Shoutbox

Hiya all,
look at this.................

Would you like to stream video content from your home entertainment equipment to your PSP from anywhere in the world? Now you can, but it requires buying an extra piece of equipment and downloading the newest Japanese PSP firmware. With Apple having just announced its Video iPod, this new feature couldn't have come at a better time for Sony.

New Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer mentioned during his speech at the recent CEATEC event in Japan that Sony intended to bring TV streaming features to its Portable PlayStation. Not many expected that feature to become available so quickly, however.

Today Sony Computer Entertainment released its latest firmware update for the PSP—the third such patch in two months—in Japan, bringing the portable to version 2.50. While the upgrade to version 2.00 brought with it significant features such as an official web browser, wireless photo sharing, wallpaper support and more, 2.50 includes a few interesting upgrades as well, the most noteworthy being support for Sony's "LocationFree" streaming option.

Video content streaming anywhere
Through this feature PSP owners will now be able to stream video content to their PSPs anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to a broadband Internet connection and Wi-Fi. In order to take advantage of this service, PSP owners will need to purchase a separate LocationFree base station, which is available in America here.

[    "There's already a strong rumor going around that Video iPod could very well be a precursor to an actual video/gaming device from Apple."    ]


The base, which runs upwards of $350, can be connected to the Internet and a person's home PC, or it can also be hooked up to other home entertainment equipment such as DVD or HDD recorders, thereby allowing users to watch just about any video on the road that they would typically watch from the comfort of home. This is very similar to another new device called Slingbox, except that LocationFree costs about $100 more and enables streaming video from your home to your PSP, which might be preferable over a laptop for some people. Once everything is set up, the PSP user simply clicks on the LocationFree icon to start streaming; he/she can then change channels and pause or record on components at home with the onscreen universal remote.

Sony vs. Apple
Interestingly, Sony made this nifty feature available for the PSP just one day after Apple unveiled its Video iPod. Some in the industry have suggested that Apple's new iPod poses a real threat to the PSP as a portable video player, but according to various U.K. news sources citing BBC Television, Sony Computer Entertainment's Chief Executive Producer Phil Harrison said he's not worried about Apple at all; he believes that the PSP is the #1 portable video player currently on the market. Sony may not be worried now, but if the Video iPod does well, Apple may put even more emphasis on the video function.

"Because millions of people around the world will buy this new iPod to play music, it will quickly become the most popular portable video player in history," boasted Apple's head honcho Steve Jobs.

"This isn't a video device," Nate Elliott, digital home analyst at Jupiter Research, suggested to the BBC. "This is video as a feature on an iPod. When Apple are ready to do video, you will see something more complete and more video-focused."

Worse yet for Sony is that there's already a strong rumor going around that this Video iPod could very well be a precursor to an actual video/gaming device from Apple. That should be very interesting if it proves true.

Covering security loopholes
Although it may appear that Sony released this latest firmware to stay a step ahead of Apple in the portable video department, the underlying reason is clearly for security measures. Hackers have been running emulators, pirated games and other software on version 1.50 PSPs. Sony updated to 2.00 to address this, but those clever hackers then discovered a way to revert 2.00 firmware to 1.50. Sony quickly followed that up with 2.01, but that version offered no incentive to upgrade. With 2.50, PSP owners will be more enticed to upgrade and therefore, more users will close that security hole.

Other notable upgrades in 2.50 include the ability to play copyright protected movies saved on a Memory Stick Duo, the ability to set the time and date on the PSP through the Internet, and the ability to save display mode and font size settings in the Internet browser as well as the browser saving form input history.

Caution: Sony says 2.50 is currently for Japanese PSPs only. Although the update would likely work on U.S. PSPs, update at your own risk. An official American version of 2.50 (and other regions) is expected in the near future

Expensive things always seem to get upgraded... like iPods... I don't own either, maybe that's why I'm never angry with the upgrades. Anyways, I plan t soon have a PS, and I'm liking this.

woooow

I'll so be getting that base for christmas!

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

!!!WARNING!!!!

Many firmware downgrades you'll find on the net are actually trojans which will render your PSP useless...

!!!WARNING!!!!

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Naaa there going to sell in the shops you dont get it off the inetent

Please don't reply to such an important warning like that and undermine the importance of it if you don't know what I'm talking about...

Firmware isn't for sell in shops. Firmware is what a device makes it tick.

The firmware of the PSP can be downloaded, it is like any other firmware, a memory patch. Sony has updated this firmware in the new PSP and this will prevent the use of those (illegal) internet browsing, watching movies, heck even programming your own games on the PSP...

Therefore, firmware downgrades are available (made by hackers). But recent versions of these new downgrades are actuall trojan horses which will render your PSP useless...

Because the PSP will be nothing more then a dead brick this trojan has been called "PSPBrick" by most of the AV companies... and this info is all over the web in context of the PSP...

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Thus again, I repeat:

!!!WARNING!!!!

Many firmware downgrades you'll find on the net are actually trojans which will render your PSP useless...

!!!WARNING!!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

Because the PSP will be nothing more then a dead brick this trojan has been called "PSPBrick" by most of the AV companies... and this info is all over the web in context of the PSP...

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True, I was reading about this a few days ago, another example of how crackers with little skill have to ruin the fun of less technologically advanced users.

However msg_plus_freak was talking mainly about the new 2.50 build upgrade (for Japanese PSPs), not recommending the downgrade hacks to 1.50 (which can be just PSPBrick in disguise if downloaded from an unrepeatable source).

However even with that in mind I'd just like to make an addition to what CookieRevised has said - even though PSPBrick trojan seems to be mainly bundled with the unofficial hacks for the PSP, it is very likely that they're either redesign (or just rename) the trojan to make it look like it's the official upgrade to 2.50. Therfore it is wise to only download firmware upgrades from the official Sony website.

quote:

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Originally posted by msg_plus_freak
Naaa there going to sell in the shops you dont get it off the inetent

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I believe you have misunderstood the article. The 2.50 Firmware will ship on new PSPs in the future, also you will be able to update your already bought PSP to the 2.50 build. It is possible that shops will allow you to take your PSP in and they will update it for you for a small price (as a service to those without internet connections) but yes, the 2.50 build can be updated by the internet.

quote:

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Originally posted by Anubis
Therfore it is wise to only download firmware upgrades from the official Sony website.

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Thats what i was going to say, because not very many people wouldnt dowenload the firmware from the actual website> Meaning what cookie said!

Cookie is right, as any file, you should only download from websites you trust.

Im not downgrading ill just wait till they make more homebrews for 2.0, i want the browser!


That psp tv thing is dumb.

Sony making their own proprietary crap again.

PSP is suposed to be portable as well and i dont know if that tv thing is gonna be good quality via internet.. you probably need a very good connection between the two spots otherwise it is gonna suck, anyway, its useless and mega super stupidly expensive, just buy the new battery with 3600mAh of capacity with a 4GB HDD, its gonna be expensive as well ( 250$ ) but its a better thing to ue your money on.

quote:

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Originally posted by paperless
Cookie is right, as any file, you should only download from websites you trust.

Im not downgrading ill just wait till they make more homebrews for 2.0, i want the browser!


That psp tv thing is dumb.

Sony again making their own proprietary crap again.

PSP is suposed to be portable as well and i dont know if that tv thing is gonna be good quality via internet.. you probably need a very good connection between the two spots otherwise it is gonna suck, anyway, its useless and mega super stupidly expensive, just buy the new battery with 3600mAh of capacity with a 4GB HDD, its gonna be expensive as well ( 250$ ) but its a better thing to ue your money on.

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Very true, Things are just going over the top now, phones with tv etc.. its ruining the actual job of the phone, people wont be rining anyone there to busy playing games! And there going to bring out phones which you can use as credit cards, it takes however you pay off your credit.
The technology is amazing but everyone is competing against each other so sony have to come out with things like this.
It could put some people off because if they didnt know where to download it then they could bugger up the psp like cookie said!