Firmware 1.80 to include 1080p upscaling for games and movies

by Andrew Yoon { May 23rd 2007 at 10:20AM }

Sony has officially unveiled plans for PS3 firmware 1.80. This update looks to be the most significant yet. Here's a breakdown of what to expect:

Full 1080p upscaling for DVDs, PS2 and PS1 games. With upscaling, there's no need to throw away your old DVDs and PlayStation 2 games. The content will be converted to resolutions as high as 1080p, and will breathe new visual life into your old discs. DVD movies can only be upconverted using an HDMI connection.
PSP Remote Play via internet. Although this feature was supposedly included in a previous update, many were unable to have it properly run. This hopefully corrected feature will allow PSP users to watch and listen to content stored on the PS3 from any wi-fi connection in the world. PSP firmware 3.50 will be required.
DLNA media center connectivity. Media content stored on DLNA-enabled PCs and laptops can be shared and viewed on PS3 systems.
Print photos with Epson printers. Images stored on the PS3 hard drive can be printed using compatible printers.
Transfer PS1/2 save files from PS3 using Memory Card Adaptor. Previously, users could only transfer save files to the PS3. Now, gamers will be able to transfer data to and from the PS3.

This update hits European PS3s on May 24th. A worldwide release should arrive on or near that date.
[Update: SCEA has contacted us with confirmation that the update will also hit American PS3s on May 24th as well. See past the break to see pictures of the newest firmware update in action.]

Here, we see a DLNA-enabled VAIO laptop connected to PS3. We'll be able to stream photos, music and videos from the laptop to our TV with tomorrow's firmware update.

You can adjust the DVD Upscaler settings under the Settings menu.

You can adjust the PS/PS2 Upscaler under the Settings menu as well. Don't forget!

For those of you with compatible Epson printers, you'll be able to print photos from your PS3. You can adjust some settings, as seen in the picture above.

Firmware 1.80 will be ready for distribution tomorrow, May 24th.

Tags: 1.80, 1080p, dlna, epson, firmware, playstation 3, Playstation3, printer, ps3, remote play, RemotePlay, upscaling

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

fetcher.nwah @ May 23rd 2007 10:29AM

Jaw officially dropped! Upscaling at last :) And I used the media connectivity with XBox, so I'm glad to see that come to PS3. Sony is really making strides at getting things right...keep it up (and get XMB access in games...hurry up with that supposed 2.0 patch!)

Woot.

Luke @ May 23rd 2007 10:31AM

I was under the assumption that I had heard from official sources that they couldn't do upscaling, so this is a great shock to me! I am very excited now to get a PS3. To quote Bubb Rubb, "Woo WOOOOOO!"

Stef Geiger @ May 23rd 2007 10:32AM

WHAT? HDMI ONLY? What the hell? I know that this is pretty much the case for upscaling DVD players too, but I can't for the life of me understand why the upscaled signal can't be sent over component cables. Can anyone shed some light on this?

bootsielon @ May 23rd 2007 10:34AM

That's awesome, but there's one thing missing. What about Re-scaling of PS3 games? Is that solved already? I know Sony updated the dev kits to work better with resolutions, but Sony should somehow fix the first games' resolution problems for those that don't have 720p capable TVs.

bootsielon @ May 23rd 2007 10:38AM

Oh, and who would leave the PS3 on for remote play? That would not only be ecologically unconscious, but also expensive. Unless PS3 has an idle mode where it spends less energy, which I haven't found on my PS3 yet...

bootsielon @ May 23rd 2007 10:41AM

Again me... will there be upscaling for videos stored on the HDD? As in if I download a 480p video, can I upscale it to any resolution I want too, just like it happens with DVDs, PS1 and PS2 games?

Andrew Yoon @ May 23rd 2007 10:43AM

It's actually against regulations to provide upscaling over an analog signal. No company is allowed to provide non-HDMI 1080p DVD upscaling.

Strike Man @ May 23rd 2007 10:44AM

"Can anyone shed some light on this?"

It certainly CAN, but the MPAA doesn't want an upscaled signal being sent over a non-protected device. Really, one of the major reasons why the studios are pushing for HDMI over component, despite the fact that the two carry basically the same signal quality (one being digital, one analog) is the HDCP compliance of HDMI.

As far as the news of upscaling PS1 and PS2 games...FINALLY. I don't doubt that I, like many others, will be sticking in a dozen or so PS2 games as soon as this hits, just to see how they look upscaled. Now my only major gripe is the lack of scaling for PS3 games...

wei @ May 23rd 2007 10:44AM

As a new PS3 owner, I'm really excited about this update! I popped in a few PS2 games after buying my PS3 (I have no PS3 games yet) and was disgusted at the quality. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the settings on my PS3. This will greatly increase my enthusiasm for my PS2/Blu-ray Player. Now if only there were some games worth buying..

Kspraydad @ May 23rd 2007 10:45AM

At bootsielon....I already leave my PC on so I can do remote play (with PSP Media Server) with my PSP so why not leave my PS3 on instead?

Anthropomancer @ May 23rd 2007 10:46AM

I just wish they'd add DVD streaming to Remote Play, it'd be a lot better then.

mccomber @ May 23rd 2007 10:45AM

Sucks about the HDMI for dvd upscaling, but that does seem to be the standard, so there must be some reason for it. The way that is written though—games will upscale over component, right? It excludes movies specifically, but somehow I don't want to get my hopes up until I hear it will allow games over component for sure. I don't really want to upgrade my receiver and buy a new card for my tv quite yet...

IanC @ May 23rd 2007 10:47AM

This better bloody fix the problems with Kingdom Hearts 2 and PAL PS3s.

fetcher.nwah @ May 23rd 2007 10:51AM

DLNA is weird. After a bit of looking around on the website, I can only say that I hope they add quite a few more compatible products. Basically, if you have an all Sony living room, computer room, you're set. Otherwise, good luck using the media sharing features of your newly updated PS3. We'll see how this feature ends up being utilized, or not.

lenny0487 @ May 23rd 2007 10:52AM

@Stef Geiger
you can upscale PS1/PS2 games over a component video output connection, but not DVD movies, its an MPAA requirement, the xbox 360 elites are under this requirement also to upscale DVD movies using HDMI

Kspraydad @ May 23rd 2007 10:53AM

If you have DLNA great...if not can't you use ORB?

lenny0487 @ May 23rd 2007 10:57AM

No 2.0, either way its an awesome update, i can finally stream videos and music through my PS3, use remote play anywhre with my PSP and upscale my PS2 and PS1 games to hi def. I guess they are pushing the 2.0 update for the korean launch, which makes sense. I hope that with the 1.8 update, it can expand on Backwards Compatibility in Europe

Danniel @ May 23rd 2007 10:57AM

Hi,

Do you know if DNLA works with a Mac? I've been trying to look for info but cannot find anything relevant... Can't wait to download this update!

Cheers

DG

Wreckheart @ May 23rd 2007 11:00AM

drool...

Kspraydad @ May 23rd 2007 11:04AM

For all of us excited about remote play at any hotspot...it requires PSP Firmware 3.5 which will be out by month end but not necessarily tommorrow.

The DNLA feature is two way....it isn't simply streaming to the PS3 from computer but can go the other way (though not implemented with this firmware release)...http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20070521/132856/

AndresON777 @ May 23rd 2007 11:11AM

So I guess this will not upscale 720p to 1080i.....resistance and motorstorm? but i guess this will make it possible in the future so the outlook seems good.

WhackMushrooms @ May 23rd 2007 11:16AM

wei .. get Resistance .. its a damn good game.

Chris @ May 23rd 2007 11:23AM

Holy crap... I need to change my pants.

dantemustdie @ May 23rd 2007 11:33AM

@ wei:

Why did you buy a PS3 if there aren't any games you want to play?

DanMacMan @ May 23rd 2007 11:40AM

I hope this fixes the color space for games, so they match my video output selection of Y/Pb/Pr. I am sick of games looking like crap in RGB, all washed out and whatnot.

Stef Geiger @ May 23rd 2007 11:52AM

Thanks for answering my question about upscaling through component connections. Kind of ridiculous that I can play blu-ray discs at 1080i through component but not a lousy upscaled DVD. Anyway, I thought the 360 had been doing DVD upscaling since day one, despite not even being HDMI capable....

Bored @ May 23rd 2007 12:10PM

God of War II is going to look amazing at 720p or higher!

Strike Man @ May 23rd 2007 11:59AM

The 360 will upscale DVDs over HDMI (on the Elite version) and VGA (both versions), but not via component. It will however upscale all games on any HD connection, including component.

In a nutshell, the only reason BD and HD DVD discs play fine at 1080i/p over component as of now is the fact that the studios haven't enforced the AACS protection. As soon as the image constraint token is enabled on these discs, you'll only get to experience your HD discs at a DVD resolution. Yay DRM!

TheSh0wstopper @ May 23rd 2007 12:00PM

@26
The 360 can upscale dvd's through VGA.

This is HUGE for Sony. I am a proud 360 and PS3 owner. Lately I have been bashing Sony because I am pissed off at the way they have been handling their business. But this is a HUGE development. Now I can play my God of War 2 and Final Fantasy 12, two games I have been dying to play but cant because they look horrible on PS3.Upscaling Dvd's is huge also since it will help me hold out till The Matrix Boxset comes out. Too bad I rebought a lot of my collection on blu-ray already (32 movies currently). The Remote play will be nice for a few people (Most prolly wont ever use it, myself included). Its nice to see Sony listening to consumer complaints and tryingto correct what went wrong.

TheSh0wstopper

wei @ May 23rd 2007 12:06PM

Yeah, sorry for not clarifying. I got a PS3 to use as a Blu-ray player for now. Resistance looks nice but the demo didn't really grab me. Since I own a 360, I don't feel a real urge to grab up another shooter. That doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to the games in the PS3's future. ;)

Stef Geiger @ May 23rd 2007 12:20PM

Whoa guys, don't get too excited: The games are supposed to be upscaled - that doesn't mean "rendered at HD resolutions". There will be a slight increase in video quality, but it's not going to be like playing a game that actually renders in 720p or 1080i/p. DVDs, yes, they will likely be intelligently upscaled and will look a little better, but it's pretty unlikely that Sony has managed to make PS1/2 games render at higher resolutions. The game itself has to be able to do that (look at Gran Turismo, any game with progressive scan, and GOWII).

Popfrogs @ May 23rd 2007 12:55PM

Stef is right for once. You won't suddenly get 1 million polygons on Snake in MGS3. The output image will be resized to 720p/1080i/1080p but the initial image *quality* will be the same.

It's cool for DVDs especially since studios have been slow to release all the classics, but for games...I'll have to judge for myself. Unless they have some incredible emulation and code hacks for antialiasing and whatnot, I imagine the PS1 and PS2 games will look as bad, if not worse, at 1080i as they do at 480i.

As for the PSP remote play, that sounds really cool. You could sit anywhere there's a hotspot and watch your DVDs that you re-encoded to mp4 format and saved on your PS3. Plus there's the streaming music which is a huge plus. I might have to buy one after all.

VerticalEvent @ May 23rd 2007 1:09PM

I think it's safe to say that no matter the firmware update, the PS3 will not be able to upscale PS3 games. The Cell processor is already being used for these games, and, assuming the Cell is being used for the upscaling of movies and PS/PS2 games, would not have the left over processing power to upscale PS3 games.

If PS2 games aren't upscaled by Component, then I'm going to wait and see people's opinions on the upscaling before plunking down cash for a HDMI cable.

Popfrogs @ May 23rd 2007 1:17PM

Plunking down cash for an HDMI cable? LOL! Those cables are less than $10 shipped from monoprice.com.

gamerz @ May 23rd 2007 2:09PM

Sony needs to fix the scaling from 720p to 1080i for PS3 games!!!!!

gamerz @ May 23rd 2007 2:15PM

Sony needs to fix upscaling from 720p to 1080i for PS3 games!!

I also own both a 360 and PS3 and the PS3 is utter garbage because it downscales almost all games to only 480p while the 360 upscales *all* games to 1080i.

jason @ May 23rd 2007 3:26PM

Only those first generation games are going to have this issue and it will never be fixed, unfortunately. The SDK has fixed this for all future games, but the old games would require rewriting the code. It's not a big issue any more, so this has already been "fixed". Only a few games that were built during the first couple months of the system are effected.

adamantypants @ May 23rd 2007 3:04PM

Calm down, I think we all knew that it didn't make the PS3 render more polygons for a decade old game. But think of it this way, it's like watching a DVD on an upscaling player. You won't have any more jaggies, funky colors, better black levels, and a generally smoother image.

blkdog7 @ May 23rd 2007 4:31PM

You can stream content from your Apple Mac using Twonky Media Server! I'm already using Twonky on my Powermac streaming music and photos to my 360 and now it will work with my PS3 including video! Yes! This is an awesome update!

http://www.twonkyvision.de/index.html

Tru-blue @ May 23rd 2007 4:41PM

I'm stoked for this firmware update! Upscaling added to the PS3 is a good move forward for Sony.
With the upscaling of dvd movies, would you guys rather buy a regular standard movie of say "Resident Evil" and just watch it in upscaled resolution? Or would you go out and get the Blu-ray version instead and watch it at the intended 1080i/p resolution?
I have yet to compare the two, but I'm figuring an upscaled dvd movie won't compare to the quality and sharpness of the Blu-ray version. Or am I wrong?

vizunary @ May 23rd 2007 4:56PM

This is the one I've been waiting for, upscaling my 1200+ DVD collection will be nice. BTW, don't downplay the upscaling feature, I've seen a Harmon Kardon upscaling unit that looks really amazing, if we can get even close to that quality I'll be happy.
On a side note, it's nice that EU may be treated first for a change, at least a little love for you guys across the big pond. If it's delayed in the US, make sure to give us a heads up on what it looks like!

Naaiif @ May 23rd 2007 4:57PM

You're not wrong there tru-blu, blu-ray at full native 1080p is far better than an upscaled DVD to the same resolution. Get the blu-rays.

No matter what the xbot trolls come in and say this update can only be considered GOOD news, so keep it up Sony.

vizunary @ May 23rd 2007 5:03PM

@38 As for comparing the quality of a straight up Blu-ray copy to an upscaled, it's not a fair comparison, but if you already own the movie(especially older films) then upgrading to a BD copy isn't really worth it. Unless they are really high on your favorites list or you just have the money to blow, but now since more new releases are hitting BD quicker, that money could be probably be used elsewhere(not to mention some big game titles will be hitting soon, knock on wood)

ekbigpimping @ May 23rd 2007 6:03PM

what about playing mp3s during game play

Joe @ May 23rd 2007 5:55PM

Ooo, USA getting it Thursday also!
Some of you said that upscaling won't make a big difference. I checked out some screenshots at gamespot that gets me confused because they're obviously high resolution screenshot of ps2 games. Not all screenshots are high res, but u can tell which ones. A few games with high res in game screenshots: God of War 2; valkyrie profile; shadow of the colossus. There may be more, but I'm wondering, how the hell can those screenshots appear without loading up the ps2 game with a ps2 emulator on ur pc? What I'm trying to say is, if upscaling games will make them look as good as some of these screenshots, then that's something worth celebrating about.
Oh, and these screenshots are old.

shadow of the colossus
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/wandaandthecolossus/images.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=tabs%3Bimages&page=3

god of war 2
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/godofwar2/images.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=tabs%3Bimages&page=14

valkyrie profile:silmeria
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/valkyrieprofilesilmeria/images.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsimage&tag=images%3Ball&page=2

Anyone know how these screenshots are high res with AA? Any know if that how good these games would look via ps3's ps/ps2 upscaler?
If this ps/ps2 upscalers upscales games like my dlp, which upscales everything... then that sux.
Hopefully games will look as good as some of these high res screenshots. NOT ALL of them are high res, but u can tell which ones cause the pictures are sharper and also have antialiasing. sorry for any typos
If the links don't work, just search those 3 games on gamespot and check the earliest pages rather than the recent onces.