Industry guru Dave Taylor answers free tech support questions about a wide variety of business and technical topics, including blogging, Google AdSense, MySpace, Sony PSP, Apple iPod, Mp3 players, management, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Microsoft Windows.

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:



Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Simpy.
Categorized: Sony PSP, MP3 Players, Etc.   (Article 4295)
Tagged:
Previous: How do I rebuild my business?
Next: Gift card scams?
Still Have Sony PSP Questions?
Looking for all your Sony PSP answers in one place, organized as a convenient quick reference work? Then you need Dave's Everything Guide to the Sony PSP, a 150-page ebook ready for you to download right now!
buy now!

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

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

Posted by: gvsunil at July 3, 2006 3:00 AM

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

Posted by: Esteban at May 11, 2007 6:29 PM

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

Posted by: Dave at August 9, 2007 9:58 AM

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

Posted by: Fidel Enrico Esteban at August 16, 2007 12:44 AM

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.

Posted by: Kegg at March 6, 2008 1:49 PM

Btw, my version is 3.90.

Posted by: kegg at March 6, 2008 2:01 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

Posted by: Dan at March 13, 2008 12:49 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.

Posted by: Silver at May 3, 2008 9:14 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

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









Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited commercial email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.









Search
Find just the answers you seek from among our 1700+ free tech support articles by using our Lijit search engine.


Help!





Subscribe to
Ask Dave Taylor!

Add to Google Reader
Add to My Yahoo!
Subscribe in NewsGator Online

RDF   XML

Free Updates!
Sign up and get free weekly updates and special offers on books, seminars, workshops and more.


Recent Entries
Join the List!
Join my author info mailing list, where you'll learn about my upcoming books, speaking gigs, and more!


Book Links
© 2002 - 2008 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]