PS3 firmware 1.30 "fixes" 1080i problem

There is an outstanding 1080i problem on the PlayStation 3. This problem has not been fixed by today's 1.30 firmware update.

What has been fixed: the system has given a higher priority to 1080i signals so, if available, the console will default to 1080i over 720p. This means that if your HDTV supports 720p, and a game's native resolution (like Resistance: Fall of Man) is 720p, it should display fine in that resolution. If the native resolution is 1080p (NBA07, the XMB interface, Blu-ray movies) and your set supports 1080i and 720p, the console will automatically default to 1080i due to the higher preference, regardless of what your preference is. If you disable the 1080i output so everything will play in your preferred 720p, your Blu-ray movies will drop down to 480p. We're not really sure what problem this update was intended to fix or why the resolution hierarchy isn't user selectable.

Luckily, most new HDTVs support both 720p and 1080i making these issues moot for many gamers, but we're hoping (really, it's on our Xmas list) that the eggheads at Sony are working on a holiday-themed upgrade to support downscaling Blu-ray movies to 720p and upscaling some games (like Resistance) to 1080i. Oh, and maybe some of that DVD-upscaling we're hearing about while they're at it.

Also included in the update:

• RGB and Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr output selection over HDMI

• A backup utility to get your removable media data -- that's SD, Compact Flash, and Memory Stick -- to the HDD
  

• HDD formatting option

• Support for a Bluetooth remote control

[Thanks, Matt]

Read -- AVS Forums on why 720p owners should not upgrade to 1.30
Read -- Machine translated list of updates from jp.playstation.com