Code Retard » PS3

Logitech Harmony PS3 Blu-ray Control Officially Announced

adm_snackbar — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:23:17 +0000

Logitech makes a lot of cool stuff, ranging from products like the acclaimed THX certified Z-5500 speaker system, the G25 racing simulation wheel with 6-speed shifter and clutch pedal, and universal Harmony remotes. We are proud owners of all three products (yes, yes reviews have long been pending) so it’s hard to imagine that Logitech would design their universal Harmony remotes with one large flaw: the incapability to operate the PS3.

The PS3, like the Nintendo Wii, uses Bluetooth technology between the wireless controllers, the benefit being that no line of sight is required for control. The PS3 remote control works the same way, though it is alkaline battery powered like normal remotes. Perhaps as an initial oversight on Logitech’s part to accommodate Bluetooth technology in their Harmony remotes when the PS3 first launched was a valid excuse, but after three years it’s now just inexcusable.

Until today. Today we stumbled upon some promising news from Logitech when they got caught red handed filing FCC specs on a device that would allow all Harmony remotes to interact with PS3s:

Hello, I’m Troy Petersen. I’m a product marketing manager for gaming products, based in Logitech’s Fremont, Calif. office. I’m a huge sports nut and former sports journalist, and love playing golf (badly) and softball — though my new “hobby” of being a dad is my most rewarding activity. I’ve been with Logitech for more than six years and involved in tech for a decade.

…

Yesterday, an Engadget reporter did some digging on an FCC Web site and uncovered our plans to manufacture an adapter that allows our Harmony remotes to control the PS3. We can’t give you all the details just yet, but we can say that this adapter will, when used with any Harmony remote, allows you to control your movie-watching experience on PS3. It will also turn the PS3 on and off – and allow you to set up your Harmony activities to include the PS3 just as you would any other device. You also won’t need to dedicate any of your valuable USB ports to get that control.

So there you have it. If you’ve been waiting on buying one of Logitech’s wonderful Harmony remotes because it won’t control your PS3, fear not as the Blu-ray control device and more details will surface soon.

Image/Logitech

How to Import Rock Band Songs into Rock Band 2 with Export Key (PS3)

adm_snackbar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:45:13 +0000

If you own Rock Band 2, you may be keenly interested knowing how to import Rock Band songs into Rock Band 2 so that you can effectively double the number of songs to play. We personally find the original Rock Band songs a little more “accessible,” meaning there are more songs in the original that are familiar than in the sequel so if you just jumped straight into Rock Band 2, so do yourself a favor and import the original game songs. The trick is having a Rock Band 1 game disc available and buying something called an export key from the PSN (PlayStation Network) store. The process isn’t clearly documented anywhere, and game forums telling you “just get the export key” are vague and mysterious so we’re documenting the step by step instructions for PS3 with screenshots on how to import Rock Band songs into Rock Band 2.

To export songs from Rock Band you are required to possess the actual game disc, so borrow it from a friend, go out and rent the game from a video game store somewhere, or just buy it used off eBay and turn around and sell it after you’ve completed these steps for the export.

Log in to your PSN account and launch the PlayStation Store from XMB. Move the cursor down to the “Add-Ons” section and click it.
Click on the controller-and-disc icon (first one) to view disc-based game add-ons.
Navigate among the games and look for “Rock Band.”
Navigate to the last option past all the tracks to the “Song Export Key.”
Once you click it, you will be prompted to purchase it for $4.99, a small price to pay for all the great Rock Band 1 songs (minus a few you probably won’t miss due to licensing issues).
After purchasing, downloading, and installing the Rock Band song export key, insert the Rock Band 1 game disc. When the game loads, you will now see an additional option (under “Options”) that was not there before: “Export Songs.” Clicking on this will cause the game to dump all the Rock Band songs to your hard drive where you will be able to access them from Rock Band 2 similar to downloaded songs.

After exporting Rock Band songs to your hard drive, swap out the original game disc for Rock Band 2 and wave goodbye. You will no longer need the Rock Band 1 disc anymore so return it to your friend, return it to the video game store, or cash out and sell it on eBay for a decent price ($20 returns seem to be average).

StarCraft Running on PS3

adm_snackbar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:40:41 +0000

Think this is impressive? Want to play StarCraft on your PS3 as well? It’s definitely possible. The requirements? You need to take advantage of your PS3’s little known capability to run Linux. Linux you ask? Yes, because that’s the only way to run Windows. Since StarCraft came out way back in the day when Windows 95 was king, that’s all you need to install on top of Linux through an emulation layer. Fortunately, the PS3 has enough horsepower to run Windows 95, even via software emulation, so StarCraft is actually playable. Just imagine it, playing StarCraft on your big screen TV!

The steps to running Windows on your PS3 are a little bit involved, but we have step by step guides for you. Follow our guide on how to install Linux on your PS3. Then follow our guide on how to install Windows XP on your PS3 or Vista, except replace XP/Vista with Windows 95. Unlike Vista, Windows 95 is actually usable so StarCraft is playable.

After you’ve got Windows 95 running on an emulation on top of Linux, you can then install StarCraft on it.

How to Download Killzone 2 Demo

MindysGrandson — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Guerrilla striked a deal with gamespot that gave them exclusive Killzone 2 demos to give out to those who preordered the game. The rest of the people who did not preorder the game will have to wait until release date (2/26). The only way for those in the America to play the demo early is to make a PSN account that belongs to a different region. Simply go to the UK PSN page and make an UK account. Log into your UK account on the PS3, and the Killzone 2 demo should be on the download list. Enjoy!

Watch Fullscreen YouTube on PS3 and Wii

adm_snackbar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:41:30 +0000

With the advent of YouTube for Television, the beta TV streaming service just starting to be offered by YouTube, Internet-capable consoles like your Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii can display fullscreen YouTube videos simply by visiting: www.youtube.com/tv. This is a big step in the direction of easy YouTube accessibility on your television, unless you have an Xbox 360. It won’t work for you guys, sorry. Neither will it work if you point your regular browser over there too. So don’t delay, fire up the PS3 or Wii and start enjoying fullscreen YouTube videos on your television today.

Fix PS3 TVersity "Data Type Is Not Supported" Error on MPEG-4 Files

adm_snackbar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:12:42 +0000

TVersity is a powerful free media server software that supports a huge variety of video streaming platforms like the Sony PS3. However, with some MPEG-4 videos, the PS3 outputs a "The data type is not supported" error and refuses the play the video file. The reason for this is because for PS3, TVersity is configured to let its target platform to natively try to play the MPEG4 video file. But not all MPEG4 files are the same, as the MPEG-4 Part 2 files will not play natively on the PS3 and will cause the data type not supported error to appear. As a workaround that will not affect other MPEG-4 formats that can be played natively, you can make this simple modification to your TVersity configuration so that only MPEG-4 Part 2 files will be transcoded by TVersity and not affect other video formats.

Open up Windows Explorer and browse to the TVersity installation on C:\Program Files\TVersity\Media Server.
Open the profiles.xml file with a text editor to modify it.
Search for "Playstation 3" to get to the PS3 profile. In my file, it was around line #857.
Search for the exact text:

and delete it. Careful, it may appear in other hardware profiles, so make sure you delete it from the Playstation 3 profile only. For me, it was about 90 lines down. Make sure you are deleting from the "video/mp4" mimetype and not the "video/avi" mimetype a little bit further below which is a similar line but isn’t exactly the same.
Once this line has been deleted, TVersity will transcode the MPEG-4 Part 2 video files but continue to allow the PS3 to natively play supported MPEG-4 formats, as well as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.

Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar Hardware Review

adm_snackbar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:17:36 +0000

The Nyko Frontman wireless guitar is an excellent affordable alternative piece of hardware to first party Guitar Hero and Rock Band wireless guitars, which cost a lot more. For budget shoppers though, you just can’t get a better feature set and play experience than the Nyko guitar for the money. Available in black or white for $20 a pop, it’s over $30 cheaper than either Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitars. This hardware review is for the PS3 platform, but Xbox 360 and Wii versions are expected to be similar. Below is a shot of the back of the box:

The Frontman guitar features an interchangeable pink pick guard in both black and white variations, though the black version ships with a white pick guard while the white guitar ships with a black pick guard. The pick guard is shiny and sturdy and the only complaint is its glossy exterior collects fingerprints easily. This is more noticeable on the black pick guard more so than the white or pink ones. Here is a shot of the black guitar wearing the pink pick guard:

From the picture you can see the white knob on the upper right is actually the direction pad and cut off in the lower right is the effects bar. The strum bar makes a click noise so it’s more reminiscent of the Guitar Hero variety than the Rock Band one which makes no noise. It has a sturdier feel than the Guitar Hero strum bar, however, which is like the Rock Band bar. At any rate, it’s a pleasure to use offering the best features of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars. The three white buttons on the left are the PS3/on/link, start, and select buttons. The neat feature about the "on" button is that it lights up one of four colors (red, blue, orange, and green) to indicate player number. So if you and friend are both jamming out on your same-colored Nyko wireless guitars, there’s no confusion when you come back from a break who’s guitar is who’s thanks to the colored "Nyko" button.

You can see here that this guitar has sensed that it is player 3 (orange). This button is used to link the guitar with the wireless USB receiver. Before playing you must always press this button to link the guitar to the receiver but it’s usually very fast, less than a second, but never more than three. The first time you plug in your guitar to link, though, it does take a little bit longer to establish a connection. While it does this, the "Nyko" button actually pulses white.

This means the button is actually capable of displaying five colors, but it cheats with the white by lighting all red, blue, orange, and green LEDs at the same time. Look closely at the picture near the upper edge of the button and you will see how the white light is made.

The Nyko guitar is compatible with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band 2 (though only through a minor adjustment which is covered later). The included three AA batteries are good for 80 hours of gameplay and the battery housing actually hides a small hex tool that looks cleverly like a guitar pick.

The tool has a hexagon base and allows you to interchange the pick guard plate.

The buttom base of the guitar has a small USB port which allows for wired gameplay if you run out of batteries. Not only that, it can also charge rechargeable batteries if you are use them.

The guitar features a wireless USB receiver unit that looks like an effects pedal. Nyko really paid attention to the details: first the hex tool looks like a pick and now the wireless receiver is disguised as an effects pedal. That is a much better job than the drab treatment the Guitar Hero and Rock Band receivers get. Though it looks like a hefty unit, it’s quite light and only two buttons actually work.

The big black button is part of the link process, so the first time you sync up a guitar, you need to press this button and the "Nyko" button on the guitar. After the initial sync you don’t need to touch this button ever again when you power on your PS3 again. Simply touch the button on the guitar. The second functional knob is the one in the center, which you merely need to turn to Guitar Hero or Rock Band to play. There is a small issue which we covered previously for Rock Band 2 players, which is an incompatibility between the Rock Band mode and the Rock Band 2 game. To keep the story short, for Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2 players, use Guitar Hero mode. For Rock Band 1 players, use Rock Band mode. If you want to know the full details, you can read the post. There is one small problem with the effects pedal wireless receiver and that is the USB cord. It’s pretty short and can be a problem if your PS3 is stacked on the edge a shelf with no room to hold anything else. Then again, this is a problem with the Rock Band USB port as well. You may need to consider a USB extension cable if you have this problem. Also, there was no problem plugging in the wireless receiver into the Rock Band supplied USB hub.

Remember how Nyko paid attention to the details? You’ll be surprised again when you glance at the bottom side of the USB receiver to discover five LEDs. These light up when the corresponding button is pressed on the guitar. While you’re playing, your receiver will likely be flashing a veritable Christmas light show.

The most brilliant thing? The lights correspond exactly to the color keys on the guitar. Now that’s called paying attention to the little things! For reference, the buttons on the guitar:

Gameplay-wise, the Nyko Frontman wireless guitar plays most similarly to a Guitar Hero guitar and it’s a real joy to use. The buttons are somewhat small and don’t cover the entire key like the Rock Band and there are no separate keys for solos. The middle button even has a small bump so you can feel what position your hands are in without looking.

Here is parting shot of the Nyko Frontman wireless guitar between Guitar Hero (left) and Rock Band (right) guitars.

The positives:

Affordable price
Cool LEDs galore
Attention to the details: tool that looks like pick, receiver that looks like effects pedal, LEDs light up when you play
Colored button indicates player number
Interchangeable pick guard
Quick to link after initial sync
Auto power off
Batteries are included and are good for 80 hours of gameplay
25 foot wireless range
Wired gameplay option
Recharges batteries

The negatives:

Incompatible with Rock Band 2 in Rock Band mode, needs to use Guitar Hero mode (then effects bar won’t work, but not a big deal)
Pick guard attracts fingerprints easily
Small buttons

In summary:

Despite a few negatives, the positive features far outweigh anything lacking on the Nyko Frontman wireless guitar. It comes with just as many features are first party hardware and then some. Nyko really put in the time and effort to design a solid guitar. Considering what you are getting for such a low price point, it’s easily the best wireless guitar out there for the money.

Fix Nyko Frontman Guitar on Rock Band 2 for PS3

adm_snackbar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:44:06 +0000

The Frontman wireless guitar from Nyko is a great alternative hardware (check out our review) that is compatible with both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero 3 games on the PS3 up to firmware 2.52. If you are running on PS3 firmware 2.52 and later, you’ll discover that your Nyko Front Man wireless guitar will no longer work with Rock Band 2 since, according to Nyko, the "latest firmware may be causing the input mechanism of the Frontman guitar to malfunction." Symptoms include no response from key presses. Instead the effects pedal wireless receiver sends its own ghost key presses to the PS3 which causes Rock Band 2 to go crazy, even when the guitar isn’t on.

Fortunately the fix is simple: after firmware 2.52, users can switch to the Guitar Hero mode setting on the faux effects pedal receiver which will allow complete functionality of the guitar with Rock Band 2. The Rock Band mode can still be used with the original Rock Band game, however. Gamers who use the Front Man guitars are in luck since Rock Band 2 included new compatibility with Guitar Hero hardware so there is no need to send it back to Nyko for a replacement. Just let Rock Band 2 think you are playing with a Guitar Hero guitar and all is well.

Image/Code Retard

Xbox 360 outsells PS3 3-to-1 on Black Friday 2008

Son Riku — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:30:34 +0000

Microsoft has announced the official numbers for Xbox 360 sales during the recent Black Friday weekend and says the sales were so high they broke previous records.


The console also outsold its rival 3-to-1, most likely thanks to cheap 360 bundles offered by many retailers that included, in some cases, up to 4 free games. 
"We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism, knowing that dollar for dollar, Xbox 360 offers more social entertainment value than any other console on the market," noted Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

"Record Black Friday sales in the US, coupled with our existing global install base of 25 million and an online community of more than 14 million Xbox Live members, have laid the groundwork for continued global sales momentum in 2009."

PS3 Firmware 2.50 Hidden Recovery Menu

Son Riku — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:23:22 +0000