PS3 tips and tricks FAQ

Ladon,

Resolution (480i/p, 720p, 1080i/p) and aspect ratio settings are kept separate in PS3's video configuration.

Before I got my current monitor, I had my PS3 running on a 480i SDTV in widescreen, no problem at all. It will introduce black bars top and bottom on the 4:3 frame, just like dvd's, etc.

 

wow cool nice tip, didnt know that.

 

So a max drive from datel would work on the PS3 correct?

 

if it reads on your pc, it should read on the ps3

 

correction for the Faq.

Bluray movies will not downconvert to 480p if your tv supports 1080i. They will display in 1080i but not 720p.

 

Load some pictures to your PS3 and then hit triangle on the folder of them. There are 4 options of slide show. The last one (photo album) is a really cool slide show that drops a 3d picture onto a moving white screen. It's nothing OMGWTFREAKINGAMAZING!!!!, but it is really cool if you want to show off some pictures.

You can charge the Ipod, play music into your speakers while playing video games. Not sure about this one.

You can press select during a chat with someone to see their connection speed.

Connecting multiple PSPs lets you transfer data between them really easily and you can see the "PSP profile " for each separate PSP.

For those that makes good use of the "Internet browser" feature and have HDTV's with 720p and up using HDMI cables, you'll notice that the text and pages are maybe too small to read, specially for those people with HDTV's sized 32" and smaller. Well, if you go to display settings, select HDMI, select "Custom", and uncheck "1080i" and "720p", but leave "480p" checked and press right on the D-Pad. Your HDTV should switch to 480p mode and the texts and XMB should look bigger then. Now everything in "Internet browser" should easily be read. To switch back to 720p and 1080i resolutions, just go to "Display" settings, select "HDMI" and select "Automatic" and the PS3 should automatically switch back to optimal resolutions supported by your HDTV. Hope this helps. *Note: This tip is only for users who have PS3's hooked up with HDMI. I'm not sure if component cables or any other will work the same way.

These are some tips people had on Gamefaqs.

So I switched my OS on my PC to Ubuntu. Really easy to install (on a PC at least) and runs great. I highly recommend anyone who has a PS3 to install Ubuntu Linux! That way, you won't need to convert any crazy video formats to watch anime and the like.

Here's a pretty good guide for installing Ubuntu on a PS3 (the installation of Ubuntu on PS3 is most definitely more involved than on a PC, since on a PC, you just insert the disk and answer a few questions).

EDIT: Pheonix, did you check out the XGL and compiz (or XGL and Beryl) thing? Here's a video showing you what they do:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lawkc3jH3ws

Pretty sweet huh? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

 

thx for the correction, man linux homebrew is really picking up. Gotta take some time to put something nice together. XGL is pretty awesome looking. I heard linux developers are kind of pissed at sony for not fully unlocking RSX to sony - not completely sure if thats true or not.

Also an update, God of War 2 plays at 720p when loaded on ps3

 

actually it has been confirmed by Sony and Cory Balrog(director of GOWII) that it doesnt run in 720P...only 480P. IGN screwed that up.

Cory B was hanging out on neogaf in a topic based on this and he said himself that it runs in 480P/WS.

 

rumour smashed again, thanks for keeping on top agains - faceless you tricked me!!

 

http://www2.elecom.co.jp/peripheral/gamepad/jc-ps201u/index.asp

these elecom convertors confirmed to work with VF5!!!

Full Auto 2 demo out - not my type of game

Flow - out the 20th

Tekken DR - 26th

 

FLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW I'm so buying this OMGWTFBBQ

 

Someone posted this on Gamefaqs:

I was messing around with my PSP and I noticed I had some PS3 saves backed up on my memory card. I remembered a long time ago when somebody discovered that you can edit PSP save Icons and Save screen backgrounds.


I tried it out and it works!


All you have to do is transfer a PS3 save file onto your PC and open it up you will see a PNG image called ICON0 320x176. If you open this picture you can edit it to your taste just remember to save it as a PNF and keep the name ICON0(the last character is a zero)

you can also edit the background picture called PIC1 PNF 1000x560.


you can also make your own icons and backgrounds just be sure to keep the size the same

320x176 for save icons
1000x560 for background save picture

 

Firmware 1.54 out!!

 

Interesting news in the world of PS3 today:


http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/rumor-sony-to-unveil-playstation-home-240746.php

Any truth to this? Hmmm...Maybe:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/sony-blackballs-kotaku-240860.php

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/895.html

Someone posted this [on some site] about the upcoming GDC speech:

Firmware update available on the 8th for North America/Japan and Asia. European PS3's will be preloaded with this latest update.

Features of this latest firmware include:

More refined PS Store frontend
Playstation Network integrity enhanced
Wallpapers from pictures
Ability to change background colours
Sony Connect Store for music and movies added to the PS Store. Hundreds of trailers/full films/song videos and mps3's available for download.
Playstation Card option in PS Store enabled.
Playstation Lifestyle- Similar to my space/youtube. User generated content and experiences are the key.
+ more.

Removal of Emotion Engine chips in PS3's in NA and Japan to follow in April. Reason for this is to reduce costs and focus on enhanced opportunities via software. Benefits include the ability to upscale selected PSone/PS2 games to 1080i/720p.

Lots of development talk.
Release dates for key games. Warhawk in June/July 2007. Heavenly Sword delayed. Killzone and MGS4 in late 2007.

New content on PS Store available on the 8th:

Tekken 6 trailer
Lair demo & trailer
Rainbow Six Vegas demo
EA: Skate trailer
Battlefield Bad Company trailer
Warhawk demo
Virtua Fighter 5 demo
Virtua Tennis 3 demo & trailer
GRAW 2: trailer
Mortal Kombat 2 game
Killzone trailer

Killzone demo for May.

More details. Stay tuned on the 7th.

Here's a rumour about downloadable PS1 games being playable on PS3:

http://www.playthree.net/2007/03/firmware-v2-downloaded-ps1-games-will.html

Here's some info regarding upscaling:

So Las Vegas must be laying odds on what will happen at GDC 2007 in San Francisco (although this writer's money is on a StarCraft II... I wish), but this one is right out of left field. The same Rumor Reporter who hinted at 32-player Warhawk dogfights tossed something into the ring that just blew that buzz away. Or generate accusations of natural fertilizer-peddling, depending on whether you buy this or not.

He claims (from a nameless source) that in the near future, probably summer, the same emulator firmware that's being used as the backwards compatibility core of European PS3s will have the ability to upscale PSOne and PS2 titles to 1080i/720p using the PS3's HD scaler (plus hardware for PSOne titles, perhaps).

He says that not all legacy PS games will be supported by this feature at first. He says that Sony will concentrate on expanding the compatibility list of the emulator software first. Still, the expectation is that a few legacy titles at a time will be upscale-ablelized (for lack of a better word) and added to the list at intervals.

If this is true, (if this is true), we believe it is either quite possible or contemplated that US and Japanese-release PS3s will get a similar treatment - either with future firmware updates overriding the Emotion Engine chip (most likely option), or complementing the hardware compatibility in those PS3s. But that's as much off the top of our head as this rumor is from left field. (Either way, it's not like a feature like this can be locked in one region. Can it?)

And the final claim from Rumor Reporter is that all of this will be announced at the GDC 2007 Sony keynote. He even bets on simply sitting back and waiting for the official announcement. Now you know why RAINBOW was deployed to Las Vegas. This sort of rumor-mongering can be murder on the bookies before the confirmation/denial.

Dang, R.R., when you say you "send Sony fans' heads spinning", we don't know whether to clap our hands or call an exorcist.

Don't have a link for that, sorry. Take what you will from this info. I think most, if not all of these are rumours. Hopefully they turn out to be true.

 

its pretty 100% confirmed, plus kotaku staff members are idiots, they deserve to get blackballed after numerous warnings.

also a way to stop xmb auto boot,

when booting up your PS3, hold down your PS button to disable autoboot. and move around the xmb somewhat soon?

 

Hey, can u give me a link to this "Linux Ubuntu?"I'm sorry but i'm new to this thing.Also, when I download this Linux thing...do I just burn it on a CD or DVD?What program should I use to burn it with?Will my external hard drive work with a PS3(for more hard drive space)?The main reason I want to install this Linux thing is for my emulators...so which one would be best Linux... Ubuntu one or....yellow dog Linux one?one more question.DO i download all of those files? http://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/iso/

Sorry for all the questions .This sounds rather interesting to me.

 

While Ubuntu is the easiest Linux distribution (distro for short) to use and install on a PC, it is quite hard to install on a PS3. Yellow dog may run a little slower, but it's much easier to install (plus, it's Sony's "official" distro).

If you're willing to give it a shot, you can download Linux Ubuntu over here.

There are 2 versions. 6.06 (code named Dapper Drake) and 6.10 (code named Edgy Eft). You may as well get 6.10 IMHO. If you're going to burn it on a DVD, make sure you get the proper iso (i.e. the DVD one). It should be a little further down the page where it says "DVD downloads". Since you'll be installing it on PS3, you'll need the ppc (power PC) version.

The guide to installing Ubuntu on PS3 is over here!

You can use this to burn the isos on DVD and CD. It's free.

You may want to upgrade your PS3 HDD first. If you can't, it's no serious worry. You'll still have plenty of space (make sure you give Linux the 10 GB portion and the PS3 the rest (10 GB of 20 Gig PS3 and 50 GB if 60 Gig PS3). Linux should still be able to access the files on the PS3 portion of the HDD.

As for YellowDog, you'll want "yellowdog-5.0-phoenix-20061208-PS3.iso". Should be the last one at 3.3 GB. If you need a bittorrent program to download it, try Utorrent. It's a very lightweight client and very easy to use.

Peace!

Edit: Forgot to mention, External HDDs should work fine provided they're in the right format (FAT32 I believe).

Edit 2: Just to point something out, you don't need Linux to use external HDDs with your PS3.

 

^Thanks so much for your time man and the info.

 

Holy crap! PS Home is official! And it looks...very very awesome!

 

1.6 comes out this thursday

Folding@home
Beginning Thursday, PS3 users will be able to connect to Stanford University's Folding@home program, a distributed computing project aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases, such as
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and many cancers. Using the power of the Cell Broadband Engine(TM), the PS3 system can perform computer simulations for the Folding@home program 20-30 times faster than the average home PC. Once a PS3 system is updated to version 1.60, users can easily sign up to join the
Folding@home program by clicking on the associated logo on the XMB(TM) (XrossMediaBar) under the Network icon. The user is then able to link to a distributed network of PS3s, conducting simulations and sending them back to a central computer at Stanford University for compilation and analysis.

Enhanced Downloading
Firmware version 1.60 delivers a more convenient process for downloading content to the PS3 from the PLAYSTATION Store. PS3 users will now be able to queue up to six downloads at one time. Progress of downloads can be easily tracked under a new Download Management menu under the XMB's Network icon. In
addition, content will be able to be downloaded in the background while using some PS3 system features, such as accessing the XMB to display videos and photos from the system's hard drive, playing music, and browsing the Web.

Text Entry and Web Browsing
Firmware 1.60 also will support keyboards and mice enabled with Bluetooth wireless technology. Text entry is further expanded with the option to use a full QWERTY on-screen keyboard, in addition to the existing single tap keyboard. PS3 system's built-in Web browser will also be enhanced with the ability to zoom in to the optimal viewing size for the selected area of a Web page at the press of a button, as well as an optional tool for reducing flicker when the PS3 system is using interlaced video out (480i or 1080i).

Other Feature Upgrades

* Remote Play -- This feature, enabling you to access photos, videos, and music on your PS3 system's hard drive from a nearby PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) system, will be available for the 20GB configuration, when utilizing an external Wi-Fi router or local wireless access point.
* Disc Auto-Start -- This new option under System Settings allows you to choose whether or not a disc should start automatically upon inserting the disc or turning on your PS3 system.
* Blu-ray Disc Rewriteable (BD-RE) -- PS3 system can now playback BD-RE discs (version 3.0).


looks like background downloading, folding at home, wireless router support for the 20gb, disc autostart are the big points here.