PS3 firmware v1.80; UPSCALING!!!! joy!

well, i've been using my ps3 mainly for its multimedia capabalities as of late and was overjoyed to see at midnight my ps3 saw the v1.80 update!!

basically this update adds a slew of things we've been wanting, not quite the infamous v2.0 update list but very nice nonetheless.

the list includes the ability to now upscale dvds and ps2/ps games to 1080p.  on top of that add in the ability to connect to DLNA devices (ie my pc running vista and Windows Media Player Media Sharing; lets me stream all of my music, vids, photos to the ps3 now; works pretty good.  however you can only stream a limited but popular formats like mp3, wmv, jpg, etc).  head over here for the full press release from sony.

nice job sony! this summer may end up being a good sony summer afterall. :P

the upscaling on my hackers dvd looked pretty good, figure w/that much cell power you should be able upscale better than most standalone dvd upscaling players.  prob will check out god of war tomorrow sometime and see how that upscaling looks.

aiy, peace.

apple's iphone.. will it be worth the money? (opinion)

are you going to go and snatch up Apple's iPhone once its released this summer?  as a phone geek, i am losing interest as each day goes by.  yes, Apple's UI will be very easy to use and very clean looking.  yes, its nice having the iPod features and the touchscreen/gestures.  yes, it will probably be a very stable OS/phone and has a nice amount of onboard memory.  it will prob be the best if not one of the best music/video phones in 07; however i still love my walkman phones though. 

however, these good points don't do it for me and here's why:

consipiracy theories and the likes

well, i admit it.  as a kid and young adult, i was totally into the whole 'conspiracy theory' stuff.  that 'big brother' was covering up the facts and controlling the flow of media/news. 

firefox, wordpress blogs, and youtube problems w/embedded videos...

i would consider myself still to be a rather newer user of wordpress for my blogging. i previously had used blogger for all of my blogging needs. however, i hate how wordpress handles youtube's embedding code.

for example, this is the code that : <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsN3bqc2wos"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsN3bqc2wos" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

normally, if i want to embed a youtube video into one of my wordpress posts, i will go to the HTML tab in my post and then paste the above code in.  however, i noticed that after i did this and then viewed the published posts in firefox; the formatting of anything after the embedded video would get really 'funky'.   the problem does not happen when i view the posts in Internet Explorer 7.0 (ironically eh?).   i also noticed that if i embed video in a post via the HTML tab in the wordpress Editor and have the Ad-Block extension enabled it will add the "block this ad" to the photos/images or video.  this only seemed to happen if i saved the post and then went back to edit it.

what i have done to avoid the formatting weirdness w/embedded videos from youtube is to just remove the <object .... code lines, so from the above code i would only put in this to embed the video into one of my blog posts:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsN3bqc2wos" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed>

once i did this, the posts formatting seemed to be fixed for me and my posts.  almost seems like the <object> and <param> are the problems.
hopefully that helps other wp users w/these problems. :)

ps3 random notes, hdmi and optical digital sound at the same time?

well, i admit it.. my ps3 at times sees more loving from my than my wii.. but that really depends on if i have pals over (wii) or am going solo mode (ps3).. however, today i realized something i hadn't up until now. my ps3 is hooked up via hdmi to my tv (no other audio except hdmi), audio is then connected to my sony receiver via digital optical and my ps3 is setup to output via digital optical (dts,dolby,pcm).

however, yesterday i was watching the news in the morning via my tv's tuner and had the tv's speakers on and up. after flipping through the news, i flipped on my ps3 to get some downloads setup for while i was at work. and then voila! my tv's sound seemed to magically work even though i have the audio setting to digital optical. put on some music, plays fine and same w/videos.

can some verify this has this always been true or added in the latest firmware?? nonetheless, i'm happy! hdmi and digital optical output = :)

well, i gave in and decided to get MKII for the PS3 and just tonight, calling all cars since.. well.. there hasn't been crap released on the PS3 in some time... man, both my wii and ps3 are lacking games still.. only good thing is that this fall looks very good!

the power of the masses, go digg!

well, yesterday we witnessed a pretty significant event on the web. we saw a site/company bow down to their users (http://blog.digg.com/?p=74) and in turn disregarded the advice of their attorneys. we also finally saw the power that we users hold and the beauty of the web and inability to censor it.

for those uniformed, here is a quick recap of what happened.

Digg.com received several cease and desist letters from the movie industry to take down any user submitted content relating to the HD DVD crack thats floating around on the web. initially, Digg wanted to avoid any possible legal issues or take down of their site by removing the content (http://blog.digg.com/?p=73 ) but after receiving tons of emails, posts, they decided that they would listen to their users and leave the content up.

Surfers/Users then started their backlash towards the industry by posting the now infamous HDDVD key in any way possible. some create some very witty photos w/the key, while others flooded message boards and post comments w/the code. Initially Blogspot and Wordpress tried to remove any posts/blogs that contained the code; i'm not sure if they are still doing this or not (guess we'll see!)

creative notions; wallpapers and my pals modded wii

this weekend i decided to go back and visit the parents out on the farm. had a great peaceful and unplugged weekend. unplugged meaning no internet, cellphone, or text messaging (still had my tablet pc and all but no web, hehe). i feel so lucky to be able to go back to my parent's farm to relax and unwind. its such a stark contrast to my usual daily techno life in minneapolis, mn.


(however sega never seemed to deliver after the ole genesis... just a poster i still have hanging in my old bedroom at my parents house.. hehe)

my 'now-gen' gaming thoughts on the ps3, wii

well, i'm a PS3wii guy. i got my Wii on launch (i laugh at all who assumed they could get one whenever they wanted after launch.. haha!). i got my PS3 about less than a month ago. after playing both and using them to their abilities:

Wii: browsing web, mii exchanging, adding friends, adding music/photos/video to sd cards, gaming, virtual console purchases, etc

PS3: installed yellowdog linux, added music/video/photos, web browsing, PSN setup, adding friends, gaming, blu-ray, remote play w/my psp, etc

i've decided i' give my thoughts on what i liked, hated, and want from the now-gen consoles. so here we go (remember, as much as it may sound like i'm dogging the ps3 and wii, i'm not. just some constructive criticism, hehe. x360 lovers are lucky i don't have one or else their machine may be the next victim!)

PS3 firmware update v1.70 available now!

well, was just messing around on the PS3 tonight and noticed when i got done watching A Scanner Darkly, that i was not logged into the PSN.  

after trying to connect i received a message saying that a system update was available, went to the update section and noticed that v1.70 firmware being out!

hmm. this one sure sneaked in under the radar, no sites i could see knew or saw this update. i wonder if this update will resolve the problems that some were having after updating to v1.60 and system freezing problems (ie my own).

a quick jump over to the http://www.playstation.com site but i see no mention of what changes are in v1.70 or any hints that it is even out. hmm.. (http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Network/Updates)

i'll post some vids and comments on what i see.  maybe we'll get our XMB wishes!! (http://www.petitiononline.com/ps3xmb/petition.html)  :P

links/embedded video after my update completes and youtube uploads are finished!

update: headed over to http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2007/04/18/firmware-1-70-is-available-for-your-downloadationism/ and found out the updates.

i guess the update allows PS3 owners to play the games on their PS3 they download (ie PSone games) , saved data will be transfered to PSP from PS3, and vibration features added for PS and PS2 connected accessories (ie dual shock controller via usb, etc).  now i wonder if my own homebrewed PSone games will work. i'll let ya know after the update.

HP TC1100, Vista, and Bluetooth problems and fix!

well, i've been running vista for a while now w/my TC1100.  up till now i've been using the bluetooth to mainly tether my work phone to my tc1100 for good ole evdo browsing on the train/commute.  however, i just recently purchased a Plantronics 510 Voyager BT Headset and thought i'd pair it w/my tc1100 and try using it for voice commands (built into vista).

Playstation Store Updates! Spiderman3 trailer, littlebigplanet!

well, it seems that the PS store has updated content and included content such as:

trailers for: LittleBigPlanet, Spiderman3

downloable classic Mortal Kombat 2 (with blood, fatalities, babalities, etc)

and a "Coming Soon" link that brings you to vids of future PS3 games.

enjoy my fellow PS3 owners!

 updated:  btw, for you wii owners, the Wii/Opera final version is out.  it requires a system update and then going to the Wii Store and updating the Opera Browser in the Wii Ware section.  the added/finishing touches on the browser still make it the best console browsing experience of the big 3, well atleast in my opinion.. :P

Blu-Ray/HD DVD Movies = not always fullscreen (argh letterboxing!!)

i admit it. i still consider myself to be a newb in regards to HD and the nextgen movie formats (bluray, hd dvd).  however, as a newb to the HD realm, i always thought that w/the nextgen movie formats that letterboxing would be a thing of the past. 

Boy was i wrong!  after getting a few blu-ray movies via netflix and borrowing a few from my pal; i noticed the infamous black bars above and below the movie.  it seems there are three main aspect ratios used in blu-ray and hd dvd movies.  (info gathered from: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=5528 )

1) Academy (1.37 wide)
2) Flat Widescreen (1.66-1.85 wide)
3) Anamorphic "Scope"/70mm Widescreen (2.00-2.75 wide)

if a movie has the #2 aspect ratio, it will be fullscreen.  if its #1 or #3, you will see the blackbars.  so hopefully that will help others out that are perplexed by this.  those guys over at http://forum.blu-ray.com/ sure do know their blu-ray! head over there and check out their forums, some pretty tech savy av guys i'd say!

thats about all for now.

my PS3 videos (visual player, remote play, thumbnails)

here's a quick wrapup of my PS3 vids over at http://youtube.com/seamonkey420 

including the nasty freezing/lockup probs i was having.

PS3 back up and going again! for now...

well, after talking w/a sony rep on my problems, she had me do a full hard reset on my PS3 and then a Full Format. So far that has solved/fixed my freezing problems and i'm now able to watch movies and play games again! joy!

a quickie guide on doing a hard reset will be posted up at http://tech-recipes.com later today and should be live in a few days, i'll post a link to it once its up.
(link here! http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2265/ps3_how_to_factory_hard_reset )
i guess i'll see if my problems come back or if my ps3 was overheating. this upcoming weekend will be a true test since i plan to do some major gaming on NBA2K7 and FFXII. :)

btw, here is what my PS3 freezing/problems looked like:

me and my ps3 woes.. :(

well.... i've had my PS3 for about a week now and have some definite feedback about my PS3 experience thus far (some goods, a few bads, and more annoyings)

Goods:  Amazing graphics, beautiful Blu-Ray movies, great sound.  Linux can be installed, not a bad sized HDD.

Bads:  Games? hello, when are they coming out?? Price (even though i scored mine for $500).  Power consumption.  FREEZING UP OF THE PS3!!!

Annoyings: FREEZING/Locking up of my PS3 randomly.  Not able to save NDFS:Carbon gamesaves to a SD card.  Background Downloading isn't really background downloading (does not download when watching a movie, playing game offline, etc).  Searching for music is impossible.

So.... here's my PS3 story so far...

as most know, i got my Wii on launch and really had no interest in the PS3 due to its super high price and lack of innovation (besides awesome graphics, nothing really that new).  however after finding a great deal and my pal urging me to get one and seeing the upcoming game lineups for 2007, i decided it was time to get me one.

i got the 60GB version, an extra controller, the blu-ray remote, and 3 games.  i hooked it up to my HDTV via HDMI (max output of 1080i on my Olevia) and have sound going to my receiver via Optical Digital (instead of HDMI audio). 

the first thing i did was updated the firmware to v1.60 (since it enables background downloading and adds more video formats).  i then went ahead and installed Yellowdog Linux and shortly after removed linux (yea, its cool to say you have linux on your PS3 but really what am i going to use it for? plus, i'd rather have the extra 10gb of storage for trailers, demos, etc).

however, most recenly i've noticed a few disturbing trends w/my PS3. the most annoying/discouraging being that my PS3 has started freezing up almost on a daily basis.  the lockups will occur randomly; sometimes when on the XMB, while exiting a blu-ray movie, or while loading a game.  last night, i decided to go and get 3 demos (GT, Armored Core, and MLB) and downloaded them overnight.  however this morning after downloading the demos and 2 trailers, my PS3 locked up 4 times in a row.  the first time it locked up when i tried to play the movie trailer for Stardust, it started the video but then went to a blank screen and i was unable to get to any menus or even exit the video. ok, no biggie, maybe a corrupted video.    after warm rebooting the PS3, i browsed to my Games on the XMB and when i paused on my Blast Factor demo, my PS3 locked up again.  This time though i had to do a full cold reboot (turn off power switch, unplug from AC).

at this point, i started to get very worried and annoyed.  when you pay over $500 for a gaming system, you do not expect it to lock up.  especially considering that my Wii has only locked up twice and that was after playing it for over 10 hours straight.

so after getting a bit freaked out, i decided that maybe my probs will be resolved by doing a complete full format of the hdd.  before doing the format, i deleted all of my music, pictures, movies, and game demos.  i then did a backup of my game saves and proceeded to do a full HD format (allocating all space to the PS3, no linux partiton for me since again its pointless imo).  tonight i'll check to see if this has helped or not. 

if my lockups continue, lets just say that you don't want to work for Sony's Tech/Customer support because i will have an earful for them.  maybe i'll record the call and post it up.

btw, my PS3 is NOT OVERHEATING, i've checked the heat and also have it in a nicely ventilated area. however  i have heard of other users w/similar lockups that only started happening after the v1.60 update (yet my pal's PS3 has not locked up on him ever).

updates will be added...