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PSP Firmware Update 2.8 Available
tekisui writes "PSP firmware update 2.8 is out, adding several minor features and one major one, the ability to play music and video out of user-named folders on memory sticks. Finally, I can label my movies and music with useful names, instead of Sony's cryptic naming conventions.."
Sony has again provided nominal updates in their new firmware, in an attempt to entice users to upgrade and lock down the homebrew community.
So now we wait for Dark_aleX to crack this firmware, and for Booster to update Devhook and make the PSP developers "even madder" as users continue to load all versions of the firmware on their 1.50 PSP's.
I have been known to load songs onto a Memory card and use them on multiple devices. I am very glad that Sony has upgraded its multimedia abilities so that PSP users no longer have to use arcane naming and specific folders. I do not like any device that forces such burdans on the end user. I have far too many songs to have to put them in a specific way.
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
I was excited that I could stream video via rss, however, when you go to the "sample channel" the video makes you save it to memory stick and then go to your video folder to watch it....
oh well. perhaps when ps3 arrives video streaming will be an option like location free tv.
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
Why does it need to be updated all of the time? As far as i know this doesn't happen with the DS.
(this was not a pro-DS post, i am just curious)
"he, who has quotes in his signature, is a douche" - unknown.
What really pisses me off about Sony is that I bought MY PSP primarily as a game machine. I have every Game Boy from the original through the Game Boy Advance and they ALL have backwards compatibility! I can play my Bionic Commando cartridge on any Game Boy I have, but Sony has decided that they will produce and sell games that are labeled for the PSP but will not play on my original PSP.
I'm not one who cares about the arguments between XBox fanboys and PlayStation fanboys and GameCube/Wii fanboys, but Sony can kiss my ass for their treatment of PSP owners.
Once again, thank you for posting some information to enable me to search for cures for my predicament. You have just done more for me as a PSP owner than Sony has done in all the time I have owned one.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
I don't keep up with PSP news all that much. Has Sony allowed video stored on a memory stick to be played back at full screen resolution yet? With the death of UMD videos, you'd figure they'd be nice and unlock the full-res playback of user-encoded video. But then again this is Sony...
PSP has games now? Guess they decided to stop competing with their own portable DVD players and start competing with Nintendo instead!
Seriously, though... newer games require the newer firmware because it's what, improved? Yeah right. I know some early firmware updates actually added functionality to the PSP, but at this point it's pretty obvious that Sony just doesn't like consumer choice. I wonder if they'll do the same thing with the PS3...
The DS has also been cracked and it too can be used to play ripped commercial games.
The difference is that running cracked games is a software problem on the PSP were on the DS you need some special hardware that you can't buy just anywhere. Al you need to play a ripped PSP game is a big memory card, like say the ones sold by sony itself or even included with the PSP in the gigapack.
It seems pretty clear that Sony is slowly releasing updates each update giving you a goodie but it will also fix the security hole that allows you to play non-sony approved content on the PSP.
In itself it is nothing new, some games with frequent updates could possible be doing the same trick. You want our bug fix? Better have the original exe handy. How many crackers are willing to crack a game again and again? With the PSP it is even better. Each time you crack it you run a risk of bricking it.
So why doesn't Nintendo upgrade its hardware since they been cracked as well? Well they did. I think with the DS Lite they included a new firmware and if you got one of those the old passkeys (the bit of hardware that allows you to play unofficial games) don't work anymore. No problem you pirate. New ones are available.
Still they cost money, it is a physical product and that means somebody wants money for making it, perhaps this reduces the piracy. Most people do not have a huge library of games. If you only want handfull of games you are not going to spend 150 euro in a dodgy online store to run games that run almost perfectly when you can get the games you want for the same amount guarenteed to work from a regular store.
Second is market differences, perhaps the people who want to play nintendogz or brain age are less likely to pirate then say GTA Liberty City players?
What is odd is that because DS games are typically much smaller that piracy actually is easier. If you want you could easily store hundreds of GBA and DS games on a single memory card. Most PSP games are to big to fit in the 1gb memory sticks.
The DS is capable of downloading content from the net so it should be able to update. Maybe it does. Doubt it, someone would have found out by now but just because they haven't doesn't mean they can't.
The naive idea is that Nintendo doesn't do this to be nice to its customers. Yeah right, this could only be considered an option by the insane or those to young to remember the Nintendo before Sony kicked them in the nuts with the PS.
More likely is that Nintendo doesn't consider it a big enough threath.
This is probably combined with not having the possibility to offer goodies to get people to upgrade. Sony is running a risk that people who would buy legal games, like me, might not buy a game if it requires me to upgrade and not use my homebrew anymore. It also runs the risk that it might break one of its own games.
In short it is all about piracy and how companies attempt to deal with this. Sony is more aggressive in its attempts but Nintendo too changes its firmware when it sees an opportunity.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
The DS firmware has multiple versions, however updating is transparent to the user, and occurs when they fire up a game with the firmware update on it.
The "clearest" update is the one that adds the ability for the DS to talk to Nintendo's WiFi Connection service via ordinary routers. This update also breaks a loophole in the GBA emulation code that allows DS code to be executed from a GBA cart. The first Action Replay relied on this, so the upgrade broke it. I bought one and discovered it didn't work. The most annoying thing though, is the box art for the AR shows it being used with a Mario Kart DS cart... which is one of the games that includes the AR-breaking update!
Here's a cache of a brief "version checker" guide.
People still use the PSP?
My speculation: The DS doesn't have the hugely sophisticated firmware that the PSP has, instead it is mostly in the game cartridge itself.
Thus there is no real need for updating the firmware, as the game includes the libraries that work with it.
Test your net with Netalyzr
Which is it? Either you want the PSP for homebrew or (as you said) you want it for games.
The issue is a simple one - using it for homebrew means it's not really going to be useful for games. Using it for games means using it for homebrew is going to be very hard.
I am thinking to buy one as well - but only for homebrew. I ahve no illusions ar expectations that Sony will support me in this regard, so I feel no animosity towards Sony for failing to suypport the device in a way for which they did not mean it to be used.
Do I wish Sony would support user created PSP programs? Sure. Do i think it would be smarter for them to do so because it would increase sales of the PSP which are languishing? You bet. But Sony has not and will not and as long as that remains true you can't expect to have your cake and eat it too.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Check out http://www.psp-hacks.com/ for more info on all the ramifications of upgrading.
Since then I have bought two games; Ghost In The Shell, and a collection of ancient Midway games. Neither works with my PSP.
I hope you have an open mind and can see how someone who has bought a machine with one purpose in mind can change the primary purpose for that machine while retaining an interest in the previous purpose.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Crazy idea huh? It had 3 games I really liked (Lumines, Wipeout, GTA). It plays all my audio files from iTunes, AAC and MP3. I could rip DVDs and videos to it fairly effortlessly with software like Handbrake or PSPWare.
So what's the big deal?
Well, the big deal as we all know, is that the potential for the device is much more than what Sony can throw at it. And I think this rankles a lot of users. Not the majority, mind you, not even close... but enough to create a homebrew scene.
However I look at that scene with a sort of detatched interest. I've never been tempted by any of the homebrew software enough to downgrade the firmware. I'm simply... happy with it. Crazy I know.
Since I received it, the thing has gained major abilities at a regular pace. Web browsing, RSS feeds, Flash lite, WMA support, better wireless security, etc. None of this stuff was really promised or advertised, but we get it all for free. Now I do cool stuff like stream from my G5 to the PSP (MyTunesRSS - kicks ass).
I dunno. Call me quaint. I am happy with the thing because I was satisfied with its capabilities as it was presented. So I can't really feel jilted. (Of course, it was free for me. But if I dropped mine in the lake tomorrow, I'd probably go get another.)
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Give me a break. A major feature would be the rumored playstation emulator, or signifiganty improved power management... The web browser was a major feature. This update didn't add any capabilities to the device, it only made an existing capability slightly easier to use. That is practically the definition of a minor update.
You may be right. Such instructions may be there, but I don't see them on my PSP. Maybe my firmware is too old. I bought my PSP the first day they went on sale.
Do you work for Sony or own a lot of Sony stock? I ask because your last two sentences seem very hostile for someone who does not have a personal interest in the fortunes of the Sony Corporation.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Since that time I have bought two games that I thought might be worth the money. The games were clearly labled for PSP use. They will not run on my PSP.
Yes, I can update the firmware, but then I lose the use of my PSP for viewing videos which is something I now enjoy. This should not surprise you. Sony marketed the PSP as a multiple use device that would allow us to view videos along with playing games. Unfortunately I have a perfectly good DVD player so I don't see any need to spend an additional US$20.00 for DVDs I already own. Oh, excuse me, I meant UMDs.
Besides, why should I have to update my firmware to play games that are clearly labeled for use with MY PSP? How am I to know that if I update my firmware that I will not lose the ability to play Ridge Racer?
Oh, one last thing; you misspell represent and use that for your name, yet you critisize my online name? Do you own Sony stock or work for them?
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
While you are right in the sense that the game includes the firmware needed to play the game (and the grandparent is not a victim per se), I have to wonder how valid the need to use a given revision of firmware is.
Traditionally, consoles have had fixed firmware and all games had to work with all revisions of the hardware. I don't see the reason why Game X won't run on my 1.50 (well, when it WAS 1.50) PSP other than possibly Sony MAKING the developer upgrade the firmware as a condition of being licensed. I doubt very much that there is new functionality that REQUIRES new firmware for a game, although Sony definitely are at liberty to add/subtract/multiply/divide functionality as they see fit.
Like the head of this thread indirectly related, mad props to Fanjita's eloader and devhook. I'm patiently waiting for the day when kernel mode is unlocked in 2.60 of the PSP firmware. Upgrading from 2.00 so I could play LCS and Daxter was a mistake for unlicensed software.
--
Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.
I bought my PSP with 2.5 out of the box, and I want to downgrade to 1.5.. is there such a way?
With Sony continuing to try to block homebrew on PSP, why do people keep assuming that the PS3 is going to include a full version of Linux?
You could be using homebrew to play your music and videos and neatly avoid the broken naming scheme that sony uses.
Don't upgrade if you don't have to!
Put down the gun and read for a second. NOTHING is 'incompatible', that is false. NOTHING is 'broken' by a firmware update, false. He simply does not want to run a firmware update, because he has hacked his PSP in an unsupported manner.
To clarify: this is nothing more than MS requiring a newer version of DirectX for some new game. Yes, Sony tries to secure the firmware progressivly each time because, surprise, you can play ripped commercial games with a hacked PSP. Shocking that they'd react this way, isn't it.
I want them to support home dev as much as you do, but you are spouting a bunch of nonsense.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Nintendo did. They apparently didn't think it was important enough. The poster above you also mentions this and yes it is probably true, but by Nintendo's own design. And they knew about the passkey system since the GBA so why not design the DS differently?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Thanks again.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
I wish all the people bitching about firmware updates "breaking" their PSP would just fess up and stop with all this "homebrew" crap. No one seriously keeps the firmware on the PSP at 1.5 to play homebrew. They do it so they can run Devhook and play the copy of "Tekken Dark Ressurection" that they downloaded off of the Bittorrent sites. "But I play homebrew Hangman on MY PSP!!! I just want Sony to stop breaking that functionality!!" Sure you do, liar. The homebrew "community" exists soley for the purpose of people being able to say "I don't use my "hacked" PSP for pirating games, I just want to play some crappy Flash game that some dude on the internets made for free!!" Here is a clue - every firmware update since 1.5 has removed the abilty to use "homebrew" on the PSP. So a new firmware is nothing new. If you like "homebrew" (hehe) you ALREADY KNOW that you can't update the firmware. So stop bitching about it already. I have 3 PSP's in my house, mine, and the two my kids use. Mine is at 1.5 so I can run "homebrew" apps. (Sure I do.) I even bought a big ol' mem stick for it to store my "homebrew" apps on. (Hehe.) The kids are updated all the time for the games we actually bought.
(talking out of my behind) Either the UMD Videos use a Sony proprietary codec that's faster for the 222 MHz MIPS CPU to decode than MPEG-4, or perhaps the MPEG-4 patent pool offers a royalty discount for devices with an effective resolution smaller than a given threshold.
Sony tried a homebrew sandbox with PS2 Linux, but it bombed commercially. Besides, if Sony opened up PSP user mode to the public, the following would happen:
Or else Sony wanted people to buy a copy of the DVD and the UMD, and not just transcode the DVD to MPEG-4 and watch from a memory stick at full quality.
If you don't want commercial games, and you want the most homebrew-friendly handheld platform with a D-pad, get a GP2X from GamePark Holdings.
If you dumped your own Game Paks, which copier did you use? I wanna buy one! True, Tototek has copiers for Super NES and Genesis, but I'm more interested in the original NES.
*If you downloaded the ROM images, you are violating copyright, and you are likely pirating games published by companies that are still developing official PSP games, potentially denying them a sale. If you downloaded the ROM images of Game Paks that you own, you are still violating copyright.
Where do I apply to have my startup company become a legitimate developer with a legitimate development kit?
No, but the drivers required by Prey do not break, say, Lockjaw .
So what's the procedure for becoming a licensed developer of software for PSP?
For people who want to dump their Game Boy Game Paks to a PC or to a PSP with old firmware to run them in emulation, which brand of cartridge copier do you recommend?
So how do I just "plug it in"? I've read that the firmware upgrade process, even if it is automatic, requires that the PSP be plugged into AC power. So what if I have my PSP and buy a new game, but I'm away from a source of AC power? Do video game stores generally provide a public outlet into which customers may plug a PSP in order to upgrade their firmware? Or does Sony require a player who just purchased a new UMD to wait until she gets home before playing it? In that case, why not just play on a PS2?
That is tempting but the lack of integrated wireless kills it for me. I basically want to make a universal remote for a media computer out of whatever I use. The DS is really tempting as well, depending on how easy it is to write an app from scratch for...
My ideal object would be something like the GP2X but with Bluetooth 2.0 support for lower power consumption.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm sure this was Sony's original intention. After all, why would anyone pay the same price for a UMD as for a DVD which they could easily rip and watch with the same quality on the PSP. Even though the quality is better, I still haven't bought a single UMD. Sony's pricing policy was way off with that one. UMD's should have cost $10 each. If they were cheap enough then some people would have bought them instead of going through the hassle of trying to convert the DVD's. Either way, the original poster was correct. UMD's are dead. And if Sony waved a full screen encoding carrot in front of me to upgrade to 2.9 or 3.0, I would be there in a second.
Sony has again provided nominal updates in their new firmware, in an attempt to entice users to upgrade and lock down the free-warez community.
Anyway, thank you for the post. You've shed a little light onto this murky subject without flaming anyone.
Thanks again. :)
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Ripping a DVD costs thousands of dollars, including the price to move your family to Canada, one of the only remaining developed countries which doesn't yet have a DMCA.
As is often the case, the description Sony issues with the firmware updates doesn't usually tell the full story.
Yup, they added MUSIC, PHOTO, and VIDEO folders to the root directory, which is good. The VIDEO folder can contain subfolders, also good. You can dump that stupid naming format, goodgood.
Here's what's not so obvious... videos placed in this folder not only no longer make use of Sony's proprietary metadata atoms, they no longer require it. This means that you can use non-DRM iPod videos or many vanilla MPEG-4 files on the PSP. Videos placed under the old video folders still require that these atoms be present, though. Last, those *.THM thumbnail files are ignored in the new VIDEO folder.
But, for some bizarre reason, AVC/h.264 videos won't work under the new VIDEO folder. This seems like a horrendous oversight to me, and you'll definitely want to keep it in mind. I know most of my videos are AVC, so the new folder is pretty useless for me for the moment. Here's hoping for a quick 2.81 to fix this. (I won't hold my breath, though.)
As other people have pointed out, unlike RSS music feeds, video feeds do not stream video, but instead save it to the memstick, after which you may play it. Disappointing. :(
If they do something simple like CRC32 as the checksum, then you can simply make a firmware update that has the same checksum as the original...
Melissa
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
You post a pseudo-sarcastic question on slashdot and hope someone at Sony notices.
Cognitive dissonance. :P