PS3 System Software 2.10

Welcome to the new Firmware for the PS3. not much included in this update and it's mainly just media based.

• DIVX/XVID and WMV playback support.
• Blu-Ray Profile 1.1.
• New Bitmapping for [MUSIC].
  
• Voice Changer
• New visualisation in [MUSIC].
  
• Blu-Ray Data Utility has been added under [VIDEO].
  

The Voice Changer might be a problem with some people online as it lets the user to change the pitch of their voice over microphone or/and camera.

Blu-Ray Profile 1.1 has been an update lots of users have requested as some new movies coming next month will be using this. Profile 1.1 enhances the BD JAVA so multiple video streams can be played at once, basically PnP. Also added in the Profile is downloadable content within the movie.

DIVX/XVID playback has some limits forced. Max file size is 2GB, and can't play files encoded with DIVX 3.11 and before.


UPDATE: There seems to be a few secret unlisted updates in this new Firmware:

• The ability to Remote Play PS1 games, either on the PS3's HDD or on disc in the drive.
• Enhancements to the web browser, including the removal of the background, so you can see the XMB background image behind the browser.
• The ability to remember the last played location on BD and DVD videos even if you remove the disc.
  

DualShock 3 Controller

Well, they have come out....sort of, currently only in Japan but can be imported by online shops. The rest of the world will be getting the controller early in 2008. Support for the new controller has been available for a while now, in the Ratchet & Clank game was Firmware V1.94 which was solely to enable support for the controller, then V2.00 came out as a download with the support added as well.

The controller is a lot heavier than the standard SIXAXIS controller, with the addition of motors that's not a surprise, the DualShock 3 has all the features in the SIXAXIS but has rumble included. So it's a Bluetooth wireless controller, with motion sensing, and vibrating functionality.

The DualShock 3 controller has a lot less battery life than the SIXAXIS, where the SIXAXIS's battery life is 40 hours before recharging the DualShock 3 lasts for 15 hours before needing to be recharged. The controllers rumble is compatible with older PS1 and PS2 games and can be turned on or off in the Controller Options when pressing the PS button in the game. PS3 games are able to control the level of vibration more than the older PS1/2 games, which only had 2 settings, slight vibration and heavy vibration.

Slowly more and more PS3 games are coming out with rumble support, most already out games are getting patched to add the ability and most new games are coming with the support built in.

PS3 System Software 2.01

This new update that come out today seems to be just a bit of housekeeping. With all the bugs introduced in FW2.00 Sony didn't take that long to fix them.

• Extra Stability for PS3 games and software.
• The stability of the XMB, including web browser and information board has been increased.
• Upscaler for PS2 software has been fixed.
• REMOTE START has been fixed to prevent unintended power ups.
  

Ratchet & Clank Futures: Tools of Destruction - Review

Funny, destructive, massive fire power, in-depth story.......all things common to Ratchet & Clank games and the next game in the collection, Tools of Destruction, this still is the case. Tools of Destruction is set in the future where a few thousand heavily armed robotic commandos attack the great city of Metropolis searching for Ratchet. Ratchet must flee the city to find out why and along the way discovers many secrets about him and his fellow Lombax race.

In true Ratchet & Clank style, weaponry is key, and some of the old favourites are back for an appearance. Some weapons in your arsenal include:

• Combuster - Standard weapon starting the game.
• Shock Ravager - Electric whip good for enemies surrounding you, and ones with shields.
• Tornado Launcher - Lunches a tornado that is controlled by the SIXAXIS sensors.
• Razor Claws - Close combat weapon that deals more damage with ever hit as long as you don't take damage.
• Nano-Swarmers - A "bee-hive" type weapon that has insects swarming around it damaging enemies that come near.
• Alpha Disrupter - My favourite weapon. Requires charging time but deals over 10000 damage when fully upgraded.

As weapons are used, they gain experience points and level up. each of the 5 levels increases the damage of the weapon and on the last 5th level a new ability is given. Also from weapon stores is a honeycomb style upgrade system for your weapons.

Back for another go are Clank missions. In places too small for Ratchet Clank comes to the rescue and goes by himself......but he really isn't alone. Other beings called the Zoni help Clank on his travels in the game and giving him special abilities like levitating. Clank also has a large amount of gadgets to help Ratchet with like a helicopter, jet packs, wings, hydro packs for fast moving under water, and a special holo-disguise.

On a technical view, Tools of Destruction uses the same engine as Resistance: Fall of Man. Visuals look amazing especially when on a grind rail and the building around you are exploding and falling apart, and the lighting is really nice for a cartoon textured game which you can really notice when using the flame thrower and watch the lighting effects on walls and enemy armour. The music is great and not too "in your face", and explosions and weapons fire is loud and adds to the immersion, makes my speakers rumble on the floor when turned up loud.

With all the devices, gadgets, and weapons Tools of Destruction is a fast pace and exciting game for most ages, kids and adults will both enjoy this game. There is so much stuff to collect and upgrade there is so much to do. Once finished the game you can start from the beginning again with everything you have collected so far and continue on, but enemies are harder to kill and the more you kill without getting hit you gain multipliers for Bolts and Raritanium for even more upgraded weapons and heavy duty armour. For the new comers and for the long time fans of the series, Ratchet & Clank Futures: Tools of Destruction is a must have.

PS3 System Software 2.0

New Firmware is out now lets break it down....

XMB:

• Themes are now supported, comes with one built in.
• New Fonts can be added/changed.
• Background image brightness can be changed.
• New icon added on the XMB, Playstation Network, which holds Account Management and Playstation Store.

Network:

• Added new Information Bar to the Network menu and XMB. Shows news from Playstation.
• Remote Start has been enabled. When using a PSP with FW3.72+ and Remote Playing to the PS3 will auto start the PS3 if it is in standby mode (Red light).
  

Music & Pitcures:

• Support for playlists has been added.

Games:

• Games can now be organised by Album. Going into the Information area of games will let you change the Album name for the game and the PS3 will organise the software accordingly.
• Support for Dual Shock 3 controllers has been added if upgrading from FW1.93 (1.94 has support included).
  

DLNA:

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a technology that enables media sharing across a local network to other devices for playback. DLNA consists of 2 components, media server generally located on a computer where the media files for sharing are located, and a playback device like a media centre computer or in this case a PS3.

DLNA works using a protocol called UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) to create small and simple virtual networks between devices. UPnP and “Device and Service Discovery and Control” work together to search out compatible devices on both the media server and playback devices and makes small links between them for data transfer when media is requested. At the moment DLNA works by "pushing" media data to the playback devices, in the future this will change so that the playback device can "pull" the data from the server, this will allow much greater control over the playback to the media.

There are many different DLNA servers out there, some are free and some aren't, and all offering many different levels of features. Some servers include:

• Windows Media Player 11 (Vista and XP)
• TVersity (Windows)
• Twonky Media (OSX)
• Nero 7 (Windows)
• Azureus V3 (Windows, Linux, OSX)
  

Some media servers will transcode media data on the fly, like converting XVID AVIs to MPEG2 to play on the PS3 while the file is being played. Once a media server has been install on the computer and configured, turn the PS3 on and the PS3 should find the server straight away. In each of the media sections on the XMB (Photo, Music, Video) the media server should pop-up above the main menu line, not below. The PS3 needs to have Firmware 1.80 for DLNA media streaming to work.

HOW TO: Upgrading the Internal HDD

For some people, the default internal HDD is not big enough, with all the HDD games, game caches, music, videos, and save games the HDD can get full quite quickly, Plus if you opt to have Linux installed, there goes another 10GB of HDD space.

Upgrading the HDD is quite easy, and it doesn't void the Sony warranty. The HDD is a standard Seagate brand 2.5" SATA drive, and can be 20, 60, or 80GB in size depending on PS3 model. All that is needed for the upgrade is:

• New 2.5" SATA HDD
• Small tip Philips Head screw driver
• Flat Head screw driver
• External media for backups

First things first, backing up the current data. Skip this area if there is no data on the old HDD. You'll need an external media device like an external HDD (FAT32), big memory card, or USB flash drive. Turn on the PS3 and head to the SETTINGS menu on the XMB. Inside the SYSTEM menu go to the System Settings area and select the Backup tool. Continue with the options for a backup on the media you wont to put it on. A system backup will copy photos, music, videos, game cache, game saves (Including PS/PS2 game saves) games on the HDD, and web browser settings.

Now, turn off the PS3 and unplug the mains power supply. Lay the PS3 down in the flat (horizontal) position and turn the unit so the left side is facing you. On the left panel you'll see a little panel with a sicker on it, get the flat head screw driver and insert it into the little slot on the right side of the little panel and use it to lift it out.

Behind the little panel that was lifted out there is a metal caddy and holding it in is a blue screw. Use the Philips head screw driver to take the blue screw out, and remember your going to need a very small tipped screw driver. Once the blue screw is out, there is a leaver on the caddy, pull that out towards you and push it towards the front of the PS3, it should then be able to slide right out of the unit now.

There are 4 screws holding the HDD in the caddy. Once they are removed the HDD lifts straight out and the new drive can be added. NOTE: If the new drive is a SATAII, a jumper may be needed to bridge a couple of pins on the back of the drive to force it to SATA speeds, consult the drive manufacture before hand to make sure.

Once the new drive is in and all back together, the PS3 can be turned on. When the PS3 first boots with the new drive it will detect it and want to format the drive. This process can take some time so it might be a good time for a break.

When the format is complete it will return to the XMB and allow you to go back into the backup tool in the SETTINGS menu and restore the data. Once the data has been restored, the HDD swapping in complete and can return to normal PS3 use.

NOTE: Although swapping the HDD does not void the PS3 warranty, Sony will only accept a PS3 unit for a warranty job if the original HDD is put back in, so keep the old drive in a safe place.

Warhawk - Review

Warhawk is a multiplayer only game for the PS3. It comes in two different media types, downloadable off the PSN Store, and physical on a Bluray disc. Both version still load totally off the internal HDD to make sure that everyone player has the same load times to make it more equal. The Bluray physical version at first loading will dump the entire game onto the internal HDD, so the first loading of the game takes some time. The game itself on the HDD takes up around 800MB.

The multiplayer nature of Warhawk is quite unique for a console, with the exception of a couple games like FFX1 on the XBOX360. Warhawk offers 2 types of gaming types:

• Online - Connecting to the internet to play on servers with other people around the world.
• LAN - Multiple PS3s on the same local network connecting together.

Additional with that, Warhawk offers up to 4 player split screen on both online and LAN playing. Online servers have an option to allow split screen players, and it's generally disabled on official Sony servers.

There are 4 different game modes, some are fairly standard and always good, and some quite different:

• Deathmatch - A standard mode where everyone is against each other and the highest score wins.
  
• Team Deathmatch - 2 teams, Red and Blue, fighting each other. The team with the highest score wins.
• Capture the Flag - Another standard game mode of taking the other teams flag and bringing it over to your teams flag to score points.
  
• Zones - Take control of enemy control points be standing at them for some time to limit the enemies respawn abilities.

Each map in the game has different layouts for different areas of the may, like Bridge, Installation, and Dogfight, which is where everyone is in warhawks fighting above the map, no landings are possible.

The stat system is quite large, following your travels on the online servers. There are a large amount of awards in the form of medals, badges, and ribbons covering all aspects of the game. The ranks are too easy to advance through and doesn't introduce a challenge, there are a lot of ranks, but it doesn't require a lot of points to move into the next level. Each rank offers new options in the customising area for your character and you warhawk.

The game itself is very fast paced as long as there are a lot of players on the server, as close to the max 32 is best for full on action. There are a few different combat methods including using weapons that your character has, tanks, buggies, warhawks, and turrets. The HUD is very simple and easily understood, and navigating through the weapons is gone by pressing the buttons on the directional pad, each direction is for a different weapon and there are 8 weapon slots. One interesting thing is that you can't leave your warhawk until it's grounded, handy so you don't accidentally exit while in the sky and fall to your death, but not handy if you want to get out as soon as possible while under attack.

The Character and vehicles are controlled by the analogue stick be default, but can be switched to motion sensing in the SIXAXIS controller. I personally found motion sensing to be the easiest way to control warhawks, R2 for speed, motion for pitch and turning, and right stick for barrel rolls and tricks to evade enemy aircraft and missiles.

HOW TO: First Starting of a PS3

This is a guide for people that just bought a PS3 and are setting it up for the first time. The process is quite straight forward, but in some places there are a few options to take which some people don't know which is the best way to go from there.

First thing is to pick a good location. The PS3 is a very hot machine and needs a lot of space, the best amount of space would be 1-2 cubic metres and having the unit standing vertical. Standing vertical means the PS3 can breathe better since when standing this way there are a massive amount of cooling holes up the top, and we all know that hot air rises. There are 2 fans in the PS3, one is out the back where the internal power supply is, and the other is a large fan on the heat sink that covers the CELL, RSX, and RAM.

Once the best place has been located, it's time to start cabling. There are a lot of ways to cable the PS3 up for video and audio:

• Multi AV - This interface has normal composite, component, and the stereo audio. This method is best used for SD TVs, but the component can be used for HD TV as well.
• Optical - This is for audio only. Not as limiting as composite audio, but most of the time the PS3 uses Linear PCM audio which Optical can only handle 2 channels of this type of audio, plus Optical can't handle the HD DTS audio on some Bluray movies.
• HDMI - This is the best way the PS3 can be connected. HDMI is for HD TV or AV Receivers that have the interface. HDMI uses at a max 1080p video and 7.1 Linear PCM or HD DTS audio in one cable. Not many audio devices have HDMI interfaces yet, but most HD TV do. The HDMI interface on the TV must have HDCP in it or the resolution of the image will be downgraded to SD. HDMI can also be easily converted to DVI through a simple converter plug or cable.

The PS3 can handle a mixture of different connections like HDMI for video and Optical for audio, or composite for video and HDMI for audio.

After the AV cables have been sorted out, it's time to lay and connect the LAN cable if going for a wired network. The power can also be connected. The power cable for the PS3 is a standard power cable used in modern PCs, and the power supply for the PS3 is internal so it makes carrying it around easier.

Once the power switch on the back is in the ON position, a red light should appear on the front of the PS3 and is ready to be turned on. You may notice the the PS3 doesn't have any switches on the front of the console, instead all you have to do is lightly touch the ON icon in front on the drive slot and the red light should turn green and make a BEEP sound.

The PS3 will start the initial set-up guide where you choose the system options best for you. These include:

• Video - What interface to use and what resolution (SD, 720p, 1080i, 1080p).
• Audio - What interface to use and compression method the receiver can use.

After all that you must choose a local username for the PS3. This has nothing to do with your online gaming and only just to keep local users apart. The XMB should be present now, and to make a online user profile move along the XMB to FRIENDS and sign up for a username. This will be used for online gaming, messaging, and Remote Play over the internet.

And that's it, next should be the tweaking of the system settings and make the PS3 working perfectly. Remember, the PS button and Triangle button on the controller play a major role in the PS3, the PS button lets you switch from feature to feature, like from playing music to XMB so you can load the web browser all along keeping the music playing, and the Triangle button is to open up the Options Menu for the selected item.

NOTE: If you change the video interface, and turn the PS3 on and can't see an image, turn the PS3 off again and then hold down the power icon for about 10 seconds, there should be 3 beeps and the PS3 will reset the video options.

Remote Play

Remote Play is the ability to use the PS3 remotely on the PSP across local WiFi or using a WiFi hotspot anywhere around the world. At present time Remote Play has to be manually started and the PS3 on.

To start using the Remote Play feature, the PSP needs to be registered to a PS3, so connect the PSP to the PS3 via a USB cable. Once the PSP is connected and in USB mode, scroll down in the SYSTEM menu on the PS3 XMB and select REMOTE PLAY SETTINGS. In there you'll be able to register a new PSP or look at currently registered PSPs. Once the PSP is registered to a PS3, the PSP name will pop up in the registered list on the PS3 and a new connection called PLAYSTATION3 in the PSP will be added.

Remote Play on the PS3 is launched from the XMB in the NETWORK menu. From there all is needed is to leave it alone and grab your PSP. From the PSP select Remote Play under the NETWORK menu in the XMB and there are 2 options, Local or Infrastructure. In Local mode all is needed is to select the PLAYSTATION3 connection in the list and it will use the PS3's WiFi to make a connection. Using a WiFi AP in the house can also be done. In Infrastructure mode, select the connection in the list to the WiFi hotspot. Once a connection is made to the PSN (Playstation Network) it will ask for a Username and Password, which is the same username and password to connect the PS3 to the PSN Friends List.

Remote Play is limited at the current time, but does have a good list of features:

• Playing music, photos, or videos that are on the PS3 or from a PC using DLNA.
• Web browsing.
• Messaging friends.
• Using Folding@Home.
• Using a Remote Play feature in a game.

More features for Remote Play are set to come out over time, like Remote Playing while the PS3 is in standby mode, and the ability to connect multiple PSPs to a PS3 so all PSPs can play a multiplayer game.

PS3 Hardware and Technical:

The PS3 is full of new technology and some only found on Computers before. Classified as almost a mini-supercomputer, the PS3 has a huge amount of power behind it due to it's unique processor.

Internal Hardware:
CPU - CELL BE. The CELL CPU is a Power processor at first glance. It's made up of 2 different types of processing bodies, the PPU is a dual threaded 64bit Power PC processor which acts as boss of the CELL. Below the PPU are 8 SPUs, each running at 3.2GHz. Each SPU is basically a mini CPU that can process data by itself or can work with other SPUs to complete complex instructions. The CELL in the PS3 only has 7 SPUs, the 8th is disabled and in most cases it doesn't work.

RAM - The RAM is made up of a small amount of XDR RAM. Only 256MB of XDR RAM is in the PS3 but it runs at 3.2GHz, the same speed as the SPUs in the CELL CPU.

Video Card - The RSX video card is modelled after the nVidia 7900. It has 256MB of GDDR3 RAM onboard.


Storage Hardware:
HDD - By default in the Australian release of the PS3, there is a 60GB HDD in it. The HDD itself is just a 2.5" SATA Seagate drive and it is fully upgradeable. There are even adapters out there to can make the PS3 use an external 3.5" HDD as it's main drive, giving up to 1TB of space.

Bluray - The main storage media of the PS3. Uses discs the same physical size as CDs and DVDs, but each dual layer disc can hold 50GB of data. Some games like Motorstorm use about 40GB of this space so it's not being wasted. DVDs and CDs can also be used in the drive, as well as mini versions of the discs. The drive is also slot loading.

Flash Cards - The PS3 can use 3 types of flash cards; CF, SD, and Memory Stick. Once the cards have been inserted an icon on the XMB pops up and you can browse the cards. By default there are 3 folders the PS3 looks in; MUSIC, PHOTOS, and VIDEOS. To view files outside these folders you have to press the Triangle button on the controller and select DISPLAY ALL under the media type you want. The PS3 can also use flash cards to hold system backups, system update files, and save games.


Other Hardware:
Network - PS3 can use 2 different types of network interface, WiFi and LAN. The LAN is a gigabit interface that can be connected to a switch, or directly to the modem/router. The WiFi is a standard 54Mb/s interface to connect to WiFi APs. The WiFi can also be used for Remote Play with the PSP in Local mode, but more about Remote Play another time.

USB - There are 4 USB ports on the front of the PS3, and the have many different types of functions:

• To recharge the controllers via a standard USB(A) to Mini-USB cable.
• External Media, like USB HDDs as long as they are formatted in FAT32 format.
• Keyboards and mice. Even a wireless mouse's USB dongle can be connected.
• PSP, to transfer data like photos, music, videos, and PS games.
• Controllers like PS2 Dual Shock2 controllers (With adapter), steering wheels, and 3rd party controllers.

The USB ports are fully powered, are of Version 2.0, and support Plug'n'Play.

Bluetooth - This is how PS3 SIXAXIS controllers connect to the console. Other devices include the Remote Control, keyboards and mice, and headsets. The Bluetooth hardware are of Version 2.0.

PS3 System Software: > 1.93 (part1)

I'm playing a little catch up with the System Software features, and there is a lot to catch up on. This post is to detail the features of the PS3 from the beginning up to V1.93.


VIDEO:
Highlight features of the VIDEO area:

• Ability to play MP4, DVD (MPEG2), Bluray (MPEG4).
• Videos on the HDD can have a moving thumbnail of 15seconds displaying on the XMB.
• Bookmarks for DVD and Bluray.
• Upscaling of DVDs to 1080p.
• Playing HDD videos while messaging to friends.

MUSIC:
Highlight features of the MUSIC area:

• Ability to play MP3, WAVE, WMA, ATRAC files.
• CDs can be ripped to the HDD.
• Limited folder support.
• Playing music while in the web browser, viewing photos and messaging to friends.
• Limited visualisations (2).

PHOTO:
Highlight features of the PHOTO area:

• Crop and edit photos.
• Ability to make photos the wallpaper for the XMB.
• Zooming

GAMES:

• PS/PS2 games can be upscaled to 1080p max.
• PS/PS2 games can be smoothed.
• Virtual memory cards for PS/PS2 games.
• Ability to swap PS/PS2 save games from the PS3 HDD to external PS/PS2 memory cards (adapter needed), can also copy save games to PSP.
• Faster loading of PS3 HDD games.

DLNA:
DLNA is a Media Server protocol that allows a PC to supply video, music, and photos to the PS3 across the network. There are many different media servers for the PC all offering different features. Some servers can transcode media to the type the PS3 accepts, like from XVID AVI to MPEG2, all on the fly.