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PSP: Firmware 2.6 out.

W

Wollan

Member
Firmware 2.6 has been released. Updated features include:

- [RSS Channel] has been added as a feature under [Network]
- [Simplified Chinese (GB18030)] and [Traditional Chinese (Big5)] have been added as options to [Encoding] under [View] in the [Internet Browser] menu bar*.
*Characters may be indistinct in some cases when these encoding options are selected.
-[Volume Adjustment] has been added as a feature to [Location Free Player]
-You can now download video data that supports copyright protection using the [Internet Browser]
-WMA has been added as a codec that can be played under [Music]. (This applies to music data saved on Memory Stick.)

Note that you must adjust system setting to enable playback of WMA format music data. A connection to the Internet is required to adjust the setting.

PS! I haven't personaly updated to this one yet.
 
Wow, WMA support? Surprising. I still don't really understand RSS, but that's cool too.

Seems like Sony is really going all out with the PSP, as far as continuing to add functionality to it. I wish they would release a few more PDA-ish features, like a calander, notepad, and calculator.
 
Sony looks to be making all the right moves with regards to the PSP as a portable media device. So much so that I think people's lack of faith towards Sony delivering with the PS3 is unwarranted.
 
This is so bizarre. Making actual cool updates and adding functionality is so unSonylike, especially after the "go fuck yourselves" attitude they adopted with the PSX hardware.
 
all they need to do now is support the flash player and I will upgrade away!

*and be able to write off my PSP on my taxes! :D




**scratch that, I will just buy another one for 'compatability testing' and expense it! :D
 
Oh man, the RSS feature kicks so much ass its not even funny. Still wouldnt warrent me purchasing a PSP, but this is definitely a kick ass feature, espcially for all those podcast listeners.
 
The hackers need to keep up the pace. Every time they crack the firmware, Sony has to give us new features!

A few more cracks and we'll get divx support!
 
Well, if the homebrew crews would come out with applications that match these, that would be another reason why not to upgrade. :D
 
Shit, I was thinking of RSS just in terms of webpages, didn't even think about podcasts! Damn, I have an iPod, but this is a friggin great feature. Podcasts seriously add so much value to my iPod. Does the PSP keep subscriptions for the podcasts you have? And more importantly, do they update over wi-fi? If yes to the latter, holy shit, that is huge.

Also, would this mean that you can subscribe to video podcasts as well? That would be a huge plus for me, because I've got an iPod photo and have been really wanting to pick up an iPod video. If this will give me those features I'll be extremely happy, and actually be using my PSP consistently again. Damn, now I really want to get a 1-2 gig memory stick.. :'(
 
Andy787 said:
Does the PSP keep subscriptions for the podcasts you have? And more importantly, do they update over wi-fi?
Click to expand...
you subscribe to RSS podcast "channels" through the Browser app first. you then use the RSS Channel app to list and stream available content (the app will list up to the most recent 100 podcasts). subscriptions are indeed refreshed over Wifi, as is the audio streaming.


Andy787 said:
Also, would this mean that you can subscribe to video podcasts as well?
Click to expand...
firmware 2.60 only supports audio podcasts.

Edit:
here is the official RSS manual.
 
ddksanrokumaru said:
upgrading one of my PSPs now..I hope the RSS support is worth it!
Click to expand...

Let us know what the RSS support is like - does it only support audio (i.e. podcasts) or does it support normal text-based RSS feeds as well?

EDIT: I see from the post just before mine that it's audio only. Pity, but I guess it's still a fairly useful feature for some people.

It's cool that Sony have gone back to actually adding features to new firmware versions instead of merely blocking homebrew apps.
 
Thanks for the info, jwang. Well, I updated, and I didn't see it mentioned, but another very nice feature was listed in the update history: input history for online forms accessed through the Internet can now be saved. Not a big deal to most, but as someone who has been stuck on the PSP's browser for considerable amounts of time before, that is a godsend to browsing on the PSP. Kind of useless, but you can also now set the time and date to synchronize online, ala Windows.

Anyway, on to the real meat of this update; the RSS feeds. As jwang mentioned, it is only audio feeds currently, but I must say, I am very impressed. I think this may be the first thing that the PSP actually does better than the iPod, at least in a few respects. The big advantage of the PSP's podcast capability obviously lies in the wi-fi integration, which really takes the whole concept to another level. This is what podcasting needed --a way to sync up to new content wirelessly. Fucking awesome.

That said, there are definitely some drawbacks to how the PSP handles it. For one, the fact that the podcasts are streamed instead of downloaded is a double edged sword; while it is very, very nice that all of your podcast channels require virtually no space from your memory stick (especially for me since I'm still using the 32 meg stick it came with :p), at the same time, if you have no access to a hotspot you're SOL. That said, having already subscribed to TWIT, Diggnation, and a few of my other favorite podcasts, I've tried it out multiple times and the streaming actually functions very well, starting the podcast within 2-3 seconds, and from my playtime so far, having no interuptions/disconnects (and it saves your place in the podcast as well, just in case). Also worth noting is that the wi-fi connection near me is extremely flaky. Adding podcasts to your channel list is extremely simple and straight forward, too; simply clicking the RSS/XML icon and selecting yes adds it to your list, along with all of the available episodes, which are updated whenever you access it. I would at least very much like to see an option to download podcasts in a future update, but as is I think they've done a very good job with it.

I'm really, really hoping they're going to be adding video podcast support through RSS in the near future (and obviously the ability to download or transfer them); having Channel Frederator zap awesome cartoons onto my PSP on a weekly basis would be just too cool. I will buy a big memory stick right away if they do it.
 
so no download option at all? Streaming is cool, but then you only get to listen until the next one comes out.
 
mrklaw said:
so no download option at all? Streaming is cool, but then you only get to listen until the next one comes out.
Click to expand...
No, you can listen to it as many times as you'd like; essentially what you are doing when you save a podcast feed, is you're saving a directory for that show to your RSS tab in the PSP's GUI, where all of the shows you've "subscribed" to appear. Whenever you click on a particular show it retrieves all of the episodes available, with their title and date, and you just scroll through and click on the one you want to play.
 
Kangu said:
Sony looks to be making all the right moves with regards to the PSP as a portable media device. So much so that I think people's lack of faith towards Sony delivering with the PS3 is unwarranted.
Click to expand...

Services! ;)

This is quite cool indeed. A download option would make this perfect.
 
Wow, got to love the new icons for Location Free Player and RSS.

Not to mention every podcast you you have get it's own personal icon.
Here's the Gamespot feed url if interested:

http://www.gamespot.com/podcast/podcast.xml

EDIT: Looks like Gamespot is not compatible. 'The server does not support this feature'.

Anyone got any good channels?
 
Holy shit guys, PSP KILLER APP AM HERE: GAF finally works with the PSP browser! :D

I don't know if that is old, sorry if so, but I've never been able to access GAF previously. Shit, now I can get a quick late night GAF fix before bed. :) Man, the PSP suddenly gained so much more usefulness for me today, heh.

Anyway, yeah Wollan, here are a few (and btw, if you come to this thread from the PSP browser that GameSpot XML will work, at least it did for me):

1UP's podcast:
http://www.1up.com/flat/Podcasts/podcasts.xml

PC Gamer's podcast (really good, laid back yet reletively professional, and good developer interviews each episode):
http://feed.pcgamerpodcast.com/

Major Nelson's podcast (one of the heads of the Xbox.com/Live side of things, he does come off very PR-ish, but a nice guy, and certainly worth listening to. [I won his contest before, too! ;) ]):
http://feeds.feedburner.com/MajorNelsonblogcast

Cheap Ass Gamer's podcast (if you're a CAG it's worth a listen. Cheapy D seems like a really cool guy):
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/podcast/cagcast.xml

This Week in Tech (very good if you're into technology and the sort):
http://leo.am/podcasts/twit

Diggnation (drunken wrap up of the top news stories on Digg.com):
http://revision3.com/diggnation/feed/high.mp3.xml

Cinecast (intelligent, critical film talk):
http://feeds.feedburner.com/cinecast

Just jump in this thread from your PSP and you can save all of them in one clean swoop.

*edit: added a few more
 
As others have stated, include a download option and I'd be updating in an instant. You'd think they'd make the upgrades as attractive as possible though to encourage the 1.5ers.
 
Well, I would at least give a try first, pilonv, unless you're into the emu/homebrew scene. You might be surprised.

Personally, I don't think anything Sony could release could get a lot of them to upgrade, but oh well. Honestly I can't see why the homebrew/emu stuff is so incredibly appealing to people, whether it's PSP or Xbox or whatever. It does nothing for me.
 
Andy787 said:
Well, I would at least give a try first, pilonv, unless you're into the emu/homebrew scene.
Click to expand...

I dont really want to give the emu stuff up yet, but they're slowly tempting me away.
 
I've so wanted something portable that would stream audio off of wifi for the longest time. It's a bit sad that a feature like this is what could finally get me a psp. ;_; Come on Sony, release the battery upgrade already so I have no excuse to hold off anymore.
 
I'm not sure if I saw this mentioned but the 2.6 Firmware update is now on the US site:

http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx?id=softwareupdate

The update is listed as containing:

Network:
* [RSS Channel] has been added as a feature under [Network].
* [Volume Adjustment] has been added as an option in the [LocationFree™ Player] control panel.
* [Simplified Chinese (GB18030)]* and [Traditional Chinese (Big5)] have been added as options to [Encoding] under [View] in the [Internet Browser] menu bar.
* The option has some limitations. For details, see "About the Internet Browser's Chinese fonts".
* Copyright-protected video data provided by a content provider or other services can now be downloaded directly to a Memory Stick Duo™ using the [Internet Browser].
- For details, contact the video content provider.
- Note that some content providers may charge fees for obtaining or using copyright-protected video.
- Downloadable copyright-protected video may not be available in all countries and regions.


Music:
* Music data in WMA (Windows Media® Audio) format can now be played under [Music]. (This applies to music saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media.)
-WMA9 Professional, WMA9 Lossless and copyright-protected WMA files are not supported.
- Note that you must activate the [Enable WMA Playback] setting to play music data in WMA format.


Settings:
* [Enable WMA Playback] has been added as a setting under [System Settings].
- A connection to the Internet is required to activate this setting.
 
Dont care much for these features as my next phone will do all of this except better. My current phone already connect to the internet on the go with emulators and more stuff than what PSP could ever do.

Advantage of PSP for me is that you can use it in planes.
 
m0dus said:
Um. that's one hell of a stretch there, isn't it :lol I mean, I have no fear sony will deliver with the PS3--but your logic in connecting a firmware update for the PSP with the console's inevitable success is so utterly random it has a Miss-cleo vibe to it.


cleo.jpg

"And don't marry dat fat man girl, he just wants ya for ya mo-ney!"
Click to expand...

I don't really see how it's a stretch to link all this functionality role out on the PSP as possibly indicating the kind of functionality we'll see standard on the PS3 at launch. For all intents and purposes Sony could really just port the most up-to-date entire PSP menu system and firmware functionality to PS3 and have a unified menu structure across the entire product line ( from PSP and PS3 on up of course, the PS2 won't be involved in that). Firmware updates for each could come out at the same time with much the same usability upgrades for each (with PS3 obviously supporting more comprehensive video playback probably).

Remember as well, that all of this functionality has nothing to do with any online infrastructure either. These are all just nice features that let you use the machine in different ways, but they don't indicate any kind of online infrastructure (friend's list, microtransactions, etc.), that will have to wait for an official announcement.
 
How cool would it be if Sony brings this whole XMB thing to the PS2? I mean, isn't the PS2 system BIOS upgradable? Is it theoretically possible?
 
For downloading RSS feeds you can use that PSP Media Manager software, and I'm sure some 3rd party PC/Mac app too. It will just save MP3 files inside the music folder for a convenient offline access.

hooo said:
I've so wanted something portable that would stream audio off of wifi for the longest time. It's a bit sad that a feature like this is what could finally get me a psp. ;_; Come on Sony, release the battery upgrade already so I have no excuse to hold off anymore.
Click to expand...
The new, higher capacity battery is out in Japan. You can order it from Playasia or other such places.
 
This makes the PSP finally a useful media machine for me, but I refuse to lose my EMUs!

Ah well, just have to get another one eventually, I guess.
 
You can use the PSP's built-in browser added back in ver 2.0 to download and save podcast files directly to memorystick as well.

Got excited for a second that the RSS support was FULL RSS support, not just for podcasts. It's still a hell of an .1 update but I'd really like to see a full RSS client for newsfeeds.
 
?

Why is it so surprising that the Gaming-Age Forum works with PSP? I've been browsing the Forum on my PSP for like 2 months now.
 
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