First Look: PS3 TOOL - DECR-1000A Front Detailed

194w ago - Earlier this month I purchased a PS3 Reference Tool Model DECR-1000A.

Today I had time so here are some details on exactly what the front of it consists of... I will do a follow-up on the backside and internals soon, and then we'll get into the PS3 Dev aspects of it.

We all remember E3's PS3 - Dual HDMI outputs for extra high-definition widescreen goodness, a built in 3 port gigabit switch, 6 USB ports - features that were trashed. But, on the PS3 Tool, these features are still present, albeit dormant.

Pictured below is the front of the PS3 Tool (click to enlarge it, so you can read the labels), complete with the hidden ports uncovered for you to look at.

The PS3 Tool features, starting from the front left - dual HDD caddies, both sporting a 400GB SATA Hard disk, with eject buttons. - the left most (HDD) is used for the system, while DEV1, holding BD Emulator Images - allowing testing of .ISO's right from a hard disk!

Below that, a Foot Switch Jack is featured which can be used for throwing exceptions for development while playing, among other things.

To the right are 6 USB Ports. The 2 ports marked "extra" were originally intended for the REAR of a retail PS3 - of course, this did not come to fruition, but they are still functional. Across from those are your Compact Flash, Memory Stick, and SD card slots - all that do work fine.

On the right hand side, there is a slot loaded BD Drive coming in on the top. Below that, you have General Purpose Output (GPO) LED's, that allow a developer to output information, as well as the system to state its operating mode.

Below those, are General Purpose In (GPI) switches, also allowing developers to change the state of their application at the flip of a switch.

Taking up the lower right, there is a WiFi light, that illuminates when data is being sent/received, dual LED's that tell the user if the BD Emulator is being used, or if the BD Drive is in use, the eject button (for the BD Drive), and the Status Light. The status light, is well- the status light. Depending on the system state, it will be green, or red.

Taking the lower few buttons, are the self-explantory Reset, Network Init, and System Init Buttons - along with the system power button. The reset button, at a tap reboots LV2 (the Kernel). Network Init will re-initialize the Debug Network settings, while the System Init will reset the Debug Settings.

More soon, as time permits of course!