Will the new firmware update save the PS3?

If the fact the PS3 couldn’t upscale existing DVD videos to 1080p HD annoyed you, especially when you’d purchased Sony’s top of the line digital device for the 21st century, salvation is at hand thanks to the latest Version 1.80 firmware update from Sony Computer Entertainment.

You will need a widescreen TV with an HDMI socket to watch DVD movies in all their upscaled glory, but you won’t get any upscaling if you connect the PS3 to the TV with component cables.

On the other hand, the library of Playstation and PS2 games that will play on a PS3 will now play in HD – whether you’re using component cables or HDMI, so that is at least some consolation for component cable users – you won’t need to buy a new HDMI-equipped TV just yet.

Peter Dille, the senior Veep of marketing at SCEA said that: “As adoption of HDTVs continues to surge, we know that consumers are hungry for content, and this latest firmware update leverages the PS3s technology to deliver an HD-quality experience using the entertainment media already in your collection”.

In a statement, Dille continued that: “In addition, we continue to enhance the PS3s capabilities as an entertainment hub, giving consumers the option to bring their content with them on-the-go, or to stream photos, videos, and music stored on their PC to the PS3 in their living room. That’s often where the largest TV monitor and sound system is located, giving consumers the best possible entertainment experience”.

The new firmware also brings some other nifty features along for the ride. If you own a PSP, you’ll find that after the next PSP firmware update 3.50 due next week, the PSP and the PS3 can play together much better than before thanks to the new Remote Play feature.

Although the PS3 has been able to stream photos, videos, and music to a nearby PS3 for some months now, the next PSP update will let you access that same content whenever you are connected to a Wi-Fi connection - even if it’s on the other side of the world. That’s pretty cool.

Streaming content from your PC, digital video recorder or other device with storage is made possible by the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance).

That fully transforms the PS3 into the same kind of ‘media center’ that the Xbox 360 has been able to do in conjunction with XP or with Vista’s Media Center for some time now, with Sony saying the “new functionality reinforces the value of PS3 system as a home entertainment hub”.
Clearly, it’s yet another important piece of Sony’s media enabled and digitally connected home entertainment lifestyle ‘vision’ that companies have been dreaming of for years and doing much to answer Microsoft’s ‘Windows Media Center/Xbox 360’ challenge.

So, what else can the new PS3 firmware do, and will all of this boost PS3 sales? Read onto page 2 to find out!
Source :http://www.itwire.com.au