Firmware 2.0 released for PS3

Friday 09th November 2007, 06:06:00 PM, written by Carl Bender

Sony Computer Entertainment released firmware version 2.0 for the Playstation 3 yesterday, introducing playlists for music and pictures, custom themes, RSS feed, and remote wake-on LAN functionality via the PSP. With the addition of wake-on LAN, owners of the PSP will be able to turn-on and turn-off a sync'd and networked PS3 from anywhere in the world, enabling the remote playback of media files on that system fed to the PSP. This particular feature has been anticipated and discussed for some time, and is a cornerstone to Sony's vision of the PSN evolving into a multi-platform network.

In terms of the utility of the RSS feed, for now it is limited to pulling Playstation-related news and updates based on regional preference, and consists of a ticker on the upper right-hand of the main XMB screen. For custom themes, Sony has provided some free downloadable options via the Playstation Store. In addition, a PS3 themes creator program for the PC has been released in Japan, allowing for users to create their own PS3-compatible themes. An English translation of the instructions, as well as links to the necessary files, may be found here.

Although there was hope that the '2.0' designator would come with long-sought features such as in-game cross-media bar access and Blu-ray specification 1.1extensibility, the included items build steadily towards the PS3 improving in terms of media playback and network utility.

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