Sightseeing in Liberty City– “A photoset showing the similarities between Grand Theft Auto 4 and real life“. Totally worth a look at this guy’s photoset on Flickr.
Tag: photos
PSP Firmware 3.70 in-depth
Forget firmware 3.60, this is the real deal! You may recall a while back now, I recommended that firmware update 3.51 was pointless. Therefore, I have now upgraded my system from 3.50 to 3.70, and I’m expecting a large number of new features with such a version jump in the firmware. What’s going to make a look at this firmware interesting, is that I’ll be looking at the changes on an original PSP (PSP-1000). Let’s get cracking…
When updating, you’re presented with the following change log:
- You can now set custom themes in [Theme Settings] under [Settings].
- Support has been added for assigning buttons in [Remote Play].
- A scene search feature has been added under [Video].
- Sequential playback is now supported under [Video].
- Simultaneous playback of content under [Music] and [Photo] is now supported.
However I want to see exactly how this works, and whether there’s more features (as I never installed 3.60). I’ll start from right-to-left, beginning with [Network]. The 1st thing I notice is a new funky orange and black logo for PlayStation Spot. What is PlayStation Spot? It’s a wifi spot set up by Sony in certain public locations for you to download game demos, trailers etc. Anyhow, on the PSP, clicking on PlayStation Spot creates a new wifi connection: ‘PS Spot’. Apparently, if you are in range of a PlayStation Spot, you will also be able to access the Internet for free and browse the web, and even play multiplayer games in infrastructure mode. So that’s the PSP Spot.
Moving to [Game], I thought I could delete the 3.70 file, and quickly move onto exploring what else is new. However, on hitting [triangle] to bring up the menu…something has changed. On the menu, I can either start the update, delete it, or find out information about it. However, on the ’start’ option, there is a graphical PSP ’start’ button. I’m guessing the aim of this change is to expose extra functionality, and different, perhaps easier ways of doing things. Anyhow, there’s nothing else new under [Game].
Onto [Video], as I hover over a particular video for a while, a little guide pops up in the bottom-right corner of the screen saying ‘[triangle] options’. Which again, is exposing functionality that may not be obvious to a new PSP owner. On hitting [triangle], there is again another graphical PSP ’start’ button next to ‘play’. So, I hit ‘play’ and immediately as the video started another pop up guide says ‘[triangle] control panel’. Looking at the control panel, the PSP system again exposes secondary button options that you can operate without using the control panel such as play/pause, next scene etc…
THE coolest new feature under video is ‘Scene Search’. It is a revelation; simplicity itself to use, and very very useful. It appears as a new icon top-right of the control panel, or alternatively you can hit [square]. What it does is dynamically create scenes into the videos you’re watching which is very, very handy. You can press up or down to select anything from 15 second intervals to 5 minutes (on a short video), and left and right to ’scene search’. I’ll now try the same with a UMD film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, which is a shame because some UMD films don’t have a chapter menu, meaning you have to keep hitting [R] once you’re watching the film. Anyhow, the ’scene search’ still undoubtedly a very nifty feature.
I’ll now cover both [Music] and [Photo] together, as they now share a new, very cool feature. Now, I’ve known for sometime now that if you hit the ‘home’ button, you can jump out of the current track you’re playing, and you can view other songs you might have, and even browse the main XMB menu. However, the moment you tried to access anything else other than music, the music would stop playing. That is still the case, but now if you go into [Photo] the music keeps on playing! I have noticed one thing though, if you want to view a set of photos with the music playing, it is best to use the slideshow mode at its default setting as my system was unable to cache both the thumbnails and pictures if quickly flicking through them. Maybe that’s just because I’m using a PSP-1000? With the added RAM of the PSP-2000, those users may not experience this minor thing. Again, the pop up guide and secondary button options are present throughout.
Onto the big one- [Settings]. I find myself both disappointed and intrigued by what has changed. Under [Theme Settings] there is now ‘themes’ where you can set background, colour and most importantly… icon design! At the moment, there is only ‘original’ theme, which shows a screenshot of the XMB with a mysterious new icon between [Video] and [Game]. It could be something to do with the Japanese TV tuner, and the screenshot has got left in other regional firmware OR it could be something to do with the upcoming TV tuner for the PS3. My guesses though, are only speculative at best. And now for the disappointment- PSP-2000 users get new colour backgrounds, but it seems like we PSP-1000 users do not, which is a shame.
Under [Video Settings] there is the new ‘Sequential Playback’ feature that was mentioned- useful, but nothing spectacular. And that, my friends… is it!
If you spot any mistakes, please let me know, and remember- I have only looked at this update with the PSP-1000.
PSP Camera Comprehensive Review
This post was originally written on the City In The Clouds blog.
Well, I’ve checked, and no-one seems to really have reviewed the UK version in its current configuration AND have consistently ignored something that I will mention later on…
Intro
So, it has finally touched down on the shores of the UK (and Europe for that matter). Retailing at £34.99 (€49.99), the Go!Cam– a Playstation Portable camera adapter, is an interesting proposition for the PSP-owning, tech-savvy and bargain-sniffing consumer.
Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
So, what do you get for your £34.99? Well, the Go!Cam is essentially a 1.3 megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens that plugs into the PSP’s USB port at the top. The camera can be swivelled 180 degrees, either pointing at you (handy for self-portraits) or away, for point and click action at anything you fancy. There’s also a microphone built into the knob that you use to swivel the camera. There’s a link to the editing software, and a small plastic carrying case is included. That’s all you need to know, really.
In use
All you need is your trusty PSP (with version 2.70 firmware or later), a decent-sized Memory Stick Duo (I’d recommend at least 1Gb), and your new Go!Cam. Using the Go!Cam is simply a matter of selecting the ‘Camera’ option under ‘Photo’ on the main menu. Do you need to plug in the camera before turning on the PSP? Nope, I have tested this and the camera works fine in either circumstance.
Quality
Of course, only being a 1.3 megapixel camera is a major factor in the quality of the final image but the camera’s bargain price point reflects this. Photos are saved in the JPG format and videos are saved in the AVI format. The images, especially in low light can be quite grainy and the PSP has to be kept reasonably still, otherwise you’ll get blurred pictures. Fast-moving objects could be a problem.
The ‘Go!Edit’ software…
Words cannot describe how much I hate this infernal piece of software. When the Go!Cam was released in Japan, it was known as ‘Chotto Shot’ and came with editing software ‘Chotto Edit’ which came on a UMD disk. The Go!Edit software for European consumers does not come with the the PSP camera. Instead, you are given a link to www.yourpsp.com/goedit (so I see the ‘Your PSP’ website lives on in some form), and once on your memory stick, takes up 80Mb!
What is so bad about this piece of software? The ‘effects’ are rubbish and pointless (for both photos and videos) and videos are only limited to 15 seconds. What most people have failed to realise is that if you shoot a video directly from the main menu instead of using the Go!Edit software, you can shoot footage for as long as you have memory left on your Memory Stick Duo. Once you’ve run out of memory, the PSP informs you and stops the filming.
Another advantage of NOT using the Go!Edit software is that both photos and videos are available under ‘Digital Camera Images’ and ‘Digital Camera Recordings’ where you’d expect to find them on the menu. Whilst using the Go!Edit software, I could not find where the videos were stored using the PSP’s menu. Avoid the Go!Edit software at all costs- it’s just not worth it!
So, good enough?
As other reviews and previews have mentioned, you can get most of this functionality on a typical camera phone these days. However the unique feature that the Go!Cam presents is instant viewing of photos and videos taken, viewable on the PSP’s big, gorgeous widescreen display. Now, go show me a camera phone with a screen that big, and of such quality.
A fairly nifty feature, is being able to take photos with a ’sketch’ effect that is created on-the-fly. This is easily one of the better features. Some photos I have taken with this effect are available here.
To conclude…
Obviously the Go!Cam is not going to be your primary camera, or possibly even your second camera BUT it is serious fun. I don’t know of any other camera or video recorder with a screen this big, for this price. I’d say the Go!Cam is worth it just for the novelty of being able to take pics and shoot the odd video on your PSP. Just avoid the the Go!Edit software!
Rating: 4 STARS