and All Consoles

One of the coolest little secrets to come out about the PS3 since its recent release is it’s ability to wirelessly share content with Sony’s handheld PSP unit via a function called “remote play”. Using remote play, your PSP becomes so much more powerful, as you can bring it anywhere in your house and have access to tons of music and video stored on your PS3 by synchronizing with the PS3’s Cross Media Bar.

The first thing to mention is that currently the remote play option is only available with the 60GB PS3 unit. This is because the feature realies on WiFi and only the 60GB PS3 comes with WiFi capabilities. Also, for the time being, you can only access your PS3 content from your PSP while you are in range of your unit’s WiFi signal. It gets even better though, as Sony is currently planning to allow IP access which would allow you to use your PSP to access your PS3 from anywhere.

To prepare your sytems for remote play, you must first update both your PSP and your PS3. Your Playstation 3’s software must be version 1.10 and your PSP’s firmware must be version 3.00. With this completed, you now have to spend some time configuring both the PSP and PS3 so that they can “talk” to each other.

From Your PSP’s network settings, you want to edit the infrastructure mode and set up a new connection. Follow the instructions on the screen, being sure to keep track of the name and password you create. Once this is completed, be sure to save your new settings by hitting the X button.

Next you’ll want to turn on your PS3 and let it know about your PSP. Go to “Network Settings” in your PS3’s menu and continue through to the “Remote Play Connection Settings”. You’ll be prompted for the SSID and WAP name and password you created on your PSP. With these settings saved, you’re almost ready to go.

Now, return to your PSP. All you need to do know is choose the connection you created in the “Remote Play” option under “Network”. If everything went smoothly, you should now see your PS3’s menu on your PSP! You’ll be able to control many functions and access much of the content on your PS3 from your portable.

There is still some content that cannot be accessed from the PS3 with your PS3; for example, you can’t play most games. On the other hand, the ability to be able to watch any of your downloaded videos and listen to any of your music you have stored on your PS3 from anywhere in your house makes the remote play function very useful.

As time passes, Sony will likely add more features to remote play. Already, at least two games can take advantage of this feature including Grand Turismo HD. Also, once access is expanded from the now limited WiFi range of the PS3 to global access, the PSP will likely become a very popular must-have for any PS3 owner.

For the time being though, if you already possess both a PS3 and PSP, be sure to set up the remote play option yourself. It’s very useful for example, if someone else wants to watch TV. In this case, you can just take your PSP to another room and still watch your videos or listen to your music that’s residing on your PS3.

Thanks to its inclusion of the new Blue-Ray (BD) Disc format, Sony’s new PS3 has been lauded by both gamers and home theater enthusiasts. The home movie buffs are quickly discovering that purchasing the PS3 is about the cheapest way to have access to BD movie playback. Unfortunately though, there is one drawback. You see, while most home theaters are controlled by infra-red remote control systems, the PS3 does not come with IR functionality. Luckily, with a little effort, you can control your PS3 with IR – here’s how:

1. What You’ll Need

Assuming you already have your PS3, there are a few additional pieces of hardware you’ll need to be able to control movie playback with an IR remote control. First, you’ll need a controller-to-USB adapter originally designed for the PS2. You’ll also need to dig up a Sony DVD remote for the original PS2. This is actually two pieces of hardware – the remote and the external receiver. Keep in mind that remotes for the newer version of the PS2 won’t work because they don’t come with the external receiver. (The IR reciever finally got built in to later versions of the PS2). You’ll probably have to check eBay or similar to find these.

2. How To Assemble

Next, attach the controller-to-USB adapter to one of the controller ports on your PS3. You can now attach the external IR reciever that came with the PS2 DVD remote to this. Granted, it can get a bit tangled and unsightly, but with a bit of creative bundling and with the help of twisty ties, your can probably get the whole setup looking fairly tight. You now have a way to control your PS3’s movie playback with your PS2 DVD remote or just about any universal home theater IR remote.

3. Limitations

You’ll find that with this setup, most of the basic features you’ll need to control playback on your PS3 will work with many universal IR remote controls. There are some things you won’t be able to do through the remote though, such as turning the unit on and off. You’ll also find that if you are using the PS2 DVD remote, that many of the buttons won’t do anything at all. For the most part though, these limitations are outweighed by the convenience of being able to control your PS3 movie playback from the same remote as the rest of your home theater setup.

Conclusion

Although this is a fairly fast and inexpensive way for controlling the PS3 with IR, hopefully Sony will see the demand for this and integrate this feature into future updates to the PS3. It’s current use of Bluetooth is excellent in many situations – but not for users of audio and visual equipment that relies on RF and IR controls. By paying attention to the desires of the home theater market that is turning to the PS3, Sony would quickly find a way to increase sales.

One of the many features of the PlayStation 3 is that it’s capable of using Linux, which means that owners of the PS3 can customize their system and get lots more out of it. Game consoles tend to be designed in order to prevent foreign systems from running on them, but Sony have gone in total the opposite direction with the PS3, allowing an experienced Linux user to personalize their system. Most of the gaming systems will be intentionally locked so that other systems will be unable to run, so the PlayStation is unconventional in allowing this. The only thing that is not possible with the PS3 is to run accelerated graphics.

The PlayStation 3 isn’t the first gaming system to allow Linux. The Xbox also utilizes this feature, but the PS3 differs in several ways. To start with, the PS3 is more powerful. In addition, the Xbox requires an additional chip to run Linux, whereas the PS3 is capable of running it without. In fact, it’s completely free to run Linux on the PlayStation 3.

Here are some options that you have with the Linux on the PlayStation 3:

With an addition of a keyboard and mouse, the PlayStation 3 can be used like a PC. Not all PC programs are able to adapt to the PS3 environment, as least not yet, but Linux enables you many choices.

Run your own operating system. This is a great advantage to those that would prefer to personalize their system.

Make sure of the Internet. You can search the web on your PS3 with the Firefox internet browser.

Use the office software package. Although, at present it’s been reported that Windows doesn’t’ run that well on the PS3. However, in the future, Microsoft may consider creating a version of Windows that can run on the PlayStation 3. There is no official word on this at the moment.

Run various kinds of emulators. This will allow you to play of your favourite games of yesteryear on your brand new PlayStation 3.

Play a variety of media types, such as CD’s, DVD’s and ROM’s. With Linux running, you can listen to music or watch movies on your PS3

Connect to share networks. This will enable you to save and retrieve file on a outside server, meaning a saving in memory.

There is one slight problem with getting Linux on your PlayStation 3 console though, and that is because it’s difficult to install and hard to use. At this moment, it’s pretty much restricted to the programmers and hobbyists. In the future, hopefully, there will be a more user interface to accompany Linux on your games console. Since PS3 emerged, most programmers liked to use Fedora Core to run Linux on their PS3’s, but there is now a new system in town called Yellow Dog, which is intended to be used specifically on the PS3. Yellow Dog is being highly rated ad gaining exposure.

Still, the best thing about Linux is that is totally free. All you need is a PlayStation 3, the necessary cable, a USB keyboard and mouse, a USB flash drive and various other accessories to make the installation run smoother… ok, so if you don’t already have all that stuff, its not really free, but Linux itself certainly is! It may not be that tough to install, if you’ve used Linux before. There is a wide choice of websites out there that provide tips on installation, and most seem to recommend Yellow Dog. You will also discover many great ideas on how to run Linux in the gaming forums.

Published By Darren Lintern