
- The right analogue stick functionality during video playback looks like it will be pretty powerful. When you push the stick in any direction, the video will pause. You can then rotate the stick for speeds ranging between slow motion and four times. Rotate clockwise, and you’ll advance the video. Counterclockwise will backtrack. The speed can be adjusted at a precision of 0.01 times. Let go of the stick, and the playback will continue at normal speed.
- The web browser’s print screen functionality can output to a printer connected via USB and over LAN. Only certain printers are compatible though.
- This is something you might have not noticed before (I certainly never gave much thought to it). Currently, when you start up your PS3, the XMB interface begins by pointing at the games section. Starting with firmware 3.0, the interface will default to pointing at the newly added What’s New section of the network column. This is true even if you have a disc in the system. You can go into the settings menu to switch back to the original behavior if you like.
- The analogue clock display in the upper right side corner of the screen has been switched to a busy indicator. When the system is working, you’ll see the clock spinning.
- The font size and icon size for the main interface have become a bit bigger. This was implemented in order to better show what area is in focus.
- From version 3.0, all versions of the PS3 — old and new — will have a change to their startup sequences. When booting up the system for the firts time, PlayStation family logo, PS3 logo, and PlayStation 3 logo will all display simultaneously. When you start up a game, the PS3 logo will no longer be shown, giving a slight boost in speed to startup time. Note that this does not apply to original PlayStation games, as they run on an emulator.
- Version 3.0 adds support for more dynamic themes using videos and other elements. The system’s base “wave” theme has also been changed to a display of fine particles. Backgrounds for such themes are created by the same SDK that’s used to make games. There’s a slight bit of interaction with the particle effects. If you’re scrolling down, the particles will flow down. If you’re scrolling left, the particles will flow left.
Sounds cool, especially the analog video transport controls, something the PS3 already excels in but appears to give even more precise control of the playback speed. Everything else sounds like tweaks to the UI in one way or another, and although the new ‘particle’ system for the XMB wave sounds nice enough, I’d be perfectly happy with the updated version the PSP has, it’s far simpler and much more effective without being too fancy. As ever, once the new firmware’s out in the wild for mere mortals we’ll be publishing our findings and letting you know of any minor new features that haven’t yet been made public.
Source: AndriaSang.
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Hodgi92 | 27/08/2009 22:36
The Thumb
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Awesome stuff.
The sound of the new startup sequence intrigues me. It’ll be interesting to see it (the first few times)
and the video playback enhancements sound good.
teflon | 27/08/2009 23:21
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I think it’ll be great.
Its split into three lines of three, which are the last 3 games you played (be they on BD and in the system or PSN or not), The latest three news items and the latest/greatest things on PSN.
The potential for it to be tailored to you is also quite big. I don’t know if its in there, but the PSN line might show the latest demos and based on the games its recorded you playing add in any DLC for them.
But really, the big thing with it is that it’ll have the three most recent games you played. If the disc is already in there, then just hit X and you’ll be in there. If its a PSN game, then you wont have to trawl through folders or long lists to get to it.
The video scrolling on the right stick sounds like its going to be awesome.
Carl | 27/08/2009 23:25
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“If the disc is already in there, then just hit X and you’ll be in there”
OMG THAT IS SO DIFFERENT TO WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING FOR 2 AND A HALF YEARS :p
waddo_89 | 27/08/2009 23:32
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka3yLyp6hrA
A tad annoying that the logo at booth will differ from the one on the side of the system, but oh well
waddo_89 | 27/08/2009 23:32
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*boot
Apologies.
jellis1992 | 28/08/2009 11:08
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Thats on the current FW (notification bar in the corner) so it looks like thats specifically for the slim. Hopefully the original PS3 one wont change, i doubt it though.
2ofclubs | 27/08/2009 22:41
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I’m glad about the removal of the PS3 plink plink plink sound and sequence when starting a game, I know I’m using a PS3, I can tell by the PS logo on the controller thank you.
OnOne | 27/08/2009 23:23
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Yer i think every system does that and has no need. Its nice to see Sony taking that out.
I like the sound of the new start-up, but i swear it came up with PS3 SLIM or somethin on the new PS3Slim youtube video.
dpb135 | 28/08/2009 08:16
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Gotta agree with that, it was annoying. Not sure why they did it when no one else does
omega | 27/08/2009 22:42
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Looks like we can’t make new animated themes ourselves without SDK
Carl | 27/08/2009 22:54
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BoyDay | 27/08/2009 23:25
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Man-tits?
Carl | 27/08/2009 23:26
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Yes, i was thinking of yours, BoyDay
mynameisblair | 27/08/2009 22:44
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Sounds fantastic, can’t wait.
Carl | 27/08/2009 22:51
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I dont want the new start up
theotheo | 28/08/2009 10:56
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I do want the new start-up. I never liked the spiderman font.
BioEye | 27/08/2009 22:56
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But I liked the little three-note PS3 intro before a game started!
I’m being serious actually. I liked it.
Manorhowze | 27/08/2009 23:00
Driving God
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Its not just you. I quite liked it as well.
All in all the new firmware is shaping up quite nicely I think.
matty | 27/08/2009 23:08
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tbh i don’t see any thing there that is of use to me
Carl | 27/08/2009 23:27
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Ding-dong-ding
Jumping Monks | 27/08/2009 23:39
Legend
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I too liked the 3 note start up bit. Maybe they’ll add the option to use it again? I hope so… it just won’t feel the same starting a game up without that little intro. It’s like “Right, you’re about to play a game now, and how do you know that? It’s because of that little chime thing and the PS3 thing written in the background” Without it I’ll feel lost in some way…
yogh_wayne | 28/08/2009 00:58
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I’ll also miss that Playstation 3 intro when you start a game! I don’t see how removing it should speed up startup time. It’s about 1 second long. Compared to how long it takes to boot a game, that’s nothing! Especially when Sony asks developers like Guerilla Games to make intros unskippable until the Playstation and developer logos have been displayed.
fredrikpedersen | 28/08/2009 07:57
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I liked it too, I’m downloading that sound to my phone to play at text messages.
FrusciantesGhost | 28/08/2009 19:20
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Yeah I loved it too, it always reminded me of Arcade Fires Keep the Car Running…
I’m gonna miss that
Cort | 27/08/2009 23:17
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This is 2.90. What a waste of our time.
BoyDay | 27/08/2009 23:30
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Seriously, what the fuck are you on? This is a FEW of the features in 3.0 that hadn’t been previously announced. At least wait until it’s out before saying it’s rubbish, because so far it’s actually sounding like a lot of changes.
waddo_89 | 27/08/2009 23:35
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Cort, just to add to BoyDay’s point, dont forget what has already been announced, TSA covered it earlier this week as this post mentions, read carefully
pvwradtke | 27/08/2009 23:23
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Man, I only wish they’d add MKV support. Scrap cross game chat, what’s new and even the damned clock indicator, you can keep the battery indicator all over it, I don’t care. Sony, you’re a DiVX licensee, add MKV support to the PS3.
OnOne | 27/08/2009 23:24
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MKV? is that like DivX ?
BoyDay | 27/08/2009 23:31
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I think it’s like an HD type DivX codec but I’m possibly/probably wrong.
colossalblue | 28/08/2009 00:55
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MKV is a file format used, particularly in anime but also for live-action video, which compresses an HD stream much more effectively. Basically if you have an MKV and an AVI of the same movie the MKV will be smaller and better quality. I think.
Unfortunately it’s still quite under-supported.
slickhenry | 28/08/2009 09:14
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mkv/matroska is just a container-formait (wrapper) for any codec you want. nothing more than that nor anything to do with audio/video-compression. size and quality depends on what is inside it, which can be either theora, divx, schrödinger, mp3 or whatever.
the reason it took off in anime-circles and later on in other pirated content was that multiple subtitles and audio-tracks could be embedded into the same container-file.
omega | 28/08/2009 09:35
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Yes, I watch a lot movies in 1080p MKV, would be great if I can stream them on my PS3 via WiFi. Now I just have to plug my TV’s HDMI into notebook =\
theotheo | 28/08/2009 11:48
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ps3 media server can stream that stuff (http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/2008/10/test.html) that way you won’t have to connect the notebook to the tv. Dunno if wifi offers enough bandwith…
omega | 29/08/2009 11:42
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Thanx, gonna test it!
tatty-bo-jangles | 27/08/2009 23:55
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Just found this, showing some more of the bew “dynamic” themes http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&#/watch?v=9b5F52duJj8&client=mv-google
BAGPUS | 28/08/2009 08:51
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And the BBC iPlayer!
gurglesletch | 28/08/2009 01:09
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why can’t september 1st come any faster
BetaGhast | 28/08/2009 01:33
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small but pretty neat changes, i really cant wait for my PS3 to get repaired (YLoD)
also, has anyone else got a Killzone 2 PSHome T-Shirt promotional email?
i just got one and its making my wait for my PS3 even harder >:(
taisan1time | 28/08/2009 06:59
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I got one. For a split second I thought they were going to send me a real t-shirt. I was well happy
BlingOnMyWrist | 28/08/2009 02:18
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Is this stating that you can set a video as your background? Or only when creating one using the theme creator, or whatever?
Fat_lazy_slug | 28/08/2009 07:57
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I wish the would let me change the font color as some of the wallpapers are white and i can’t read the text. Small problem tho, I can deal with it!
djdustb | 28/08/2009 08:05
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Point 4 is wrong on the list, it will default to whichever disk you have inserted. If I have a Blu-Ray inserted it defaults to that. I think the older idea was better. The rest of it all sounds cool though.
Chimpanzee | 28/08/2009 08:52
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Weird. Just the other day I was wondering if it would be possible to use the Sixaxis with my PC for just that sort of control in my video editing software.