PSP [PlayStation Portable] - Late post

[drunk_medic]

Well, I am on vacation and finally got my hands on a PSP. My first impressions were "Well, it has the processing power of a PS2, alot of cool features that I have heard about, and the little machine looks awesome".
I played with it and I have to say that the screen is simply amazing. You are watching great resolution UMD video, and it really seems to be DVD quality. For a portable system, the screen is big and the detail blew me away.
..but I didn't get a taste of "the good stuff" until I explored something last night - the network settings. From a room in the house, I got a 10% wireless signal. I was tired, and thought I would explore today when I woke up. Well, this morning I told my father that from one room, I received a 10% signal from his wireless router. He informed me that he DOES NOT HAVE a wireless router!

..so I went to a few rooms and looked for the best signal strength by scanning. 60% signal. I gained an IP address, connected, and downloaded a 14Mb update in 3-5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. stupid neighbor with unsecured wireless network. :naughty:

I know that I am late jumping on the bandwagon with this little device, but it really is marvelous, and I can't wait to unleash some more of it's potential.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

Im geting mine when I get paid next week, Im excited!

 

[drunk_medic]

I learned that mine has the version 1.51 software. If you want to get the most out of your PSP, try to get one that has 1.50 on it - after that, they put something in the code where items must be specially digitally signed to be executed on the machine - therefore none of the emulated games or cool special "homebrew" programs will work on the brand new 1.51 and 1.52 versions. The download of update to 2.0 will be released in the USA on the 12th of this month, and will integrate a web browser. I believe people are currently trying to find a way to make homebrew applications and things for 2.0 [the Japanese release of 2.0 is out, and is supposed to be no different]. It may take awhile to get these things to work on the 2.0 system version. We'll see what happens. I really would love to be able to run my SNES games on my PSP - they are GREAT fun and take up very little space [whole games are usually between 512Kb and 5Mb, with a few exceptions that are larger, but none bigger than 10Mb]. The PSP controls are also perfect for the SNES, as it it set up, for the most part, like a SNES controller.

I went out around town today with my family and found a bunch of wireless access points around town - in Yuma, Arizona which is a growing small-medium sized town! Many were password protected or needed authentication, such as the 8 different access points that I scanned INSIDE WalMart, but I found several unprotected/free access points just while driving down the main roads next to apartment complexes and residential areas. Constantly scanning and re-scanning, I must have found at least one unsecured access point for every minute that the car was driving down the road.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

just curious, but what do the games and such you buy for it look like? is it like a disc? or a card?

 

[drunk_medic]

It's a disc inside of a protective cartidge. Each is supposed to be able to hold 1.8 gigabytes of data, which is cool for how small it is.

The games look pretty nice, especially on the screen. So far, I have only bought Metal Gear Ac!d and Darkstalkers. Darkstalkers looks just like the arcade game versions of it. Metal Gear has great graphics, but it is not a traditional Metal Gear game - it is turn based, where you have cards that allow you to do certain things. You get points and grades for how you complete missions. It's like you are crossing Metal Gear with a card based game like Magic: The Gathering.

Unfortunately, I have system version 1.51 which is upgraded TOO much to use fun stuff on. It kinda sucks - I tried to find a version in town with 1.50 so I can use Super Nintendo games on it, but it's tough to find one. Maybe I'll go on EBay and get one with 1.00 firmware.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

does that mean you cant listen to mp3's and watch videos that you download from your computer with the 1.51?

 

[drunk_medic]

Well now, I don't know about MP3s and other things - if they are in the right format or converted, you might be able to. I have not studied that yet, but you can bet that when my vacation is over, I will be reading up on it! The main thing I am concerned about is emulating SNES games. Many people get pissy and ask "Why would you buy a PSP if you are going to play crappy old SNES games?" Well, they take up MUCH less room, are cheaper, and the nostalgia is great. They also don't put a strain on the processor, memory or graphics at ALL, and you won't put a strain on the UMD reader [the less your moving parts in electronics are used, the longer they will last!].

I heard that the PSP's processor is supposed to be 333Mhz, but it's only running at 222 right now. Rumor has it that it's to conserve battery power.. but just think - what if Sony releases code to "unlock" the full 333 later on? That would be like buying a computer with a 3.0Ghz processor, then updating it and waking up the next morning to 4.5Ghz!

 

[SupraMario]

have u searched online, i was looking for some stuff for my friends, cause his was 1.51, we found a site and it showed how to downgrade to the 1.50 firmware.
also they are looking for ways to attach an external hard drive from the mini USB.
and hows the 2jz comin? everything i have run across seems to not work out. it sucks.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

well I KNOW they have a cable to connect to the usb drive in your comp. to download media, so I dont see how it would be a problem to hook it to an external drive. but I'm not exactly the "computing" type, I still hunt-and-peck while typing, Its taken me like 3 minutes to type this post alone.

 

[SupraMario]

not posibble as of yet. 1 firmware(OS) isnt there yet, 2 the mini is a female conector, external drives are sold only in USB reg. not mini and they are male plugs. so to do this u must find a mini male to reg. USB female, then u would be able to plug in the drive.

 

[drunk_medic]

If you look around, you should be able to find a cable like that - if not, you should be able to find the parts and be able to MAKE a cable like that. It's would be a simple pin-to-pin adapter, you know? 4 wires, possibly with shields.

Where I see a problem is getting the firmware to recognize anything external perperly and communicate with it fully through the cable. USB capable or not, there's no telling just what restrictions are put upon I/O operations from the PSP's operating system/firmware.

 

[drunk_medic]

and hows the 2jz comin?

Not at all right now. I am on vacation in Arizona! I haven't seen my parents in almost 3 years, and their new house is amazing. Maybe I will do a little car work when I get home, but it will still probably be awhile.

Big priority when I get home will be adapting my IS300 short-shifter to my R154. I have all of the parts except for the long bolts. I just need those, some lock-washers, and some cutting/drilling and I will be done.

After that, I at least need to extend the wire harness. I've been saying that forever. I think I have everything for it now - the harness, 18g wire, butt-slices, a crimper, heat shrink and a heat gun.

 

[SupraMario]

NICE AZ, man i went there and it rocks, the mts kick ass. but the city is weird, like heat wise, u want to sweat but cant cause its like 120 degrees of just dry heat lol, have fun. try and find grass lol its pretty hard.

 

[SupraOfDoom]

I have a PSP, it owns. I'm waiting for Worms and Tenchu

 

[drunk_medic]

As it stands right now, I might have to own 2 PSPs - one to constantly upgrade [some games require the latest firmware] and one to run all of the old emulation.

The NEW firmware [2.0] that is scheduled to be out in the US on the 12th will have a web browser, wallpaper utility and other cool features built in. Many people are already using it - it has been released in Japan, and what with the internet being the way it is, people in the US are using the 2.0 firmware already.

..I hope that they find a way to hack the 2.0 and higher firmware. If you go to Sony's PSP webpage, it says "Entertainment Without Boundaries". I call bullshit, until it's hacked.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

I found a pretty good website with lots of info about the psp:
psphome.com

 

[drunk_medic]

I am posting this from my PSP - I upgraded to the Japanese 2.0 firmware, which has an integrated web browser. I am accessing through the neighbor's unsecured wireless. Pretty sweet, huh?

 

[drunk_medic]

Alright - that was a pain in the butt. You have to enter text with keys, unless you have a mini-keyboard for the PSP, so it's like posting with a cell phone for every text entry.

The 2.0 upgrade should be available in the USA in a couple of days. If you CAN'T WAIT, you can get it off the internet. The file will be called EBOOT.PBP I believe. What you do is, connect your PSP to your computer with a USB port, then go to the USB setting in the PSP's menu. This will make it communicate with the computer. This will allow you to "open" the PSP's memory card just like the PSP is a card reader [you can also remove the card from the PSP, throw it in a Pro/Pro DUO card reader and do the following]. You open the "GAME" directory and MAKE a directory called "UPDATE". You put the file there. After it is done copying, you unhook it and go "Memory Stick" under the "Game" menu of the PSP. There should be a Ver. 2.0 Update file there. Hook up your AC adapter and go to it!

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

can you try to download a song, or something, see if it works wit the updated system?

 

[drunk_medic]

I'll have to look up specs, see what the PSP can play, and maybe wait until I get home to mess with this. With all of the encoding/decoding and being at my parent's house on vacation, I am thinking that they wouldn't appreciate a bunch of new stuff on their computer. My dad is paranoid about anything new on his computer - so I'll respect his wishes and just wait to really mess around with the PSP.

I have found that making a 480x272 picture and uploading it to the PHOTO folder allows you to put a background on your PSP - whatever you want. The only format I have tried this with so far is JPG.

I need to find out how to use all of the new stuff on 2.0. So far, the web browser is what has really caught my eye, but there are new things where you can make "themes". Apparently there is a way to make the PSP have a nice "desktop" with customized themes kind of like Windows.