PSP Firmware v2.00 - your thoughts

[Nu-Eclipse]

I'm sure you guys all know about the forthcoming Ceramic White PSP and the fact that it will come built with Firmware v2.00 as standard. For those who don't....

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3662

While I personally think that the PSP looks pretty cool in white, I can't see myself shelling out just to own a second machine. But, (and this may be a surprise to some on this forum) I'm seriously tempted to upgrade my firmware (currently v1.50 on a Jap PSP) as v2.00 looks like it will be the first genuinely decent firmware upgrade released.

Now don't get me wrong, I like my homebrew as much as the next PSP owner, but the novelty does seem to be wearing off. After all, I can't get over how bad the SNES emus are, the MD emus aren't any great shakes, MAME is as good as non-existent and trying to get ahold of ISOs for the (admittedly good) Neo-Geo CD Emu is a hassle in itself. The PCE and NES Emus are clearly the pick of the bunch but the former won't play some games at all (1941 Counter Attack & Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, I'm looking at you!).

Surely no-one can deny that the features on v2.00 are decent to an extent. It grates a bit that the browser won't support Flash (Industry Standard, after all) but genuine portable wireless WWW Access and significantly improved "Movie & Music on Memory Stick" features are hard to sniff at IMO. What do you guys think?

Also, it looks like v2.00 may well be forced on PSP users in the next wave of major releases. (Winning Eleven 9 Ubiquitous Edition, perhaps?) Like I said before, I'm highly unlikely to splash out for another PSP just to preserve my homebrew rights, but I know that many users on this forum are seriously considering it. Surely two PSPs are a bit much for the sake of some half-decent emulators?

Over to you guys....

[JamesBelsey]

Well, I was going to try out some of the homebrew stuff on my 1.50 PSP, but I don't think I'll bother now, the thought of web browsing, AAC playback and h.264 video are enough to get me to 2.00!

James.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Aren't there some decent emus on GP32? Could pick up one of those for portable emu goodness, or maybe a Pocket PC of some kind.

This new firmware upgrade enables a new kind of video playback doesn't it? Any use for users of xVid?

[g-funk]

I tend to think that the novetly of the new 2.0 firmware features will ware off a lot quicker than the homebrew stuff. The homebrew scene will only grow.

You'd be surprised how much you need flash for general web surfing, and to be honest I think not having a touch screen will make surfing on the psp a hassle.

Not looked into the other stuff 2.0 brings though.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I tend to think that the novetly of the new 2.0 firmware features will ware off a lot quicker than the homebrew stuff. The homebrew scene will only grow.

You'd be surprised how much you need flash for general web surfing, and to be honest I think not having a touch screen will make surfing on the psp a hassle.

Maybe, but the homebrew stuff on the whole hasn't impressed me that much so far. In any case, I think it's inevitable that Sony will use the next wave of big PSP game releases to force v2.00 on all PSP users. They've had their fingers burnt big-time with the emergence of game piracy on the PSP (which homebrew was always going to lead to, let's not kid ourselves). Therefore, most PSP homebrew nuts have a choice of either not buying any new games at all, or buying a 2nd PSP, both of which seem ridiculous to me, tbh.

I know that PSP hackers around the world have worked miracles over the last year or so, but I have a feeling that the going might get tougher for them in terms of trying to hack v2.00 - Sony obviously feel that they can ill-afford to have their most detailed firmware upgrade to date undermined by homebrew and/or software piracy.

I agree with you on the Flash issue for the web surfing - why Flash support isn't included as standard for the new browser is mind-boggling. That said, you know that most techno-junkies are going to be suckered in by the lure of wi-fi WWW surfing on the PSP. As for keying in URLs on the browser, while I agree with you that a touchscreen would have been a godsend, I personally don't have a problem with using the default dial to type on the PSP. Indeed, the PSP Browser has "http://" templates stored. http://psp.ign.com/articles/635/635528p1.html - Indeed, judging by the videoclip at IGN.com, the browser doesn't seem all that bad for one that doesn't have Flash support.

Further details of the features of the v2.00 upgrade are here. http://psp.ign.com/articles/635/635505p1.html

[in5ane]

I've been looking forward to web browsing (and maybe some sort of IM client) on the PSP for ages, to play about with on the sofa away from the PC.

The homebrew stuff, while cool in theory, is kinda crappy at the mo. At the end of the day, I'd rather play PSP games on the go, and emulate on the PC at home.

[wonderboy]

Hi Guys.
Agree with a lot said, sounds a real tempting update. The
best feature for me (anime nut) is the AVC codec. Hopefully this is fully
implemented standard. Making it easier to encode too. The net features
are pretty cool. As Kotatsu Neko said, pick up a gp32 or something for
emu's. I've a feeling that everyone will have to update come the better
games.

The only homebrew stuff i've actually found useful. Is the Pixie e-book
text reader. Hopefully there add a txt reader with a v2.01, when they
add flash to the browser. The emu's are great, but there a bit new yet.
Hopefully, the someone will find a hole in the v2.00 firmware, then we'll
all be happy, eh..

[wonderboy]

This new firmware upgrade enables a new kind of video playback doesn't it? Any use for users of xVid?

AVC is .h264 codec for sony's hdtv. Hopefully, the guys who make 3GP
converter and PSPvideo9 will add the option. Just after the release of
the update. If sony has stuck to the industry standard, which they didn't
for the current .mp4's on the PSP. Then should be easy enough encoding.
One drawback though is it's a bit slow to encode something. I've seen
the Quicktime preview release compress video and is it slow. (Any Mac
users, using it, if so is it as slow as the windows version ?) At least there's
x264 out there an open source version. Which is way, faster...



Just noticed on the video over at IGN. The AVC.mp4s are called
MAQ00001.MP4 and go in the /MP_ROOT/100ANV01 directory on the
PSP. Pretty much the same system as everyone has been using so far
with the .mp4 files.

[martTM]

Personally, I'm not that fussed about homebrew - I've got it all in other more reliable and playable forms elsewhere anyway, and playing it on the move doesn't really appeal to me.

That said, while I really like the idea of 2.0, I've found the PSP's wi-fi capabilities and connection to be disappointing at best. For instance, I can use my PSP to detect the wi-fi point at work from my desk... but then when trying to use the download section of WipEout Pure, the PSP won't pick it up. I have to move and stand literally in the middle of the room in order to get a good signal, and that's bollocks. Furthermore, actually accessing pages takes an age - about four/five minutes to download a 5mb file? What if the page I want to look at is embedded with pictures that size? I'd be there forever... and the battery would probably run out in the meantime.

It's a lose/lose situation for me, really. That said, I really fancy a white PSP.

[segages]

Mmm I think I'll pass on this. Or at least wait until something like GTA forces an update on me. The browsing sounds like it'll be clunky and without flash I don't see the point really. I use my PSP for gaming and watching vids which I can do already with the bonus of homebrew stuff which I'm sure will get better.

Unless someone finds a way of downgrading firmware, I'll be on the lookout for a second (no 'value pack' bollocks) PSP.

[muddy]

i'm gonna go for the 2.0 update, as i like the idea of being wireless for email/internet with a no-fuss browser. As martTM says, I've got all the games on other formats so won't be pining for them too much, and besides... i have Lumines

There isn't *that* much flash content on web sites. There's none on here, right? or on BBC news, or football forums... or GMail and Flickr basics. Think about what sites you actually surf, and if they use Flash as their main navigation.

If they do use Flash heavily, threaten to take them to court for breaking the Disability Discrimination Act and not providing a version of their site for non-flash users!

[Nu-Eclipse]

Unless someone finds a way of downgrading firmware, I'll be on the lookout for a second (no 'value pack' bollocks) PSP.

And you personally think that owning 2 PSPs is practical just for the sake of some clunky emus? How much are you looking to pay for a second one?

True, the homebrew can get better, but a drastic improvement has to be made IMO - I'm personally just not impressed with the homebrew emulators so far.

[Extra Terrestrial]

If the SNES and MegaDrive Emus were running in a smooth form, then I would not update to the V2.00 unless I am forced to when the EU launch brings out a game that requires the update.

To be honest, I am playing Lumines, WipEout Pure, Ridge Racer and THUG2: Remix more than the EMUs as I enjoy playing the games on the move and has quick loading times compared to Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee, Mercury, Metal Gear Ac!d and Darkstalkers Chronicle.

[Mr Fujisawa]

are full rez videos possible yet? will v2 make this possible?

[killerseven]

I think people may be being a little short sighted in ditching homebrew so soon...

The emu's released so far are barely touching the PSPs hardware, and there are likely to be huge leaps in performance when they figure out how to do so.

And its not just emulators, I imagine all the functionality of fw2.0 could be easily reproduced and expanded upon by the homebrew community ... given time.

I guess I'd just warn against people blindly rushing to update again, as this time I doubt there will be a way back.