Sony hoping to improve PS3 upscaling 30 - 40%

The 1.80 PS3 firmware update might have just went out the door, but they aren't letting the coders sit still in Japan. In an interview with AV Watch, Sony Computer Entertainment managers Kawanishi and Kanehide let it slip that Sony isn't content to simply match the visual quality of upscaling TVs and DVD players, since the Cell is capable of doing much better. Sony expects to improve the quality of the image another 30 - 40% when all is said and done, and is waiting on a stable version of the Blu-ray spec so it can enable scaling of 1080i BD content to 1080p. The duo also hinted that a remote media playback solution that doesn't involve having to leave the PS3 on at all times is in the works, and that Sony plans on updating the PS3's firmware every quarter. No word on when we might see rumble finally show up, but we'll take what we can get -- maybe the upscaling will actually make a difference this time around.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

[Bob Delani @ Jun 20th 2007 9:25PM]

w00t!

[imageburn13 @ Jun 20th 2007 9:33PM]

REally? And here I thought the upscaling was already beautiful! Ive been watching Lost Season 1 on my PS3 for about a week, and have marveled at the clarity. And as a side note; prior to the PS3, I bought a sony upscaling dvd player which I thought had aweful upscaling. I returned it the next day and forked down for the PS3. This is great news, and Sony is starting to get on top of what the PS3 was supposed to be.

[Deluxe @ Jun 20th 2007 10:42PM]

I couldn't agree more! The up scaling is already impressive. And I mean really, what more can you ask for? Up scaling of old games us just a bonus, nobody's expecting it to look like the latest and greatest.

[Ian @ Jun 20th 2007 10:23PM]

WOW! A Remote play that lets me LEAVE MY PS3 OFF when I don't want to use the feature? That would ROCK MY WORLD! I can't wait!

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 20th 2007 10:44PM]

That's not possible. The PS3 has to be on to serve the files. That would be like asking for a computer you don't have to turn on to use...

[Sinbios @ Jun 21st 2007 12:09AM]

It's called Wake-On-Lan.

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 21st 2007 6:55AM]

"It's called Wake-On-Lan." ... "S3" ... et al.

For WoL to work you have to have a machine on the same subnet send the packet. If your on Mars and your PS3 is in Utah, you would first have to establish a connection to your network via VPN or some other protocol to send the UDP packet (which won't route over the internet.) If it is WoL technology, then it will only work if your home and on the same network. If it's S3 standy, as suggested in another post, you still need to have your PS3 on. It may be in low power mode, but it's still technically on.

[Smitty @ Jun 20th 2007 10:33PM]

I think my favorite aspect of the 'next generation' console wars is the fact that the firmware (and software) can be upgraded. I love the idea of competition forcing continuous improvements for both the console itself and the flagship titles.

Hopefully this means the consumer wins in the end.

[BLee @ Jun 20th 2007 10:38PM]

lower the price 30-40% and I promise I'll go buy one tomorrow...

[Brooks @ Jun 20th 2007 10:39PM]

Um, a stable version of the Blu-ray spec?

And upscaling 1080i to 1080p is called... line doubling. And, of course, Blu-ray discs are 1080p to start with, so this part of the story merits a big WTF.

[jdang307 @ Jun 21st 2007 4:59PM]

"And upscaling 1080i to 1080p is called... line doubling. And, of course, Blu-ray discs are 1080p to start with, so this part of the story merits a big WTF."

Your post and your knowledge merits a big WTF. Go read up on this stuff before commenting. As said earlier, it's not as simple as line doubling (hint go search for 24 fps, 30/60)

[Faisal @ Jun 21st 2007 12:34AM]

@ Andir3.0

actually it is possible to do remote play when the PS3 is (sort of) off...PCs can do that...it's called S3 Standby...so Sony should come up with a way to do this soon...here's a link for that S3 Standby info...i have this on my server at home which i use as a FTP/Web server

http://www.exoid.com/?page_id=47

and yea...Sony is finally doing a lot of great things. though i don't have an HDTV, my friend does and he has a PS3 also and got the V1.8 update and started playing GoW2...and OMG...let's say that i needed new pants right away. Now Sony is gonna make it even better?! glad i bought a PS3.

[Mak @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:12PM]

Usual repsonse from the "experts" here, who know nothing...

It's certainly not impossinble, it's a technology that's been around for a decade, called WAKE ON LAN...

[Rob Stevens @ Jun 20th 2007 11:16PM]

"And upscaling 1080i to 1080p is called... line doubling. And, of course, Blu-ray discs are 1080p to start with, so this part of the story merits a big WTF."

Uh, no it isn't. Going from 1080i to 1080p is called deinterlacing, basically taking the 60 frames from the 1080i source and making a solid picture for 30 frames, and interpolating the picture to account for time delay. Line doubling is exactly what it sounds like ... doubling each scan line and significantly softening the picture because you're not adding picture data.

And ... not all BluRay discs were 1080p. Some were only 1080i or 720p. Thus, the part about the BluRay spec not being "stable" yet ... publishers can pretty much do whatever they want and the format suffers for it.

[cduran01 @ Jun 20th 2007 11:26PM]

An even more interesting point they made was that since ALL PS3s have a hard drive, the amount of features that can be added to the PS3 is limited by the hard drive.

I feel sorry for the Xbox 360 owners then, they are limited by the amount of flash (which cannot be upgraded) available on their machines, since NOT ALL xboxes have hard drives, MS cant release updates or feature additions that would be installed on the HD.

[Matt Whitt @ Jun 21st 2007 1:34AM]

They have released backwards compatibility updates that are stored on the hard drive, and I don't see why they couldn't steadily add features if they wanted to store it on the HDD.

Im glad Sony is steadily upgrading their machine with updates like this. I hope to get a PS3 some time next year possibly, mainly for Blu-ray exclusive titles I'm missing by only having HD-DVD.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 20th 2007 11:27PM]

My jaw hit the floor when I inserted Shadow of the Colossus post fw1.80! And they are saying they can do better? Awesome, keep going. Every day that goes by make me feel a little better spending that knot on the PS3.
PS Oh, and Z thats some leap frogging we got going on folding@home ;^)...

[Faisal @ Jun 21st 2007 12:37AM]

haha....same reaction i had when my friend played GoW2 on his PS3 with the V1.8 update on his HDTV...i needed new pants! xD

no seriously i do...i have a premature ejaculation problem :( and i'm only 17 :(

[JLL @ Jun 21st 2007 5:01AM]

"It's called Wake-On-Lan."

Except you're not on the LAN.

[paloooz @ Jun 21st 2007 12:52AM]

I've always wondered this ... why can't the PS3 just render PS2 games at 1920x1080? Why does it have to render them at a low resolution and then apply that smoothing or whatever?

[Faisal @ Jun 21st 2007 12:55AM]

it does...it upscales to 1080p...even PS1 games

[Mike @ Jun 21st 2007 1:02AM]

I think it's because some PS2 games directly modify the pixel data for special effects and the like, but that assumes the game is being rendered at a specific resolution.

[Galley @ Jun 21st 2007 8:38AM]

They just need to advertise all of the 1.8 firmware features.

[kaztm @ Jun 21st 2007 9:31AM]

This is last week's news...you didn't cover it then? Why now...

[Jim @ Jun 21st 2007 4:16PM]

Now if they would just address the final glaring piece of the puzzle and come out with an IR or even RF interface for remote controls. The biggest hurdle I'm having in justifying the PS3 as part of a home theater setup is the silly bluetooth remote control. If it won't work with existing universal remotes, it isn't a solution for blu-ray in the typical home setup.

[Jimmy @ Jun 21st 2007 6:59PM]

I agree. Using the PS3 controller is a pain. Luckily I put the disc in and hit play and watch my movie. But for something like Planet Earth I want to jump around a lot and the controller is not cutting it for me.