PS3 1.5 firmware update clears up backwards compatibility, implements other changes [update 1]

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 24th 2007 at 10:52AM }

While the complete change log of the latest PlayStation 3 update (v1.50) is still conspicuously absent from public eye, it's been widely reported that Sony has corrected the fugly resolution issues that plagued PS1 and PS2 titles (those not originally coded for 480p output) when played on the new rig. That's right, no more (unprecedented) artifacts and jaggies. Huzzah!

Note: the fix does not upscale the original resolutions of PS1 or PS2 games.

Update: PS3 Fanboy has posted a list of additional changes implemented by the update:

A personal image/photo can now be used with a user ID
Edy support added
'Operation Sound' added to sound settings
'Delete Backup Data' added to backup utilities
WEP128, WPA-PSK (TKIP), WPA-PSK(AES) can now utilize AOSS
Login password can be saved without setting the system to log in automatically
Korean keyboard setting now available

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Tags: PS2, ps3firmware, PSone, Update

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 10:56AM

Bout damn time, My ps2 games were looking like shit on my ps3

umm....hello??? @ Jan 24th 2007 11:05AM

Awesome!!!!!! This was one of my major complaints. My other major issue is lack of auto-detection for video switching (ie-must plug in 2 various outputs and switch ex-HDMI to regular RCA cables for when I bring my PS3 to my brother's apartment, I have HDTV he has SDTV). When does the US get v1.5???

DBX00 @ Jan 24th 2007 11:09AM

Once again Sony addresses issues with a quick resolution. It only took them a month to get a fix out there, which is faster than most large corporations. I don't see them ever upscaling PS1 and PS2 games since I don't think games that weren't designed with that graphical detail would look good upscaled to higher resolutions. They'll probably push for developers to make games at 1080p, which would also support everything below that resolution. It eliminates the need for scaling and it pushes the system and developers to the limits of the system.

VWatermelon @ Jan 24th 2007 11:13AM

and not a moment too soon! those jagged graphics made m eyes bleed.

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 11:13AM

Lol, Once again?
oh alright

This issue shouldn't of even existed with proper testing

Fred T @ Jan 24th 2007 11:14AM

Too bad they could give the Wii a firmware upgrade to do the same for the wii... Nintendo fans have to put up with jaggies and such for the next 5 years.

Diman @ Jan 24th 2007 11:15AM

Let's see what the fanboys will find to bitch about next.

baby sea tuna @ Jan 24th 2007 11:16AM

Wow, I believe this counts as good news. Alright!

Alan Wii @ Jan 24th 2007 11:17AM

Nice to read some good PS3 news for a change.

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 11:17AM

Ah, leave it to Fred T to start shit, what would we do without you Fred?

A lot of Good things i can imagine
so you play any games at 120FPS yet?

in 4-d?!

because i sure has hell haven't

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 11:19AM

Diman

people were complaining about the ps3 even BEFORE this issue was established

and that is coming from a ps3 owner

baby sea tuna @ Jan 24th 2007 11:19AM

"7. Let's see what the fanboys will find to bitch about next.

Posted at 11:15AM on Jan 24th 2007 by Diman"

No, this was actually a problem that PS3 owners were bitching about...and rightfully so. It's nice that they got a fix out for it relatively quickly.

Whatever though, I just wanted to test out my password.

Marty @ Jan 24th 2007 11:23AM

"Once again Sony addresses issues with a quick resolution."

I would not consider a product launching with a huge problem like this, and then a fix a month later "quick" by any means.

And "once again"? When has this ever happened before? Sony is the king of "we'll do it when we feel like it because people love us so much that they will wait for it."

nick @ Jan 24th 2007 11:23AM

so they brought it back up to crappy ps1 quality but didn't improve it any. what a relief...

mykie @ Jan 24th 2007 11:25AM

Hey, new comments system...Swanky!

I won't believe it until I see it, just because as I understand it, it's an issue in the hardware that a firmware update can't fix.

But if they did actually fix it, good job to Sony, one less bullet point for us Nintendo fans to slam the PS3 on! :)

A0 @ Jan 24th 2007 11:26AM

Wasn't this suppose to be working before launch. Sony was the people stating that they had full backwards compatibility at upscaled resolutions.

Instead of Sony making promises they can't keep and saying it'll be there. Why don't they say "we're working on it"...

Crono @ Jan 24th 2007 11:27AM

PS2 games look great scaled to high res. PCSX2 has been playable for awhile on PC's and high res FF12 look awesome.

No reason PS3 shouldn't be able to scale it.

PS1 games, however, do look like ass scaled up. Except FF7, because they didn't use texture mapping on the character, only the environments. It looks fantastic scaled up.

Derbeste @ Jan 24th 2007 11:28AM

Once again? O.o Name another time.

A month??? Nov. 17th release date --> Jan. 24 (still not actually released in U.S. either) is over TWO months moron.

And that is just to fix something that the included PS2 chip was supposed to do to perfection at launch.

I guess I can't blame you for clinging to any shred of good Sony news though. If I waisted $600, I'd spend every moment I could trying to convince myself I made a good decision too.

LAboy @ Jan 24th 2007 11:29AM

this is cool, but still no fix for the 480p/1080i problem.

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 11:30AM

Like i said, slow fix, And something that SHOULD of been caught in testing

And "once again" and "Sony fixed" do not mix
i still have DISC READ ERRORS With my ps2 (the slim one)

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 24th 2007 11:30AM

I still haven't ha any such problems, despite playing a half dozen or more PS2 games on my PS3 over HDMI.

A source of mine did tell me this about 1.5 though. He said the SDK has "better support for scaling". He didn't say exactly what that meant, but he implied that that meant that issues with output resolution scaling (like the 1080i issue) are expected to be solved by developers using these new calls in the SDK (programming kit) instead of global final scaling like 360 uses.

I guess that's good news, that Sony seems to have a plan. However, it seems to mean that games that have this problem (not producing 720p output) will have to be patched instead of being fixed across the board by a firmware update.

In a way this is technically a better solution than global scaling. But in order for it to be as effective as global scaling, Sony has to make it a point to work with every developer before their games are released to ensure they have added the proper support for scaling in their programs.

Come on Sony, work this stuff through.

Vidikron @ Jan 24th 2007 11:38AM

LOL... Sony fixes the issue and people still bash them for having the issue in the first place. Sure, they should have implemented this before launch along with a few other issues, but the 360 had/has it's fair share of unresolved launch issues. Hell, it's not even fully backward compatible and even some of the Xbox games that can be played on the 360 are worse than just playing them on the Xbox (e.g. Deathrow).

Patrick @ Jan 24th 2007 11:40AM

glad to see them responding, but still not enough for me to plunker down $500

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 11:44AM

@22, heres the thing comparing the 360's issue with the ps3's issue with backwards compatibility is STUPID

ps3-OH WE FORGOT TO TELL YOU THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE ISSUES WITH IT LOL SORRY BOUT THAT

360-before we tell you about anything, the 360 will not be able to play everything, just telling you ahead of time

and at LEAST the XBOX games that work on the 360 look BETTER on the 360
and you damn well know that this issue SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT DURING DEVELOPMENT no fucking excuses, believe you me if my Wii couldn't play GC games or did this to them, i would be bitching about that

but my ps3 happens to be doing this so i am just saying is all

Darcrequiem @ Jan 24th 2007 11:45AM

"19. this is cool, but still no fix for the 480p/1080i problem.

Posted at 11:29AM on Jan 24th 2007 by LAboy"

There mostly likely won't be. Some idiot at Sony thought that including a scaler ship in a system that was going to have to upscale and downscale images was a bad idea. It was probably the same moron that thought going to court with Immersion over rumble made more sense than settling out of court like MS did.

Gabriel Mains @ Jan 24th 2007 11:46AM

What do you mean you think old PS2 games wouldn't look good upscaled??? My 360 upscales Jade Empire to 720p and it looks AMAZING!!!!!! I would LOVE to have my PS3 upscale God of War to 720p!!!!!! WTF Sony!?!?! You had a year post 360 launch to implement EVERYTHING they did plus more goodies and you gave us LESS?????? F U too...

Almack64 @ Jan 24th 2007 11:51AM

In general this a good thing. Stop the hate.

Derbeste @ Jan 24th 2007 11:53AM

Not only that, Rodney, but we are not really "bashing" this fix.

We are merely implying that minor fix to correct a launch issue doesn't make up for the last 2 months of incompetence.

Yes, xbox had its problems too. We "bashed" MS for them then. But look! 99% of the xbox problems have been solved BEFORE the launch of the PS3 and it costs $200 less! So once again, PS3 is always playing catch up. They are playing catch up in bugs, price, AND graphics! Is that really so hard to understand?

So with all that in mind, I have to ask AGAIN....what is the value in buying a PS3 NOW? (if you say Resistance, I will reach through the internet and give you the worst purple nurple you have ever had.)

Yeti @ Jan 24th 2007 11:54AM

This doesn't make sense. If it fixes this major bug then why isn't Sony shouting this from the rooftops?

Mystic @ Jan 24th 2007 11:55AM

When you say the games aren't being upscaled, do you mean that if the PS3 is hooked up HDMI it actually switched to 480i/p output? Or did you mean the output is upscaled to 1080p, but the games are still being rendered at their native resolution?

Shiro @ Jan 24th 2007 11:55AM

I think this is why I don't own a PS3. Or at least, not yet. First I have to win the lottery. :D

JJ @ Jan 24th 2007 11:56AM

Gabriel you forget one thing, most games for the Xbox i believe supported HD resolutions, most games for the PS2 didn't.

So thats already a big step up, a lot of Xbox games were designed with HD resolutions in mind, since the original Xbox was a very capable HD machine.

All things considered though i'd take full backwards compatability with 90% of last gen and earlier games than no scaling than 720p scaling and only backwards compatable with less than half of last gen games.

(Sorry i'm still grumpy that pretty much NONE of my xbox games save for a few, worked on my 360...as i had sold my Xbox to pay off the 360 *shakes his fist angrily at MS, then goes back to playing crackdown*)

daddycool @ Jan 24th 2007 11:57AM

Good. Now I can get a PS3 to play God of War 2.

BTW. Upscaled last gen games look awesome. Ninja Gaiden on the 360 is beautiful. Too bad it's only one of the seven freaking games that work on the 360.

DBX00 @ Jan 24th 2007 11:58AM

Bottom line is that the issue has been resolved and Sony backwards compatibility is superior to any other console on the market. As far as the other outstanding issues, you can continue to complain about those while after a year we still have XBOX360 overheating and abruptly ending in the red ring of death. As far as the scaling abilities of the PS3, you don't need a dedicated scaler chip to upscale to higher resolutions. Therefore, it is possible that Sony can add this feature with a software update that utilizes the Cell for that exact purpose. The Cell was built to handle things just like that. As far as promises made by Sony; you're confusing them with rumors. Sony's stance has always been that they would not alter PS1 and PS2 games from their original resolution and that still hasn't changed.

Blazur @ Jan 24th 2007 12:00PM

Yes, it is nice to see some positive news for the PS3 for a change.

dvdguy @ Jan 24th 2007 12:02PM

Well, this is a step in the right direction.

Vidikron @ Jan 24th 2007 12:04PM

@24

You are not entirely correct and comparing backward compatibility to backwards compatibility is NOT stupid, it's quite logical actually. MS actually stated before launch that they were shooting for 100% backwards compatibility. After launch they retracted that and admitted they likely won't reach that goal and are only going to concentrate on bigger name titles. To bad that leave fans of niche genres (fighting games for example) out in the cold.

Also, all Sony ever said is that the PS3 would be backward compatible with PS2 and PS1 games. As far as I know they never actually made any statements/promises about the video quality and have actually delivered what they said.

And you are wrong that all Xbox games that run on the 360 look better. You evidently haven't played the example I gave. Deathrow runs windowed (bars on all sides) on the 360. That sucks. The audio also skips and cuts out reguarly. It's playable, but it's still better on the original Xbox.

I'm just getting sick of the constant Sony bashing. Even when they actual fix an issue they still get bashed... that's a bit ridiculous.

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 12:06PM

@Vid

Your logic, is really REALLY flawed if you think a Sony and MS comparison is Logical

Derbeste @ Jan 24th 2007 12:06PM

Ok....it's official. DBX00 has GOT to be a Sony rep.

NO ONE can be in THAT much denial. There has to be money involved.

RODNEY @ Jan 24th 2007 12:10PM

I WANT MY CAR TO MAKE BREAKFAST FOR ME
-Sony Rep

THE 360 or the WII has no backwards compatibility
-Sony Rep

And that is why people won't shut up about this

ss @ Jan 24th 2007 12:13PM

Finally!

Vidikron @ Jan 24th 2007 12:17PM

@Rodney

Yet you provide no reasons why it is not logical to compare each systems backwards compaitibility with what they promised. Sony delivered what they said. And when people complained about excessive jaggies they fixed it. MS backed off their original statements of 100% backwards compitibility and will likely not be delivering what they said.

So, now, what counterpoint do you have?.. or are you just going to call me illogical with nothing to back it up and spout crap about breakfast again?

AG @ Jan 24th 2007 12:25PM

Nice,

I think in March I will be buying me a PS3!

Sam @ Jan 24th 2007 12:31PM

Cool, but I didn't notice any BC problems with my PS3.

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 24th 2007 12:32PM

Folks, most games playing in backward compatiblity (BC) on 360 do not look any better than on Xbox. Yes, Halo and Halo 2 look significantly better. But other games rarely look any different at all. Take a look at Forza, even on 360 it doesn't look anywhere near as good as GT4 does on PS2. Of course, Rallisport Challenge 2 looks better on Xbox than GT4 does on PS2, but Rallisport Challenge 2 doesn't workon 360, like most Xbox games.

It is ridiculous to compare backward compatibility on 360 with that on the PS3. Virtually all games work on PS3, with only minor issues with sound or whatever. Only a few games work on 360, and some of those don't even work well enough (play Road Atlanta in Forza and watch the frame rate drop to 6-8 fps going down the esses).

JJ and others, only a very few Xbox (not 360) games supported HDTV resolutions (not counting 480p, which isn't HDTV). There's a list somewhere, but it's pretty short, maybe 50-60 games? Only one PS2 game supported HDTV resolutions (GT4).

Mystic:
When you play a PS2 game on PS3, the output switches to 480p and your TV does the upscaling (except 480i->480p deinterlacing if applicable). I would presume if you play GT4 it goes to 1080i, but I didn't try.

It'd be really great if the Xbots on this thread would spend more time liking (playing) their console and butt out of crapping on the PS3. Go play the Crackdown demo that was made available 24 hours ago. It's free and worth a couple hours of play, and the graphics have a cool style.