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Home PlayStation 2 updates

Attention 1080p HD owners: Sony's PS3 firmware update will cream your pants
1:15 PM on 05.23.2007, World Famous 55 comments

     PlayStation 2

Whether you blindly hate them or not, you have got to give Sony credit for at least doing all they can to constantly update the PlayStation 3 to increase its worth for not only those who shelled out $600, but for those still wondering if they should. In their latest firmware update (available tomorrow), Sony does some very delicious things in the way of HD upscaling. Check out the details from the press release:

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today availability of the latest version of the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) firmware. Version 1.80 features upscaling of PlayStation® and PlayStation 2 games, and DVD movies up to full 1080p HD resolution when viewed on a compatible HD TV set.

The capability to upscale DVDs to HD quality is a feature normally only associated with top range DVD players, and its inclusion in the latest firmware upgrade now allows PS3 owners with an existing DVD collection to dramatically enhance the viewing pleasure of their DVD collection when viewed through a compatible HD TV set1. Not only can DVD movies be enhanced to full 1080p HD quality but so too will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation games be upscaled to provide much improved gaming pleasure.

Full press release after the jump. 

The company details:

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today availability of the latest version of the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) firmware. Version 1.80 features upscaling of PlayStation® and PlayStation 2 games, and DVD movies up to full 1080p HD resolution when viewed on a compatible HD TV set.

The capability to upscale DVDs to HD quality is a feature normally only associated with top range DVD players, and its inclusion in the latest firmware upgrade now allows PS3 owners with an existing DVD collection to dramatically enhance the viewing pleasure of their DVD collection when viewed through a compatible HD TV set1. Not only can DVD movies be enhanced to full 1080p HD quality but so too will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation games be upscaled to provide much improved gaming pleasure.

In a comprehensive update to PS3’s already impressive capabilities, Version 1.80 also allows users to enjoy Remote Play on their PSP across the internet, allowing them to access their PS3 anywhere in the world where a broadband internet connection is available2.

Version 1.80 also allows users on a home network to seamlessly view and play rich media content such as images, music and video on their PS3, that is stored on their DLNA3 enabled devices such as PCs and laptops elsewhere in the house, reinforcing PS3’s credentials as a home entertainment hub that truly deserves pride of place in the Living Room.

A host of other enhancements include the ability to print photo images stored on PS3’s hard disk or inserted storage media to a selection of Epson printers.

PS3 owners will be able to upgrade their PS3 with the latest Version 1.80 firmware from 24th May 2007.

Notes

1. DVD-ROM (including DVD Video content) can only be upscaled with HDMI compatible TV sets.

2. Use of Remote Play requires a powered up PS3 with Version 1.80 as well as PSP firmware version 3.50 which will be available at the end of May.

3. DLNA – Digital Living Network Alliance. For more info on DLNA, please see http://www.dlna.org/en/consumer/home

 


Next page: More PS3 stories




bleep's Avatar
bleep at 05/23/2007 13:21
Damn!! upscaling all my PS, PS2 and DVDs to HD!
Can't argue with that! And frankly Im actually interested in
the possibilities that the Remote Play provide.
subnet6's Avatar
subnet6 at 05/23/2007 13:22
"The capability to upscale DVDs to HD quality is a feature normally only associated with top range DVD players"

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7678694&type=product&id=1134702980301

$79 DVD player does this out of the box. No firmware update needed.

Also, this quote made me chuckle...

"DVD movies (can) be enhanced to full 1080p HD quality"

Um, tell me why I need to buy blu-ray movies again?
Namelessted's Avatar
Namelessted at 05/23/2007 13:22
Not to shit on Sony here, its good they are updating and giving more features. but upscaling in general kind of doesn't work at good as it sounds. My parents have an entire sony entertainment system at home. full surround sound, a 50" Sony Wega 1080i HDTV, and an expensive Sony DVD player that upscales to 1080i and has an HDMI output that goes straight into the TV. Don't get me wrong, putting a DVD into the player does make it look better than a standard 480p DVD player connected through component BUT it isn't has great as they make it sound. It still doesn't even come close to watching a blu-ray or HD-DVD if true full high definition.

upscaling is better than not having it at all, yes. but if you have a PS3, you should invest in buying some blu-ray movies.
JamesSorensen's Avatar
JamesSorensen at 05/23/2007 13:22
ooo streaming media too, gotta check into that DLNA stuff...

nice FW update and Warhawk beta tomorrow..... excited is me
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 05/23/2007 13:27
LoL @ skanker
ShadowXOR's Avatar
ShadowXOR at 05/23/2007 13:32
So does Summa officially work for Sony now or is it just under the table? He does nothing but lift Sony up (despite their mistakes) and shit on Nintendo (despite their success). How about you complement and shit on both of them for their respective pros and cons? I think I'm asking far too much from Summa but it's worth a shot.

Or you could just stop posting, I would be happy with either one.
dv8withn8's Avatar
dv8withn8 at 05/23/2007 13:36
Umm, neat? Now maybe if the PS3 folks would focus on creating decent games. Right now the PS3 is nothing more than a media box.
ironic_name's Avatar
ironic_name at 05/23/2007 13:45
Yeah, what IS up with Summa posting so much "Yays Sony" stuff? It's like how the Ain't It Cool guys fawn over Sony movies.
FatBologna's Avatar
FatBologna at 05/23/2007 13:50
Yeah, my 360s HD-DVD player also upscales beautifully. I've got 1600 DVDs and 7 HD-DVDs and there's a reason for that. The difference is only slightly noticeable. I really think both formats are kind of pointless when the upscaling abilities of the present hardware is enough to make my standard dvds look so nice. I've already seen advertising for 2 disc blue-ray DVDs! What the fuck is that? Doesn't that sort of negate the point of the format? I think this whole format war is about 5-10 years too early. I'll be happy paying $20-25 for my standard DVDs as opposed to $40-50 for HD or Blue-ray for the next few years until all this shit blows over.
Truepatriot's Avatar
Truepatriot at 05/23/2007 13:53
mmmmmm lisa raye
Philonious's Avatar
Philonious at 05/23/2007 14:00
Where the hell are you paying $40-$50 for BLU-ray movies? I live in Canada and we pay $29.99. And if you really can't tell the difference between a upscaled DVD and HD-DVD or BD then I'd suggest you get your eyes checked. It the same difference as digital cable vs. HD cable. HUGE difference if you have an HDTV.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 05/23/2007 14:04
@subnet6

hope that 79$ dvd player enhances ur ps1-2 games as well :)

FatBologna's Avatar
FatBologna at 05/23/2007 14:08
I have a Samsung 32" Hdtv and the difference through VGA isn't all that huge. I'm not saying it's not there, but it's just not noticeable enough to me yet. The fact that I have so many dvds and usually buy 10 at a time does make the price difference an issue as well. I admit that i exaggerated the price a little, but I payed $40 for my copy of the Departed, and I have seen a lot of titles go for that price, admittedly there are cheaper titles out there as well. I'll pay $50 for a Criterion disc but not for a regular hollywood movie that I can get at Roger's a month later for $10.
Dennen's Avatar
Dennen at 05/23/2007 14:11
I don't care much about the DVDs... Upscaling the games, now that's something I am looking forward to, and I am excited for.

I have, personally, read more than enough anti-PS3 commentation from Destructoid. I would rather see positive notations and positive wordings than a nice announcement and a bunch of flaming Sony throught it for no good reason.. Such was the case a couple months ago, i'm glad it's done with.
Dennen's Avatar
Dennen at 05/23/2007 14:13
Post-Notation... When I say anti-PS3 commentation, I mean from the writer or "Blogger", not the comments in the comment section.
Toneman's Avatar
Toneman at 05/23/2007 14:28
We have lame fanboy commenters that get all pissed and emo when anybody posts anything. Doesn't matter what the topic is. It's not the blogger, it's the retarded community members.
Falkonite's Avatar
Falkonite at 05/23/2007 14:44
@Toneman- so true, so true.
Being a fan of a system and loyalty is great, but I don't understand why people, (including Summa as of late) are so down with calling other systems "lesser" the PS3's sixaxis is a "lesser" control scenario than the Wii Mote system because blah blah blah, the PS3 is superior to the 360 processing power etc etc. If they were all trying to be the same damn thing then yes there would be cause for argument, but THEY'RE NOT! Just enjoy your gaming experiences and be glad the industry is trying to innovate itself, on all fronts. Let's see a little less console bashing and a little more love for the game!
TheStripe's Avatar
TheStripe at 05/23/2007 14:44
Hey, that's not very nice; I'm one of those retarded community members. That's why I don't own a PS3 yet. ;)

I really don't know about "cream my pants" when we're just talking about upscaling DVD's and old games. Upscaling doesn't mean it's adding any polygons or increasing the texture resolution, it's just bumping up the video resolution overall. That will probably help the image a bit on PS2 games, but the difference in PS1 games will most likely be negligible, with the most dramatic improvement on DVD's, which is hardly spooge-worthy. I'm assuming it will upscale to 720p or 1080i as well, since of the 5% of gamers out there that own HD sets, even fewer own 1080p sets. (Myself included.)

I read these PS3 posts in the hope that something Sony does is going to justify my purchase. Unfortunately, all I've really learned is that they're trying to pacify gamers with improvements to the PS2 and DVD player functionality since they can't get a decent PS3 title out the door until 2008.
JamesSorensen's Avatar
JamesSorensen at 05/23/2007 14:46
BOO HOO

just go to fuckin joystiq if you can't handle the Summa

they cry when Sony doesn't upscale, and they cry when they do... sure it's the internet but damn
davinder's Avatar
davinder at 05/23/2007 14:49
upscaling is a serious plus for the ps3, not only for dvds, but for ps one and ps2 games!? Thats awesome. As for everyone saying "big deal" it is a fucking big deal. For all you wii fanboys, opera internet browser didnt come with the wii...you had to download it! Meaning you had to "update" it to be able to get on the internet with it. When that came out it was all praises from the fanboys. Upscaling does not mean real hd...it means its been stretched and fine tuned to make it look nicer. For all those idiots saying "then whats the point of blu-ray"...do i need to even justify that one. If you want a true hd experience then go with blu-ray. Can people be so quick to judge at the same time making them look more ignorant than past?
zardoz's Avatar
zardoz at 05/23/2007 15:04
All this is well and good, and for high end DVD playback it's great. BUT, this further illustrates why Sony have gone off the boil with the PS3, the games industry is not a multimedia industry despite Sony trying to push it that way.

There is only a superficial connection between interactive entertainment and other forms of digital entertainment, Sony have tried to cover all bases and in doing this they have confused themselves. The original Playstation was the perfect console in many ways, and I don't know why Sony have moved further and further away from their own sucessful blueprint.

I would argue that the PS2's huge success was on the back of the PS1, I reckon Sony thought that the PS2 model was the way forward when in actual fact it was always the PS1.
wonky360's Avatar
wonky360 at 05/23/2007 15:06
Bla, my HD upsacaled player was under £100 and a good brand (samsung). The power consumption on watching my player versus the PS3 must be fairly sizable.
Who buys a PS3 to watch upscaled video??
PS3 needs GAMES, nothing more. PS3 is looking more desperate than ever.
stevenjazz787's Avatar
stevenjazz787 at 05/23/2007 15:21
So, does it upscale to 720p and 1080i also?
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 05/23/2007 15:32
One more thing to have to correct people about now. One less thing for fanboys to bitch about/ one more reasons for fanboys to make up reasons why it's no good. Case in point ^ you dumbasses.
Android8675's Avatar
Android8675 at 05/23/2007 15:34
Well if you take the press release literally, no. Says 1080p via HDMI, nothing about 720p or 1080i or analog signals.

Read the story, thought for a second that it might be worth it, but then I thought, i'd rather pay my rent or something.
Nick Chester's Avatar
Nick Chester at 05/23/2007 16:06
I am also curious as to whether or not it will upscale to 1080p exclusively or if it will also do 720p and 1080i. If it's 1080p only, then that sucks for people who don't own 1080p sets. I'm excited about this as the next guy, though.

Bring it on -- I have an entire back catalog of PS2 games I need to get around to.
Grimspoon's Avatar
Grimspoon at 05/23/2007 16:08
Adding 1080p upscaling isn't about Sony trying to push some multimedia agenda, its about Sony implemeting a feature that should have been available out of the box.

Don't whine about Sony adding 1080p upscaling, it's a good thing no matter how you look at it. There is no down side. Nothing is lost, only gained.

I can't wait to see some side by side screenshots of PS1 and PS2 games.
DoctorEuphony's Avatar
DoctorEuphony at 05/23/2007 16:24
@brainderailment

do you contribute anything useful other than name calling in Sony threads? seriously....
donkeykong's Avatar
donkeykong at 05/23/2007 16:30
Hey guys, Summa brings the news and that's good. He says good things about nintendo and puts a negative spin on them, sure. And maybe there's a bit of a positive spin here... "Whether you blindly hate them or not, you have got to give Sony credit for at least doing all they can to constantly update the PlayStation 3 to increase its worth for not only those who shelled out $600, but for those still wondering if they should"

He's right. Maybe we don't care about his opinion but maybe he doesn't want to bring the facts without including his two cents. Never thought I'd defend him but it Has been a while since he had anything bad to say about Nintendo and he did kind of brace us for his Sony plug. All he wants is for you to love him.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 05/23/2007 17:04
@donkeykong yep u r right... summa is a sport... we should all give him some luv.

Joe Burling's Avatar
Joe Burling at 05/23/2007 17:05
First of all, KUDOS to Sony!!!! This is a HUGE step in the right direction.

Still, the biggest feature I think they could possibly add to the PS3 (bigger than Home) would be to make the XMB accessible from games. This would open the door to cross-game chat and possibly streaming music from your PC during a game. I 100% refuse to put a single media file on the HDD of my console. That was one of the things I've always loved most about the 360 (streaming capabilities and all accessible in-game), and one of the things I hated most about the PS3 (other than the high price, lack of rumble, lack of games, and PSN).

Now, we see rumble coming. The games are coming. Hopefully, a very large price drop will come. I see hope for the PSN.


Also, I agree with DrEuphony... brainderailment, give it a rest.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 05/23/2007 17:06
oh hellz na, were giving summa sum luv!

mrberns's Avatar
mrberns at 05/23/2007 17:40
@ Canadian Geese

According to the "leaked" list of features that are going to be added in the 2.0 firmware update access to the XMB from games is going to be added.

Also, why is it that only the 360 is allowed to be praised for updates? Its never a bad thing when Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft decide to fix something that wrong, or add new features. Theres no reason to hate on someone when they do something good, just because you don't like the company. Save it for when they do something wrong, everyone will oblige sooner or later.
Joe Burling's Avatar
Joe Burling at 05/23/2007 18:34
mrberns, I heard about that "leaked" list. I also heard it turned out to be false.

There is definitely a lot of hate getting thrown at the PS3, but this is the kind of thing you hear with any update on any platform. Some people praise it; others hate on it; and others say "next" and focus on the other things they want. Look what happens every time MS updates their backward compatibility list: most of the comments are about the games that still haven't been updated. It's just the nature of the beast.
LordRegulus's Avatar
LordRegulus at 05/23/2007 18:56
Alright guys. Everybody just shut yer damn chili-holes for a sec and let me lay this out nice and easy for ya:

Rez + 1080p = ALMIGHTY WIN

I rest my case. Now shut up before your heads start bleeding.
Dizzy's Avatar
Dizzy at 05/23/2007 19:50
I think this is awesome news personally. Can't wait to break out the ps2 stash.
Barbara's Avatar
Barbara at 05/23/2007 20:05
These are great features. Very nice indeed. I welcome them. Now I can buy Odin Speher and okamui and play them in nice looking-moving pictures.

love.


lick.


chains.
bobthecat23's Avatar
bobthecat23 at 05/23/2007 20:52
wow soo much summa hate just because he doesnt like the shitty ass wii
mentho's Avatar
mentho at 05/23/2007 21:46
if you have a 1080p TV you're already getting 1080p upscaling on everything. Fixed-pixel displays have built-in scalers. The real question is if the PS3's scaler will be as good or better than your TV's built-in scaler. Conceivably the PS3's scaling could make your games and movies look worse than what you're getting now, or it could make things look better, like with the 360's scaling.
generaldane's Avatar
generaldane at 05/23/2007 21:46
will this make my dreams play in 1080p at 60fps?
Cory_t_'s Avatar
Cory_t_ at 05/23/2007 22:00
That DLNA website is pretty vague. Am I to understand that I'll have to buy another device to get my PC to stream to my PS3?
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 05/23/2007 22:40
@ bobthecat23:

The Summa hate is because he trolled the hell out of Ninty fanboys for months for the fun of it, and like the fusion reaction in Spider-Man 2 the backlash has now become self-sustaining.

What I'm trying to say is we need to dunk the entire website into the New York harbor, and Spider-Man 2 kicked ass.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 05/24/2007 01:44
I love^W hate^W love^W hate^W ...something this website so much.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 05/24/2007 02:11
@FatBologna: Scroll back up and read #1 in the Notes section — DVD upscaling won’t work over VGA (and how’d you get the PS3 to output over VGA, anyway?)...unless, of course, you’re referring to your 360, which I know can output 1080p over VGA.

I’m really excited about this...God of War II is going to look fucking unbelievable. Hell, my DVDs look good enough at 480p on my 26" Samsung LCD...I can’t wait to see ’em at 720p or 1080i. Of course, that’s assuming that the PS3 doesn’t only upscale to 1080p...that would blow, as TheStripe mentioned — I don’t know anyone with a 1080p HDTV, and I only know four more people with PS3s (including me).
TheStripe's Avatar
TheStripe at 05/24/2007 10:08
I wasn't bashing anyone, sony or updates, I'm just saying that the only people that are excited about this are those that already own a PS3. It's not a compelling reason for those on the edge of making a purchase to go ahead and take the plunge, either. Apparently because I was on the wii posts, that makes me a fanboy, and anything that I have to say about the PS3 unsupported console hate. Granted, I have had some lapses in judgement, and I've done my share of trolling. It's just that this particular post has absolutely no information in it for %90 of gamers. If you own a PS3, you know about this already. If you don't, there's no reason to care.
skullivan's Avatar
skullivan at 05/24/2007 14:49
My blind hatred of Sony will be dramatically lessened when they release a firmware update that will upscale PS3 games to 1080i/p. That way I could actually play games in HD.

I shelled out $600 for the system so I could play games in 1080i, not 480p. I'm not going to be happy when MGS4 or FFXIII come out and only support 720p.

That's really my only beef with the PS3, I'm just glad Blu-ray is all 1080p.
watup's Avatar
watup at 05/25/2007 01:28
there's so many ps3 haters here. they always bitch and moan whenever something great happens to the ps3? i dunno why they do this. jealous maybe? people who support ps3 and shiz never bash the 360 because they never get new features. ^-^ the DLNA is free. you just need windows media player 11 and share media and ps3 recognizes the media server. it's sooo cragy. technology these days... for now, sony is working on hardware sales... come fall time, games games games, which will mean more bitching and moaning from this site... like some people, they bring up my xbox360 hd-dvd already upscales to 1080p. so what!?!?! sony is awesome to give us a free firmware update for upscaling games/DVD to 1080p... 360, you need to buy all these add ons. live, wifi, charging docks, fans, etc. ps3 already has these. ive been just buying games and blu ray now... ps3 with free online, usb charging, fans are great..
TheStripe's Avatar
TheStripe at 05/25/2007 07:41
"games games games" like MGS4 or FFXIII? Because that's what everyone is waiting for. Oh wait, that's 2008. I don't understand why the Sony fanboys go absolutely gaga for some basic features that, for $600, should have been included out of the box. And has anyone been able to confirm that the update allows upscaling to 1080i and 720p? This seems like amatuer shit to me, but I can't confirm or deny it anywhere on the internets.
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