Unofficia Europel PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable) FAQ - v4.05!

PlayStation® Portable (PSP™) FAQ:
(Last revision: July 13th, 2008)

Official PSP™ Site

General Information
When was the original PSP released in North America?
The official North American release date is March 24th, 2005.

What is the price of the PSP?
The MSRP in the United States: $169.99 Canada: $199.99

Are PSP Games Region-Locked?
No, you can play imported PSP games on your North American PSP, although it is possible multiplayer functionality may be lost with games from different regions.
How does 'Game Sharing' work?
Game sharing is the ability for multiple users to play the same PSP game wirelessly, with only one user having to have a copy of the game.

Do any games support 'Game Sharing'?
Yes, the following is a list of games that support the Game Sharing feature:

Burnout Legends
The Con™
MediEvil Resurrection™
Pinball Hall of Fame
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
Gangs of London™
World Tour Soccer 06
Mercury Meltdown
Tekken®: Dark Resurrection
Lumines II
Killzone: Liberation
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
PaRappa the Rapper™
How many brightness levels are there on the PSP?
When running off the battery pack there is 3 brightness settings, additionally, when you are running off the AC adapter a fourth brightness setting becomes available.
How come my PSP background changed colors?
If you are still using the default PSP background, it will change each month, the following is a list of the months and their designated color:
January - Grey
February - Yellow
March - Light-Green
April - Pink
May - Dark-Green
June - Light-Purple
July - Light-Blue
August - Blue
September - Purple
October - Yellow
November - Brown
December - Red
How can I change my PSP's background color?
If you wish to remain using the default PSP backgrounds, you may change it to any of the default colours in the Theme Settings > Theme menu.

Where can I get the official PSP 'Content Packs'?
The official PSP Content Packs can be downloaded here.


Technical Information (PSP Slim | PSP-2000):
Size:

Dimensions: (W x D x H) 6.7” x 2.81” x 0.73”
Weight: 189 grams
Controller:

D-pad, Analog Stick or ‘nub’.
Processor:

Processor: MIPS R4000
Processor Clock Speed: 1-333MHz
Processor (2nd): MIPS R4000
Processor Clock Speed: (2nd)1-333MHz
Memory:
Main Memory: 64MB EDRAM
Video Memory: 4MB EDRAM
Video:
Display: 4.3" 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD
Resolution: 480x272 Colors: 16.77 million colors
Brightness: 200 cd/m2
Fill Rate: (pixels)664 Mpixels/s
Fill Rate: (triangles)33 Mtriangles/s
Audio:
Speakers: Built-in stereo speakers, included headphones
Connectivity:
Game Media Format: 1.8GB Universal Media Disc
I/O Connectors: 1 x audio out, 1 x microphone, 1 x control connector, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x Memory Stick Pro Duo, IrDA, IR remote, 1 x video output connector
Integrated Communications:802.11b Wi-Fi
Power:
Battery: Lithium-ion battery AC Power Adapter Compatible Formats:
Audio: ATRAC, MP3, MP4 (AAC), WAV (LPCM)
Video: MPEG-4 (AVC) Pictures: JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP
Battery charging via USB is an option with PSP Slim
Technical Information (Original PSP | PSP-1000):
Size:

Dimensions: (W x D x H) 6.7” x 2.91” x 0.91”
Weight: 280 grams
Controller:

D-pad, Analog Stick or ‘nub’
Processor:

Processor: MIPS R4000
Processor Clock Speed: 1-333MHz
Processor (2nd): MIPS R4000
Processor Clock Speed: (2nd)1-333MHz
Memory:
Main Memory: 32MB EDRAM
Video Memory: 4MB EDRAM
Video:
Display: 4.3" 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD
Resolution: 480x272 Colors: 16.77 million colors
Brightness: 200 cd/m2
Fill Rate: (pixels)664 Mpixels/s
Fill Rate: (triangles)33 Mtriangles/s
Audio:
Speakers: Built-in stereo speakers, included headphones
Connectivity:
Game Media Format: 1.8GB Universal Media Disc
I/O Connectors: 1 x audio out, 1 x microphone, 1 x control connector, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x Memory Stick Pro Duo, IrDA, IR remote
Integrated Communications:802.11b Wi-Fi
Power:
Battery: Lithium-ion battery AC Power Adapter Compatible Formats:
Audio: ATRAC, MP3, MP4 (AAC), WAV (LPCM)
Video: MPEG-4 (AVC) Pictures: JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP
Current & Upcoming PSP™ Games & UMD Movies:

Where can I see a list of all the current and upcoming UMD Movies and Games?

UMD Movies
The newly released UMD Movies
Previously released UMD Movies
UMD Games
New and upcoming UMD Games
Previously released UMD Games
'Greatest Hits' UMD Games


Firmware Update History


Firmware v 1.51

Date released:
May 18th, 2005
Features added:
Security update
Firmware v 1.52

Date released:
June 15th, 2005
Features added:
Security update
Ability to play UMD Music
Firmware v 2.00

Date released:
August 24th, 2005
Features added:
Internet browser
4:3 Screen mode
'Go-to' feature, and A-B playback
MP4 (AVC), and ATRAC 3 support
Wallpaper and image transfer features
TIFF, GIF, PNG, and BMP support
Additional system settings, and WPA-PSK compatibility
Firmware v 2.01

Date released:
October 3rd, 2005
Features added:
Security update
Firmware v 2.50

Date released:

October 13th, 2005
Features added:
LocationFree player support
Auto-select, and Unicode (UTF- settings
Text-size and Display mode settings for the Internet Browser
Browser history saving is now available
Copyright-protected video is now supported
WPA-PSK (AES) security is supported.
Korean input support.
Firmware v 2.60

Date released:

November 29th, 2005
Features added:
RSS Channel support has been added
Volume Adjustment for LocationFree player
Chinese encoding settings have been added
Copyright-protected video can be transfered from the Internet Browser
WMA format can now enabled as well as played
Firmware v 2.70

Date released:
April 25th, 2006
Features added:
Macromedia Flash content is now supported in the PSP Internet Browser
Connection settings has been added
Audio media from RSS feeds in the PSP RSS channel can now be saved locally
AAC audio formats now have a new file extension
An option to disable 'L' and 'R' buttons during UMD playback is available
A fix for MemoryStick Duo support over 2GB has been applied
Firmware v 2.71

Date released:
June 1st, 2006
Features added:
PSP Game demos can now be downloaded via the PSP's internet browser and saved to the local MemoryStick
LocationFree video is now be displayed correctly on an external tuner
Firmware v 2.80

Date released:
July 27th, 2006
Features added:
Videos and images can now be downloaded via 'RSS Channel'

AAC files with the .3gp extension can now be played
'Automatic' is now an option for 'Infrastructure Mode' in 'Network Settings'

Support for playback of content stored at the root level of the MemoryStick Duo
Firmware v 2.81

Date released:
September 7th, 2006
Features added:
Security Vulnerablilities patched
Firmware v 2.82

Date released:
October 26th, 2006
Features added:
You can now download video and image content under the RSS Channel
You can now register devices via a wireless LAN access point under LocationFree™ Player
You can now play AAC files with the .3gp file extension
An 'automatic' setting has been added as an option under 'Network Settings' > Infrastructure Mode
Support for the playback of content stored in 'Music' Pictures', and 'Video' at the root level of Memory Stick Duo™ media has been added
Patches have been added to address security vulnerabilities in the system software
Firmware v 3.01

Date released:
November 22nd, 2006
Features added:
PLAYSTATION Network titles are now supported on the PSP. (More info here)
Remote Play feature has been added. (More info here)
Online Instruction Manual functionality has been added. (More info here)
Set Timer feature has been added. (More info here)
A music visual player has been added
3x fast-forward and reverse functionality has been added for audio playback
Camera support is now available. (More info here)
UMD Auto-Start functionality has been added. (More info here)
Firmware v 3.02

Date released:
December 6th, 2006
Features added:
A security patch has been added to address security vulnerabilities in the system software.
Firmware v 3.03

Date released:
December 21st, 2006
Features added:
New PLAYSTATION®Network titles that can be played under [Game] are now available.
Firmware v 3.10

Date released:
January 30th, 2007
Features added:
New PLAYSTATION®Network titles that can be played under [Game] are now available.
'Conserve Memory' has been added as an option in [View Settings] under [Internet Browser].
You can now play MPEG-4 AVC format video files under [LocationFree™ Player].
'Dynamic Normalizer' has been added as a feature under [Sound Settings].
Firmware v 3.11

Date released:
February 8th, 2007
Features added:
Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.
'[Reset Game] has been added as an option to the menu for PLAYSTATION®Network titles.
Firmware v 3.30

Date released:
March 28th, 2007
Features added:
Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.
Support for thumbnail images of items has been added under [RSS Channel].
Support for thumbnail images of videos that are stored in the "VIDEO" folder of Memory Stick Duo™ media has been added.
MPEG-4/H.264 AVC Main Profile (AVC CABAC) video files of the following sizes can now be played:

720 X 480
352 X 480
480 X 272
* Depending on the data type, some files cannot be played
Use Wireless Hotspot has been added as a feature under [Network Settings].
Firmware v 3.40

Date released:
April 19th, 2007
Features added:
Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.
Saved data from PlayStation® format software can now be used on both PSP® and PS3™ systems.
'Certificate Utility' was deleted - Information that was displayed in 'Certificate Utility' can be checked by the following method.
Select the icon of the game you want to display information for, press the Triangle button, and then select 'Information' from the options menu.
Firmware v 3.50
Date released:
May 31st, 2007
Features added:
You can now connect a PSP® system to a PS3™ system via the Internet using [Remote Play].
[Communication Settings] has been added as an option to the [Remote Play] menu.
[RSS Channel Guide] has been added as a feature under [RSS Channel].
Firmware v 3.51
Date released:
June 24th, 2007
Features added:
A security patch was added to address security vulnerabilities in the system software.
Firmware v 3.52
Date released:
June 29th, 2007
Features added:
Support for PlayStation Network titles has been expanded.
Firmware v 3.71
Date released:
September 13th, 2007
Features added:
You can now set a theme under [Theme Settings].
You can now search for a scene when playing a movie that is saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media.
Simultaneous playback of content under (Music) and (Photo) is now supported.
Assign Buttons has been added to the (Remote Play) menu.
Sequential playback of videos saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media is now supported.
Firmware v 3.72
Date released:
October 30th, 2007
Features added:
You can now set a theme under Theme Settings.
You can now search for a scene when playing a movie that is saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media.
You can select and play the scene you want to see from a thumbnail image. This is convenient when you want to quickly play only a specific scene.
Simultaneous playback of content under Music and Photo is now supported.
You can view a slideshow of your favorite photographs while listening to music.
Support for PLAYSTATION ®Network titles has been expanded.
Assign Buttons has been added to the Remote Play menu.
Sequential playback of videos saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media is now supported.
Firmware v 3.73
Date released:
November 29th, 2007
Features added:
Operation of the UMD™ drive has been improved to address cases in which the UMD™ drive occasionally suspends and fails to reload data. Updating the system software to version 3.73 will resolve this issue.
Firmware v 3.80
Date released:
December 18th, 2007
Features added:
Internet Radio has been added as a feature under [Network]. You can now play programs (audio content) distributed by Internet radio stations.
Version 1.2.0.0 of the theme creation tool is now available here. You must use this version to create a theme for a PSP® system with system software version 3.80 or later.
You can now preview each scene of a video using the [Scene Search] feature.
The number of visual player types that can be used has been increased.
You can now import OPML files under.
You can now view photos displayed on a PSP® system that is connected to the Internet under RSS Channel.
Firmware v 3.90

Date released:
January 30th, 2008
Features added:
(Skype™) has been added as a feature under [Network]. (Compatible with PSP-2000 systems only)
Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.
Firmware v 3.93



Date released:
- March 17th, 2008

Features added:
- Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.

- (Skype™) has been added as a feature under [Network].

Compatible models: PSP-2000



Firmware v 3.95



Date released:
- April 7th, 2008

Features added:
- While playing PSone games on your PSP, you can now customize how the buttons are assigned by going to [Controller Settings] > [Assign Buttons] and select [Custom].

- You can now quit Remote Play and choose to turn off your PS3 or leave it on after quitting. This is useful if you are performing a download and want to quit Remote Play, but still want your download to continue on the PS3. Select [Quit and Turn Off the PS3 System] or [Quit Without Turning Off the PS3 System] from [Quit Remote Play] when you press the HOME button on the PSP system.



Firmware v 4.00



Date released: June 16th, 2008
Features added:
- [Internet search] has been added as a feature under [Network]

- You can now change viewing speed during video playback by pressing (up arrow / down arrow) buttons. Use this feature if you want to watch a video quickly, or if you want to slow down playback and listen to the dialogue carefully.



Firmware v 4.01



Date released: June 24th, 2008
Features added:
- Display of search results under Internet Search has been improved for certain languages

- Playback of video content under Video has been improved for certain file types



Current Version:


Firmware v 4.05



Date released: July 13th, 2008
Features added:
- New effects have been added to the visual player under [Music].