Sony Psp Firmware 2.0 Update Coming July 27th

[PathofNeo 0]

Here is a fairly complete and possibly opinionated review of the 2.0 PSP firmware, which will be available for Japanese PSPs on the 27th.Internet browser added* Macromedia Flash is not supported. Some webpage content may not be displayed properly.* You will be able to restrict launching of the browser (kind of like UMDs, but this will be a Yes/No type of restriction).What this means: You get an internet browser on your PSP which requires any standard 802.11x wireless router. It implements HTML 4.01 which is fine for 98% of the content on the web. There will be bookmarks, so you don't have to use the standard PSP input interface everytime you want to go to a site in your bookmarks.Concerns: The main problem with the Wipeout Pure/Derby Time SCEJ browser was the load times. This was not due to bandwith issues, but had to do with loading the page into memory which took a long time. It is unknown how fast the 2.0 firmware's browser is.- VideoJump function added (UMD Video & UMD Music)A-B repeat function added (UMD Video & UMD Music & videos stored in Memory sticks)"4:3 mode" added to Video mode (videos stored in Memory sticks)Sound mute function added (videos stored in Memory sticks)MP4 (AVC) format playback support added (videos stored in Memory sticks)What this means: The Jump function just means that you can skip to the next scene/track on a UMD. A-B repeat function was already implemented in mp3 playback; it lets you choose a clip, starting at point A and ending at point B, and it just loops that clip. 4:3 mode is just another aspect ratio, and it is used in standard TVs. Sound mute - shuts teh PSP's face. MP4(AVC) Playback - There are 2 main types of MPEG-4 movies: MP4 vanilla and MP4 (Part 10). Standard MP4 is the vanilla one, and it is widely used in portables - the PSP already had this. MP4 (Part 10) is also known as AVC and H.264. AVC/H.264 is a very good COderDEcoder which has very good quality for small filesize. It is one of the newest and best codecs out there, along with DivX/XviD.Concerns: Not much to complain about here. The PSP has a chip specifically used for decoding AVC/H.264 files, and it already uses it for playing back those little clips you see in some of your gamesaves. Only problem is that AVC/H.264 takes a long time to convert to. Quicktime 7 pro might have a good solution for that though.-MusicCan accept music tracks in Atrac3 + format from "Sonicstage" under version 3.2 (now for pre-order)MP4 (AAC) & Wave (Linear PCM) format playback support added (music stored in Memory sticks)What this means: ATRAC3 is a Sony music format which weeds out frequencies that some people think they can hear but that you really can't hear. This leads to "cleaner" music at a lower filesize. Previously, SonicStage would not recognize a PRO Memory Stick, but now it will, so you'll be able to transfer over your music. MP4(AAC) - You've got an iPod with a decent screen! No, really, AAC is what iTunes uses, and some audiophiles will argue that it's better than mp3 @ 192kbps. Whatever. Wave, or *.wav, is uncompressed sound, and you'll almost never find a song in this format. *.wav is used mostly for soundbites.Concerns: None. Now you can use music from iTunes.- PhotoWallpaper function addedImage transfer function addedTIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP format supportedWhat this means: You'll be able to set any image in your Memory Stick as your background. I don't think that it will write it to flash though, so once you take out your MS, the background will revert back to normal. Image Transferring - this means that you'll be able to WiFi your friend the Trinity. TIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP = Tagged Image File Format, Graphics Interchange Format, Portable Network Graphics, Windows Bitmap. These are just more file formats like JPEG(Joint Photography Experts Group)Concerns: What if your friend sends YOU the trinity?- Settings"Korean language" added to "system settings" -> "System language""Character set" added to "system settings""Theme settings" added"Internet browser startup restriction" added to "Security settings""WPA-PSK (TKIP)" added to security method in "Network settings"Web input support is added to the keyboard input mode.What this means: Korean people can now use a JP PSP. Character Set.. this is just a guess, but perhaps this has to do with using foreign characters in an English keypad. For example, in 1.50, if you change the language to English, you can't type in Japanese characters. Theme Settings - We'll have to see about this one. Browser Startup Restriction - set this to Off so a random person can't browse the internet without the password. WPA-PSIK: this is stronger than the WEP encryption that wireless routers use. 128-bit WEP can be broken within 15 minutes (as was proven on LUELinks) and WPA is a lot stronger. Web Input... this has to be more than just being able to type in a browser. Perhaps there will be a new way to type.Concerns: None, but there are a lot of questions to be asked.Overall, it's a good package, and will give emulation a run for it's money.*Note: Everything here was typed off the top of my head; there may be some factual errors, but I belive it's at least 98% correct.2.0 is expected for American PSPs within a week of the Japanese release.