UPDATE: The Firmware 1.90 update is available now; I’ve also included an update below that addresses some of your comments here.
Firmware 1.90 brings with it several new features, many of which readers of this blog have requested – I’m happy to report.
Customization is one new feature: you can now personalize the wallpaper on your XMB with a photo. This was one of the top three requests we received via the blog’s contact form. When viewing a photo, simply bring up the options screen by pressing the triangle button and selecting “set as wallpaper” from the options displayed. Additionally, you can now change the order of the games displayed under the game icon on the XMB.
Another new feature focuses on added communication elements: When you’re sending messages to friends on PLAYSTATION Network, you can now use emoticons. We’ve added a bunch of emoticons that can be easily accessed from the virtual keyboard. Also, another cool addition is, when an avatar is displayed during voice/video chat, the avatar will move in response to audio.
Finally, on the more technical side, you can now play AVCHD videos saved on a Memory Stick or digital video camera, and we’ve added the ability to upscale audio CD output from your PS3. Now, there are two requirements for this feature: the device you’re outputting to must support a sampling frequency of 88.2 kHz or 176.4 kHz, and your PS3 must be connected to that device with an HDMI cable or digital optical cable.
Oh, and one more thing: you can now eject discs using your controller by selecting “Eject Disc” in the options menu after you push the PS button.
Several other minor options will be included in 1.90 including a few new display options that will allow you to adjust your display while playing PlayStation, PlayStation2 and Blu-ray movies.
We’re working on additional features for our next update that will incorporate more of your feedback, so as always thanks for all of your support, and please keep those suggestions coming!
[UPDATE]
The link on the SCEA website is now live, you can get the full info on firmware 1.90 here. Also, I noticed a lot of your comments were directly related to accessing XMB features in-game. We understand this is something you want and we are working on it. For the sake of keeping all the comments below on topic, please understand that we hear this request and are working toward a solution. When I have some more info to share on this, know that I will do so here on this blog.Now, with all of that said, thanks for the feedback. I decided to address some of the consistent comments in the body of this post instead of within the comments. One thing you have noticed is that under sorting your games, when you sort by creation date, it sorts by the date you downloaded the content. Sorting videos is done by the date that the videos were added to your hard drive. You can also ‘go-to’ a specific time in any of the videos on your HDD, by hitting triangle and then selecting the specific time from the clock at the bottom.
Something a few of you have noticed as well is that you don’t need to have the SIXAXIS controller connected to PS3 through the USB cable anymore to complete the update, which I know is something some of you were asking for.
I forgot to mention DTSHD. I’d like for that to be supported. Dolby TrueHD and DTSHD should be able to be sent via bitstream, right?
If I could have any upgrades done to the PS3. I would like Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio to be passed through HDMI bitstream to my receiver and have it do the audio processing. I’m also curious if it’s possible to have the HDMI or optical output on at the same time as the analog outputs. I have an EQ and SPL meter looped into my analog inputs on my receiver and the PS3 is the only device I own that does not output to the displays. Most audio components allow digital and analog outputs at the same time. Is this possible via firmware? Keep up the good work. I’m addicted to my PS3!! Thank you
I’d like to see a that videos automatically play one after another, instead of manually selecting each video to play.
Thanx
I WANT Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…..
…………
….
Keep up the great work Sony. Your devotion to your fanbase and customers is second to none.
I have to say that what I would like to see in an update involves video support for all formats including avi and wmv’s.
If your mission is to turn the PS3 into a universal home media center (as you have so expertly addressed in previous updates) I find this support to be indispensable. I don’t know about other customers, but nearly 99% of my video catalogue is in the avi format. Trying to convert these videos ends up being a long and arduous process that, I believe, contradicts the very idea of the PS3 being an all in one media device.
In addition, I find the inability to view movie trailers and certain flash video in the PS3 web browser to be a tad disappointing.
I hope you will address these issues in time. In the meantime, keep up the good work.
Some new ideas i just thought off, not that much important, but just some little ideas if your are looking for some side projects.
1) E-mail, to be able to send and receive e-mails from the PS3, i know this can be done using the web browser, but i was thinking, if we were to have in game friends chat, why cant be have in game e-mail chat and in game e-mail notifications.
2) Have a Calander in the PS3 XMB with all the official sony networking events, and have at least 1 event every day, also, randomly pick out old and new games to play, possably rewards for the HOME trophy room. Also to be able to set a reminder for an event so you dont forget about it, it can popup and ask to be put stright into the room so no need to go throug menus, just pop in disc and your in the game room.
3) Custom startup sounds, a friend of mine wanted it, i spose it could be fun.
4) Game quick stats, when you put in a game, where it has the game preview and changes the XMB background, possabily have a small box with current stats without loading the game, EG. Total time played, Current online users, % of game compleated, etc. Thought it may be a cool idea.
5) What games my friends are playing, would be really really cool if you could get this.
I hope you read this and i hope other user might think my ideas are cool :P, cant wait for in game invites.
Best Luck,
Terry Harman
I would like to see (hear) support for 7.1 audio / SuperAudioCDs through OPTICAL audio output. I really still prefer to have the HDMI going directly to my Sony Bravia and the sound goig through the receiver through optical cable.
I want the PS3 to be the main device on the my theather system, and really would like to get rid of my current DVD player…
Also, I reinforce the other user comments about better playlists / playing capabilities for video / audio.
Thank you and keep up the good work.
Bruno Assaf
hey sony, i have read ALL of these comments and sonme things for the ps3 come to my mind (besides xmb full acces during gameplay lol), they might not be so important to you but i think they could be cool:
1.Using the bluetooth feature of the ps3: it would be cool if i could accesss and store media files from my cellphone to my ps3 (just like any other 2 cellphone transfer) via bluetooth.
2. When u play ps/ps2 games, still be on the PSN and on the game display to show at least “Playstation _ Title” anything works good.
3. For FPS games, use the PSP (optional for the user) as the game map, would be bigger and better to see and understand.
4. I would like to organize my media files (music videos photos) my way, you know, by my own made folders and that
5. Add the weather, temperature(in your area), and a cool calendar on the menu or when u press PS button. And of course…the frikin date and hour
6. Chat with ur friends even when not in same game (hoping on xmb acces) and acces the web browser while chatting, too, that would be nice
7. I would like to acces my media files on my ps3 via my laptop, i should think that you will hide the PS3-only files (demos, add ons, etc)
8. When i remote play via the internet on a hotspot…it lags like f*^k, and i dont like that…what could it be? i put the connection to the lowest and it keeps lagging.
9.Control my music (user optional) via the psp when im not in the room or the tv is off.
10.More of those cool PS3 snake-like-moving backgrouns, or even better, make-your-own :D
11. customizable xmb menu (icons, fonts etc)
12. Use the ps3’s bluetooth to stream the music to my BlueTooth stereo headphones.
13. is it possible for the ps3 to support aim msn and yahoo?
14. When in remote play, befor quitting it, be able to put the ps3 on folding home and THEN quit remot play :) and when in that folding at home, still be able to then remote play (duh, quitting the F@H and entering remote play mode)
and something a little off the topic but importanto for me: listen to music while browsing the internet or your photos in the psp, oh, and could it be possible for the psp to have bluetooth? it would be cool for headsets and my bluetooth stereo headset :) if you read all of this, thank you sony for at least seeing what im interested in, much luvz from ur loyal fan, cya guys! PSN ID: A7Xeva
7.
I much rather would’ve had upscaling for us 1080i/480p owners than the backgrounds…secondly, ever notice that if you have a 1080i/480p only television, when you go to display options, if 1080i is selected it doesn’t even give you the tv type option…therefore, all of our games get stretched longways because it assumes a 16:9 tv type. Unless you only select 480p as your max resolution…then we miss out on a whole bunch of other stuff, like ps1/ps2 upscaling, dvd upscaling, crappy looking XMB, and probably more. Sony, you guys are doing great, but please do something for the 1080i/480p CRT owners!
@809
With the ps3 being the only truly Next-Gen console. You can blame Sony for concentrating on current & furure displays, i.e 1080p. Whats the piont in them going backwards. You need a new telly like my kdl46w2000.
808 good points
1.Using the bluetooth feature of the ps3: it would be cool if i could accesss and store media files from my cellphone to my ps3 (just like any other 2 cellphone transfer) via bluetooth.
— I have a se phone, surely this can be made compat
2. When u play ps/ps2 games, still be on the PSN and on the game display to show at least “Playstation _ Title” anything works good.
3. For FPS games, use the PSP (optional for the user) as the game map, would be bigger and better to see and understand.
4. I would like to organize my media files (music videos photos) my way, you know, by my own made folders and that
5. Add the weather, temperature(in your area), and a cool calendar on the menu or when u press PS button. And of course…the frikin date and hour
—– terrific idea
6. Chat with ur friends even when not in same game (hoping on xmb acces) and acces the web browser while chatting, too, that would be nice
. is it possible for the ps3 to support aim msn and yahoo?
PLEASE give us hdmi and optical sound output in tandom, just look at avforums/ps3 to see how many want this feature
too many people keep requesting features that already exist, it gets annoying!!
go here to get a list
http://ps3-most-wanted.tripod.com
Hello,
I have 2 requests, one of them is quite popular.
1. XviD/Divx playback support.
2. Ability to “resume” dvd playback even after swapping dvd’s around. My old cheap dvd player has a resume function, which allows me to pick up from the spot when I ejected the dvd out to resume again. This feature is amiss right now, and would be appreciated greatly if introduced in a newer firmware.
Gundan
I WANT Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
ps2 games have ugly black colors, give us Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games…..
I just bought a PS3 and there is some things that I’m missing:
– (Bug) Numbers in filenames are not sorted properly. 1 2 3 4 10 20 are sorted as 1 10 2 20 3 4.
– The ability to set different preferred resolutions for games, bluray movies and dvds. I for example want games at 720p but bluray at 1080i.
– The ability to play back files with dolby digital 5.1 and dts over optical/hdmi, not only mpeg stereo
– .mkv (Matroska) support
– divx/xvid + avi support
– The dvd and blu-ray region should be allowed to change just like in a computer, instead of beeing hard-coded. Give room for five changes per disc format and then lock it down if you must. (Or rather, leave it region free)
– Remove restrictions on PAL dvds from NTSC-playstations (Pal content plays just fine if I stream it but region free PAL dvds refuse to start)
i want to see more comptablilety for more video codec’s like avi and i want to see xmb in game and change your maps to make a new map and delete a map and more stuf on de ps store and musice in game pleas do that and you while have graet console
I WANT Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
ps2 games have ugly black colors, give us Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games…..
how about posting the “top ten requests” that you said a month ago you’d “post next week”? Afraid of what it showed?
[…] on firmware 1.90 here. Also, I noticed a lot of your comments were directly related to accessing XMB features in-game. We understand this is something you want and we are working on it. For the sake of keeping all the […]
[…] on firmware 1.90 here. Also, I noticed a lot of your comments were directly related to accessing XMB features in-game. We understand this is something you want and we are working on it. For the sake of keeping all the […]
[…] some of the consistent comments in the body of this post instead of within the comments. One thing you have noticed is that under sorting your games, when you sort by creation date, it sorts by the date you […]
I WANT Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
ps2 games have ugly black colors, give us Full Range RGB HDMI for PS2 games
#810… In 2 years if a 1540p (probably a harsh true reality) TV comes out, you gonna go buy one, because then your TV will be considered old right? The point is, I have a TV that supports 1080i, but my PS3 games all play in 480p. The same resolution all the last gen consoles did. Its like buying a stereo reciever that wont play 2 channel stereo audio, only 7.1 digital. Backwards compatiability is a MUST!
I have an interesting feature request. With 1.9 out, with backgrounds and stuff, why not allow the user to take a screen shot of anything going on on the PS3. Lets say i’m playing Okami and Ammy whips into one of her iconic howls. If the PS3 could pause the system and capture that picture + use it as a background… THAT would make me happy. Not a big change but one i think that would express the unique features of the PS3.
I just bought the PS3 last night, and I think its amazing, but I have a few questions. Could anyone tell me if the PS/PS2 memory card adapter can now transfer both ways? I thought I read it in one of the updates, but I cant’ find it anywhere. Also, I think sony should add to their list of things to update the ability to backup PS/PS2 saved game data the way you can PS3 game data. Is home out yet, and if it is, how do you access it?
I wish the PS3 came with 2HDMI ports..
How about Sony conducting a poll on this blog, giving us the option to rate the importance of certain features of an update that they are working on.
This way we would hopefully get what we want a bit faster.
After all it must be really boring reading these comments (which just keep spamming).
Why would anyone want a calender? i’d prefer a clock.
I agree with #824, in game screenshot taking would be awesome. I actually was going to post that idea, but then I saw it was already here.
Something as simple as being able to play your own music on your hard drive while playing a game should be an option now. The competition is tuff yet this is a standard option on their machine which just adds to a better value overall. This is not a difficult option to add why do we not have it yet? I am standing by my PS3, but it is the little things that make the difference. One last thing, where are the good games?
Can we please get an update to allow all region PS2/PS1 games to play on the PS3? I’d love to retire my Japanese PS2.
Please?
i would love to sort my mp3s in folders like rock,hip hop,pop..Also a type of ”add to now playing list” it sux having to go back to play the next song u want..
same goes 4 video files
folders 4 music clips, movie trailers,game trailers..would be nice…thx
but other than that sony keep up the good work!!
sweet update keep up the awesome work Sony. You guys are doing a great job at delivering stuff we want and like. Thanks.
@ 767. They would have music downloads and movie downloads but i believe, correct me if im wrong. There are alot of legal, copyright issues with that kind of stuff. I think once sony sorts something out we will be able to download content, like movies, music, and such.
I bought a blue ray copy of 300 and when I opened it there was a warning that I may need a update for my BD player or the picture may not be as good. When I played the movie, the picture was awful. Through out the whole movie there was a pulsing light, and it was fuzy. I was wondering if sony was going to release a update?
Here are my favorite features for future updates:
-In game custom soundtrack
-Multiregion support for PS2 game.
-Better algorithm for upscaling PS2 games, as it’s been proven that for now there is always a lag with any of the chosen output resolution.
-Playlists management for videos, so that we don’t have to manually start each one among those we want to watch.
-Option to automatically turn off the controller when it’s idle, in case we forget to do it manually.
-Support of WMV, so that we don’t need to keep also a noisy 360 connected to the media center and ps3 can rule !
-Option to customize XMB fonts, such as shadow width and transparency, in order to keep the menus visible on bright or white wallpapers.
The sorting of the memory cards for PS/PS2 is great, but I wish you could sort them by format and alphabetically so they are easier to find when you have a lot of them. Each of my role playing games has its own memory card.
I agree with #835
Supporting WMV will make PS3 Rule over 360 over the Media Center :D
And also have a Option to Automatically turn off the controller when it’s a idle, just in case we (PS3 users) forget to manually turn it off… i know i constanally shut off my controler every time i leave the room it would be a great way to have this Option like in times from idle like 10min,15min,30min that would Be great :D
ill Keep You guys here at Playstaion.com posted on any new features that really need to be added..
Not to mention IN GAME XMB… :D
Full In Game XMB would be GREAT!!!
From your #1 Fan
oh you girls ,
the PS3 is playing avi’s stand alone already since the 1.90 update,
just transfer them to your ps3-harddisk through nero-home and about 90% of the avi’s will run.
Sony never told us , it’s not shown in the update-news , but seems to work.
funny that no-one else tried before.
oke kids , time for bed now,
good luck and goodnight.
Waldo
http://www.qb3.nl
Am I the only one that thinks the PS3 would show off more favorably to friends/potential buyers if the downloaded video from PSStore had animated icons and “readable” names minus underscores and abbreviations??
This shouldn’t be too difficult to correct Sony. Instead of “RatchetandClankTOD-1080p” How about “Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction Trailer (FullHD)” Makes the system look far more polished. As well as the default icon for video files that ae now displayed makes the otherwise beautiful XMB look like a web page full of broken image links. Sub-par.
I have seen screen shots of PSStore in EU and Japan and they don’t seem to have file names as cryptic.
I have saved my own *.mp4 video home movie files to the HDD and the animated icons look great! Too bad there are only a few of them, compared to all the vidoes I have thanks to the great PS Store. Too bad I can’t show them off to friends cuz it looks dull, drab, and quite frankly, broken. Until you fire one up… but then you have to read some cryptic name of the file you downloaded. I have been correcting them myself for some time hoping that one day I will download and the file will already have an acceptable “Display” name.
PLEASE HELP!!!
Any chance we can have more friends? I believe the limit is 50, and I belong to a very large gaming community, so I’d love to see that number bumped up significantly.
#839 is it 2 hard to change the name your self…:)
Not to Mention u Can change the Icons of each Video… u dont have to keep the old Icon u can have a 30 second clip of each video… check it out for your self silly :D
One more important bug I noticed about the upscaling of PS2 games:
-When a game offer the option to use progressive scan, if I apply it while the ps3 is already upscaling between 720p and 1080p, then the upscaling process stops and the display goes to 480p.
So I guess that upscaling is only compatible with 480i mode in ps2 games, and it would be great if it could upscale from 480p mode, as I guess it could reduce significantly the lag from the deinterlacing algorithm in the upscaling process.
Normally when a ps2 game supports 480p, you can switch to it without accessing the options menu, by pressing triangle and cross buttons at the boot of the game.
However I couldn’t try this to see if the ps3 still reverts back to 480p, as when I start a ps2 game, the sixaxis joypad is turned off, and I have time to turn it on again only after the game is started.
Thanks Sony first for actually updating the ps3/psp firmware so steadily! I know a lot of minor things will be addressed in future upgrades like playlists or the time/date in the XMB but there are a few major things I feel sony needs for the casual ps3 user.
#1 In-game XMB/soundtracks! (360 did it from launch, people expect to be able to do it on all games, exspecially ps3 which is “currently” $100 more than xbox 360 sku)
#2 Additional VIDEO CODECS outside of the Mpeg-4 standards. (The vast majority of windows users use .wmv, most internet videos are 1 of the following 3 formats, casual ps3 owners expext them to work, just like they expected .wma to work from the start)
-.wmv9 (Pro and HD)
-.mov
-.avi
#3Last but not least by anymeans is a greatly ENHANCED WEB BROWSER. Again casual ps3 owners expect it work, and not be slower than most computers they uses and less functional for simply viewing. A couple needed features;
-Full Flash 9 support
-“Speed” please!, feels like a ps2 browser only in 1080p!
Again thanks for the support, I just wanted to give a casual ps3 gamers/users viewpoint. Althought there are other things, I feel that these 3 categories need to be addressed first. Thanks for actually listening!
Hi, really like the blog. It’s nice to have that open feeling.
Anyways, I don’t know if these comments are still being looked at, but I have a suggestion for the PS3 that I don’t think has been mentioned yet.
There needs to be some way to fast forward to specific points in music files. I was listening to the Full Moon Show a few episodes ago on my PSP. When I got home, I wanted to continue listening from where I left off on my PS3, and I was surprised to find that I could only fast forward at 2x speed. So, in order to get back to the one hour or so mark that I had listened up to, you can imagine I had to sit around for a long time.
So my suggestion is either faster fast forward, or even better, some way to jump to specific times.
And of course, all the other stuff people have mentioned would be nice too.
great to see the in-game XMB being addresed
Here’s a few requests which would be good in the next update.
-Bering able to choose the colour of the standard background, like the PSP
-Having a faster web browser and all the latest plug-ins, i.e flash player and quicktime. (something i’ve heard mentioned alot.
– It would also be cool if we could use our own music in games, via the in-game XMB
Thanks for listening to us Sony
For upcoming firmware updates, are you considering letting us play xvid/divx content? This is a feature a lot of people would want I think. I assume one of your remarks here are the illegal downloading, but remember that this format is also used for i.e. homevideos, legal downloadable content from the web etc. Secondly, you can watch xvid/divx through a linux installation. In practice I think you’re just making life more difficult for consumers, without really preventing any illegal downloading… Any comments on this?
Anti-Aliasing for PS2 games…yes I know that the games already have that but you guys could improve it right? Just like in the P.C.
Final Fantasy XII would look really great with higher anti-aliasing.
It seems Sony is ignoring the downscaling of 720p games on 480p/1080i TVs. Why is this not being address. It is cheaper to buy a Xbox 3fixme than a new HD TV.
nice update, though i do kinda wish that i can opt to keep the wispy haze thing along with my custom background(just for continuity, i guess).
a lot of the things i would like to see have already been mentioned but i haven’t really heard anyone bring a solution to the table for faster downloads. is there any way that a proprietary, bittorrentesque distributed download system be set up for updates and free downloads(like trailers and demos)? i think that this would take an awful lot of strain off of the network servers, especially with updates, being that most people like to get updates as soon as they find they’re available. i also think that people would be able to get these files much faster than with the current system in place. i don’t think it would be necessary to have too many options available to the user, except for upload speed and the option to be a part of it of course. i’m pretty sure world of warcraft uses this type of system for their updates. i don’t see too many reasons why it wouldn’t be feasible. if you wanted you could even have an incentive program set up for those who upload lots of psn material to others(like credit added to their network store account, for example).
a system like this could also be a benefit to developers. the workings of this type of system could be a part of playstation dev kits and it would be easier for game studios to implement incremental updates(in game) without going through the process of getting said update up on the psn or using an awful lot of their own server bandwidth.
just a thought.
i’m glad to see that Sony is not only hearing us but, you are doing some thing about it! you’re all ready making the PS3 a must have in my house!
keep up the good work!