PS3 Firmware Update 3.0: Speed Test, PS3 Slim Fix & Extras

[PS3 News]

Even with the PS3 Firmware 3.0 official full changelog available, it appears there are some previously unmentioned extras surfacing in the update.

To begin, PSInsider (linked above) reports that an integrated connection speed test is now included... as pictured below.

To quote: "The first I noticed is a speedtest in the connection test. So next time you turn on your ps3, you can find what your ps3 is pulling down, and the upload speed too."

Next up, http://www.psnathome.com/general/cant-download-game-content-on-ps3-slim-heres-the-issue.html/ states that a PS3 Slim 'game content' download fix is included in the update, as follows:

If you just recently bought a PS3 Slim and wanted to download your game content to your Slim PS3 it will say to you "Please Deactivate a System", I then decided to call Sony because I knew I only have 2 Systems the Original PS3 and the newest Slim version.

After being on hold, a tech support told me the reason and the reason is and I do quote him:

"I am not suppose to tell anyone about this but, since retailers sold the slim PS3 before the release day which is September 1st, the PlayStation 3 Slim was released with a small bug which prevents from downloading Video and Game Content since the firmware is not compatible with the content, this is why were releasing a patch (version 3.00) either later on today or possibly a day after."

Finally, here are some expanded details from the PS3 Firmware 3.0 Update via http://www.gamersdigest.net/3329/ps3-firmware-3-00-stealth-updates/:

- Remote Play - Now an option for mobile phones, no doubt in preparation for the Sony Ericsson 'Aino', which will have remote play capabilities.
- Start-up Sequence - The start-up sequence has been updated with the new PS3 logo and sound, it appears on the 'fat' PS3 systems too.
- Up-scaling Audio - You can now up-scale audio from the hard drive or a USB source to 88.2 Khz or 176.4 Khz.
- Video Playback - You can now manipulate video playback on PS3 using the right analogue stick on your controller. Moving the analogue stick will pause the video outright and give you the ability to rotate the stick to advance or rewind the video in slow motion or up to 4X speed. To resume normal playback simply release the stick.
- Print Screen - The web browser has a print screen functionality that can now utilize compatible printers connected to PS3 through USB or LAN.
- Busy Indicator - The busy indicator has been replaced by the analogue clock from the 'Status Indicator'. To show that the PS3 is busy the clock will start spinning, when finished the clock will go back to the correct time.
- Fonts & Icons - The size of the fonts and icons on the XMB have been increased considerably.


More PlayStation 3 News...

[victorinox]

nice little bonuses =3

[RadioactiveSoup]

apparently open remote play is working again

Woot woot… Just got word from Dashhacker… You will notice a new option for Mobile Phones under Settings -> Remote Play Settings -> Register Device. With that said, Dashhacker has ORP working again. Those changes are being committed to SVN right now. If you feel inclined to compile from source, go nuts. Otherwise wait for an official release, which will happen sooner rather than later.

[yardiecliff]

Very nice updates indeed!

[gtxboyracer]

Tried the mobile phone functionality.. it appears to setup a Bluetooth connection waiting for something to connect.. but my mobile couldn't find it..

Also help please - i attempted to look for the changes to viewing the trophies, and none of the places seperated the trophies at all.. am i missing something here? or is it a future thing, aka developers need to set attributes on trophies or something?

[semitope]

- Trophies - Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories-base trophies and add-on trophies-that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.

Future tech. I was a bit rushed to critique this but it might be useful to have separate stats for trophies from add-ons. Might be just an innocent feature addition that simply concerns an evil concept

[gtxboyracer]

Future games? thats a bit lame isnt it? i would have thought it was retro-active.. its just sorting the trophies! crazy Sony people.. maybe next time we'll get some of the requested functionality!

[setTopbox]

Future games? thats a bit lame isnt it? i would have thought it was retro-active.. its just sorting the trophies! crazy Sony people.. maybe next time we'll get some of the requested functionality!

I agree, this update doesn't wow me at all. The extra controls on the right thumb are nice, but Sony doesn't seem to be adding a whole lot of overly useful functionality. After this update I'm certain we'll never see any sort of .flac or .mkv playback. It's obviously not priority.

[ynoz]

Did anybody realized that games are loading a bit slower in the fat ps3 after installing the firmware update, and the media is loading faster.

[yourmoma]

I like this update a lot, especially since I can actually see the time. The only negative is that I has to reset my PS3 after installing because it would log on to the PSN. Otherwise the update is good.