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PlayStation Portable system software

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PlayStation Portable system software
DeveloperSony Computer Entertainment
OS familyProprietary
Working stateDiscontinued
Source modelClosed source
Initial releaseDecember 12, 2004;19 years ago(2004-12-12)(as 1.00)
Latest release6.61 / January 15, 2015;9 years ago(2015-01-15)
Available inChinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dutch, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish[1]
Update methodDirect Download
Download via PS3
Download via PC
Universal Media Disc
PlatformsPlayStation Portable
Default
user interface		XrossMediaBar
Preceded byPocketStation
Succeeded byPlayStation Vita(system software)
Official website
Support status
Unsupported

ThePlayStation Portable system softwareis the officialfirmwarefor thePlayStation Portable(PSP). It uses theXrossMediaBar(XMB) as itsuser interface,similar to thePlayStation 3console.

Updates[edit]

Updates add new functionality as well as security patches to preventunsigned codefrom being executed on the system. Updates can be obtained in four ways:

Direct download to the PSP overWi-Fi.This can be performed by choosing [Settings], [System Update] from the XMB.

Download to a PC, then transfer to the PSP via a USB cable or Memory Stick.

Included on theUMDof some games. These games may not run with earlier firmware than the version on their UMD. See also List of PlayStation Portable system software compatibilities.

Download from a PS3 to a PSP system via USB cable (Japanese and American version only)

While system software updates can be used with consoles from any region, Sony recommends only downloading system software updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase. System software updates have added various features including aweb browser,Adobe Flash Player 6support, additional codecs for images, audio, and video, PlayStation 3 connectivity, as well as patches against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs.[2]The battery must be at least 50% charged or else the system will prevent the update from installing. If the power supply is lost while writing to the system software, the console will no longer be able to operate unless the system is booted in service mode or sent to Sony for repair if still under warranty.

The current version of the software, 6.61, was made available on January 15, 2015. It is a minor update released more than three years after the release of the previous version 6.60 in 2011.

Technology[edit]

Graphical shell[edit]

The PlayStation Portable uses theXrossMediaBar(XMB) as itsgraphical user interface,which is also used in thePlayStation 3(PS3) console, a variety of SonyBRAVIAHDTVs,Blu-raydisc players and many moreSonyproducts. XMB displays icons horizontally across the screen that be seen as categories. Users can navigate through them using the left and right buttons of theD-pad,which move the icons forward or back across the screen, highlighting just one at a time, as opposed to using any kind of pointer to select an option. When one category is selected, there are usually more specific options then available to select that are spread vertically above and below the selected icon. Users may navigate among these options by using the up and down buttons of the D-pad.

The basic features offered by XMB implementations varies based on device and software version. On the PSP console, the XMB had top level icons for Photos, Music, Videos, Games, Networking (which allows the use of theweb browser), Settings and Extras. Also, XMB offers a degree ofmultitasking.With the PSP, using the Home button while playing music would allow users to browse photos without stopping the music. While XMB proved to be a successful user interface for Sony products such as PSP and PS3, the next generation Sonyvideo game consolessuch as thePlayStation 4and thePlayStation Vitano longer use this user interface.[3]For example, the XMB is replaced by theLiveAreainterface on the PS Vita.

Web browser[edit]

PlayStation Portable uses theNetFront Browser.

The PlayStation Portable comes with aweb browserfor browsing theInternet.The web browser is a version of theNetFrontbrowser made byAccess Co. Ltd.and was released for free with the 2.00 system software update.[4]The browser supports most common web technologies, such asHTTP cookies,forms,CSS,as well as basicJavaScriptcapabilities.[5]

The version 2.50 upgrade addedUnicode (UTF-8)character encodingand Auto-Select as options in the browser's encoding menu, and also introduced the saving of input history for online forms.

Version 2.70 of the PSP's system software introduced basicFlashcapabilities to the browser.[6]However, the player runs Flash version 6, five iterations behind the current desktop version 11,[7]making some websites difficult to view.[6]

There are three different rendering modes: "Normal", "Just-Fit", and "Smart-Fit". "Normal" will display the page with no changes, "Just-Fit" will attempt to shrink some elements to make the whole page fit on the screen and preserve layout and "Smart-Fit" will display content in the order it appears in the HTML, and with no size adjustments; instead it will drop an element down below the preceding element if it starts to go off the screen.

The browser also has basictabbed browsingcapabilities, with a maximum of three tabs. When a website tries to open a link in a new window, the browser opens it in a new tab.[8]

Parents can limit content by enabling Browser Start Up Control which blocks all access to the web browser and creating a 4-digit PIN under [Settings] in [Security]. Additionally, the browser can be configured to run under aproxy serverand can be protected by the security PIN to enable the use of web filtering or monitoring software through a network. Recently,[when?]TrendMicro for PSP was added as a feature that can be enabled via a subscription to filter or monitor content on the PSP.

The PSP browser is slower compared to modern browsers and often runsout of memorydue to limitations put in place by Sony. Alternatively, homebrew alternatives to the browser have been released that utilize all 32/64 MB of the PSP's RAM, which allows the browser to load pages faster and have more memory for larger pages.[9]Opera Mini can also be used on PSP through PSPKVM, a homebrew application which is a Sun Java Virtual Machine. It was claimed to provide much faster loading times than the default browser and provides better web page compatibility.[10]

Other features[edit]

Like many othervideo game consoles,the PlayStation Portable is capable of photo, audio, and video playback in a variety of formats. However, unlike Sony'shome consolessuch as thePlayStation 3and thePlayStation 4,it is not possible to playBlu-rayorDVDmovies on the PlayStation Portable directly since it lacks a standard Blu-ray or DVD drive. While it does have aUMDdrive and there exist UMD movies, the UMD format never saw implementation on any device other than the PlayStation Portable and as a result, the market is very limited compared to those for other optical media formats. There have been no more movies released on UMD since 2011, withHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2being one of the final releases on the format.[11]

The PlayStation Portable also supports a feature known asRemote Play,which allows the PSP to access many features of aPlayStation 3console from a remote location using the PS3'sWLANcapabilities, a home network, or theInternet.[12]However, unlike the later Remote Play feature between thePlayStation Vitaand thePlayStation 4,the Remote Play capabilities between the PSP and the PS3 are much more limited. Although most of the PS3's capabilities related to its main user interface are accessible with Remote Play, playback ofDVDs,Blu-ray Discs,PlayStation 2games, mostPlayStation 3games, and copy-protected files stored on the PS3's hard drive are not supported.[13]Actual Remote Play between the PSP and the PS3 games are only supported by a "select" very few PS3 titles.

Furthermore, PSP-2000, PSP-3000, and PSP-N1000 can use theSkypeVoIPservice starting with system software version 3.90. The service allows Skype calls to be made overWi-Fiand on the PSP Go over theBluetoothModem feature. It is not possible to use the VoIP service on the original PSP-1000 console due to hardware limitations. There also existed other services for the PSP such as theRoom for PlayStation Portable,similar to the PlayStation 3's online community-based service known asPlayStation Home.

Go!Messenger, a freeinstant messagingprogram jointly developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe andBT Group,was announced on August 22, 2007 at the LeipzigGames Convention,and was released on February 29, 2008, also with firmware version 3.90. It allowed theGo!Camto be used forvideo conferencingandvoice chat.[14]PSP users could communicate with PC users through Go!Messenger if the PC was running BT Softphone 2. Because use of the service did not meet Sony and BT's expectations, it was discontinued on March 31, 2009.[15]Subsequently, firmware version 5.50 removed the program's icon.

SensMechannels for music files was added to the PSP starting with firmware version 6.10.[16]Also,SHOUTCastRadio can be listened to via an inbuilt app on most PSPs.

Custom firmware[edit]

Homebrew developmentwas very popular during the time of the PlayStation Portable. Besides the official firmware (OFW) made bySony,custom firmware(also written as Custom Firmware, or simply CFW) is also commonly seen in thePlayStation Portablehandheld consoles.

Custom firmware allows the running of unsigned code such ashomebrewapplications,UMD.ISO files,emulatorsfor other consoles andPS1games when the disc images are converted into an EBOOT file.[17]This is in stark contrast to the official system software, where only code that has been signed by Sony can run.

Notable custom firmware versions include the M33 Custom Firmware by Dark_AleX as well as those made by others such as the Custom Firmware 5.50GEN series, Minimum Edition (ME/LME) CFW and the PRO CFW.

All legally andillegallyobtained content can be played on custom firmware, assuming that it is at the latest version (currently 6.61). During the early days of the PSP hacking scene, it was discovered that firmware 1.00 allowed unsigned code to run. While this firmware only existed on PSP-1000 models from Japan, many users imported these models to run and develop homebrew. An exploit was later discovered in firmware 1.50 that also allowed unsigned code to run. This opened up North American PSP-1000 systems for homebrew. Firmware 1.5 acted as the standard firmware for homebrew until the creation of eLoaders (which use various exploits to launch a homebrew "menu" ), savegame exploits in games such asGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City StoriesandLumines: Puzzle Fusionand eventually DarkAlex's custom firmware releases, which all allowed PSPs shipped after the 1.51 update's release to run homebrew.

Sony had put significant effort into blocking custom firmware and other third party devices/content from the PSP, but their effort was in vain. In July 2007 Dark_AleX officially stopped his work on the PSP, citing perceived problems with Sony as one of the reasons for his departure,[18]but other custom firmware versions continue to be developed or updated. In 2015, a homebrew tool known as Infinity was developed which allows users to permanently install CFW such as LME or PRO on all PSP models. This tool requires firmware 6.60 or 6.61.[19]

See also[edit]

Other gaming platforms from Sony:

Other gaming platforms from thenext generation:

Other gaming platforms fromthis generation:

References[edit]

  1. ^"System Language - PlayStation®Portable User's Guide".manuals.playstation.net.
  2. ^McEntegart, Marc (3 October 2005)."Sony releases anti-piracy PSP update".The inquirer.Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2012.Retrieved6 July2019.
  3. ^"XrossMediaBar".afterdawn.
  4. ^"PSP Update History | System Updates | Support – PlayStation".Sony Computer Entertainment.RetrievedOctober 18,2010.
  5. ^"PSP – Network – Internet Browser – Displaying the menu".Sony Computer Entertainment.Retrieved2008-03-19.
  6. ^ab"PSP Update History | System Updates | Support – PlayStation".Sony Computer Entertainment.RetrievedOctober 18,2010.
  7. ^"Adobe Flash Player".Adobe Systems.Retrieved2008-03-19.
  8. ^"PSP – Network – Internet Browser – Tabs".Sony Computer Entertainment.Retrieved2008-03-19.
  9. ^"Netfront Internet Browser Beta 4 – HighMemoryMod By pp86 – ChickHEN/PSP-3000 Support".Forums.qj.net.Retrieved2011-08-23.
  10. ^"Opera Mini on PSP".Forums.qj.net.Retrieved2011-08-23.
  11. ^"Harry Potter final UMD outing".Amazon UK.16 December 2011.
  12. ^"PSP – Remote Play".Sony Computer Entertainment.Retrieved2008-03-26.
  13. ^"PSP – Remote Play – About Remote Play".Sony Computer Entertainment.Retrieved2008-03-26.
  14. ^"Bring friends closer together with Go!Messenger"(Press release). Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 2007-08-22. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-04-25.Retrieved2013-04-30.
  15. ^"Sony shutting down PSP's Go!Messenger".Eurogamer.net.2009-02-23.
  16. ^PSP Firmware Update (v6.10)http://blog.us.playstation /2009/09/psp-firmware-update-v6-10/Archived2009-10-02 at theWayback Machine
  17. ^Swann, Graham (2 February 2007)."Investigating the PSP's PSone emulator".Eurogamer. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-07.Retrieved2008-08-05.
  18. ^Patel, Nilay."PSP modder extraordinare Dark_AleX calls it quits".engadget.Retrieved2008-08-05.
  19. ^"6.61 Infinity".24 September 2015.
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