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Should I upgrade my Sony PSP firmware?

You seem to be on top of all this stuff, Dave, so tell me: should I upgrade the firmware on my Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) to the latest 2.60 release from Sony, or should I stick with 1.50? I'm not entirely clear of the tradeoffs.


Dave's Answer:

This is a question that I see a lot, actually. Sony already has a reputation of being in the forefront of the war over digital rights management (e.g., technological solutions that ensure illegal copies of music, games and videos aren't playable or viewable) and so it should be no surprise that the price you pay for upgrading your firmware in the Sony PSP is that you have less and less ability to hack, experiment or exploit the capabilities of your handheld unit.

On the other hand, there's no question that the last few firmware releases from Sony have added a raft of fabulous and invaluable new features and capabilities, not the least of which is a surprisingly full-featured Web browser.

For example, when Sony released firmware 2.0, here's what was added to the PSP's capabilities:

Network

  • An Internet browser has been added.

Video

  • 4:3 Screen Mode has been added (for video saved on Memory Stick Duo media).
  • Go To feature has been added (for UMDVIDEO and UMDMUSIC).
  • A-B Repeat feature has been added (for UMDVIDEO, UMDMUSIC and video saved on Memory Stick Duo media).
  • Audio options have been added (for video saved on Memory Stick Duo media).
  • MP4 (AVC) has been added as a playable file format (for video saved on Memory Stick Duo media).

Music

  • The combination of SonicStage version 3.2 (or later) and PSP system software 2.00 (or later) has made it possible for music files in ATRAC3 plus format to be transferred to a Memory Stick PRO Duo
  • MP4 (the audio codec for MP4 format audio files is MPEG-4 AAC) and WAV (Linear PCM) have been added as playable file formats (for music saved on Memory Stick Duo media).

Photo

  • Wallpaper feature has been added.
  • Image transfer feature has been added.
  • TIFF, GIF, PNG and BMP have been added as viewable file formats.

Settings

  • [Character Set] has been added in [System Settings].
  • [Theme Settings] has been added.
  • [Internet Browser Start Control] has been added as a security mode in [Security Settings].
  • WPA-PSK (TKIP) has been added as a security mode in [Network Settings].

Then, in October 2005, Sony released firmware 2.50, which added:

  • [LocationFree Player] has been added as a feature under [Network].
  • Settings for [Text Size] and [Display Mode] in [Internet Browser] can now be saved.
  • The input history of online forms accessed through [Internet Browser] can now be saved.

Settings

  • [Set via Internet] has been added as an option to [Date and Time] in [Date & Time Settings] under [Settings].
  • [WPA-PSK (AES)] has been added as a security method under [Network Settings].

The most recent firmware release as of this writing is 2.60, which builds on the previous list and now includes:

  • [RSS Channel] has been added as a feature under [Network].
  • [Volume Adjustment] has been added as an option in the [LocationFree Player] control panel.
  • Music data in WMA (Windows Media Audio) format can now be played under [Music]. (This applies to music saved on Memory Stick Duo media.)
  • [Enable WMA Playback] has been added as a setting under [System Settings].

I realize that this is confusing. In fact, I'm still running with firmware 2.50 even though the newer release is available. Nothing added is sufficiently compelling to make me upgrade as of yet.

Fortunately, there's a splendid comparison table of Sony PSP firmware that University at Buffalo PhD student Kevin Lim has produced that will give you yet another perspective on this matter: RSS: Should We Upgrade?

This is a long, involved answer. I hope it's helpful.

When you are ready to upgrade your firmware, realize that there are two ways you can do so, as detailed in these two articles:


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Categorized: iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help   (Article 4295, Written by )
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Reader Comments To Date: 17

gvsunil said, on July 3, 2006 3:00 AM:

please tell me the site to download the Sony firmware for mp4 player

Esteban said, on May 11, 2007 6:29 PM:

Ddave ,how do I get internet on my psp its pretty hard

Dave said, on August 9, 2007 9:58 AM:

Hey Quick question I'm in the process of geting my psp hooked up to the internet. I noticed that when I upgraded my psp to the newest version it has a web browser. How much can you actually do on this browser?? Could I go On your web page if I wanted to and search for stuff? Can I check my e-mail?? Can I even download music from this browser??
Thanks,
Dave

Fidel Enrico Esteban said, on August 16, 2007 12:44 AM:

i cant upgrade my firmware how to upgrade pls e-mail me quino_828@yahoo.com.ph thanks

Kegg said, on March 6, 2008 1:49 PM:

Maybe this has been answered before, I just can't find an answer. Last night I upgraded to the latest version to play Patapon. The update was sucessful and I played for 2 hours. Later I tried to play again but the UMD only made moderately loud loading sounds. Now no UMD will load. The psp has not been droped or malfunctioned in any other way. Please help.

kegg said, on March 6, 2008 2:01 PM:

Btw, my version is 3.90.

Dan said, on March 13, 2008 12:49 PM:

i have a custom firmware and i was wondering why the psp freezes at "please wat..." while i try to update to a newer custom firmware

Silver said, on May 3, 2008 9:14 PM:

Hi dave keep up the good work.My sony psp is currently running on the firmware v2.00 whats the best firmware for me to upgrade to.

alabi haruna said, on July 24, 2008 4:06 AM:

pls and pls i need traning on psp upgrading and downgrading and where to check for the suite,i mean the software to do it.pls make it quick

akin said, on September 18, 2008 2:34 AM:

please how do i upgrade my psp version 3.73 to any other one i can save a game on

rowland Funsho said, on February 2, 2009 10:38 AM:

thanks for the free downloader, but where doI save the file on the sony psp?
thank you.

Akwetey peter said, on April 18, 2009 2:44 PM:

i am peter from ghana and i need help for my psp

such as:the face,the moy sick,and all about my psp and pls don,t ask for money ok you can add @ quino_828@yahoo.com

Paco said, on May 7, 2009 4:39 PM:

I have a PSP with custom Firmware, Can I upgrade wireless or that will block my psp? If I want to update, do I need to update with a custom Firmware?? Thanks

chris said, on July 24, 2009 9:22 AM:

my version is 5.51, can i use playstation network to play online

myk said, on August 26, 2009 3:04 PM:

i have the new psp ofw 5.50 how do i get cfw?

Butterfly said, on January 7, 2010 7:12 AM:

My psp read the memory card, but when i connect it to my PC using my USB.. My PC shows a message "One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it.
For assistance in solving this problem, click this message" .. I really don't know what is GOING i need help!

AVAD said, on January 20, 2010 9:02 PM:

Should i upgrade my PSP firmware that is 4.01 M33-2 ?

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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