Full screen Flash-enabling v2.53 PS3 firmware available now

We're still not over Sony's trickeration -- which led us to believe the version 2.53 firmware update was hitting prior to the US Thanksgiving holiday -- but we're not ones to turn down a free update under any circumstances. As of now (as in, right now), Sony's PlayStation 3 can support full screen embedded Flash videos courtesy of the latest firmware, so there's really no excuse for you not firing up the System Update and sucking it down. Get to it!

[Via PS3 Fanboy, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[The Police @ Dec 1st 2008 11:33PM]

Can anyone confirm if this is Flash 9 or 10?

[Kspraydad @ Dec 1st 2008 11:55PM]

It is flash 9.

BTW...BBC iPlayer in the UK now works on PS3.

Hurrah!

[SITEiNK @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:11PM]

really? you think so? you are the coolest ever, trying to flatter the real SITEiNK with flattery.
your imitations will land you in jail as they are a federal offense.
you might want to get AOL/engadget to remove your profile for you before you come into some issues for spamming and causing others undue problems.

oh and, yes, we do have your address information. you should have been a little more careful.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 1st 2008 11:35PM]

I didn't know it was new. I just downloaded it about 20 minutes ago. I figured it was an optional update that had been there for days.

[markyb @ Dec 1st 2008 11:38PM]

I'm going to check this out for sure. Hope hulu works!

[Matt @ Dec 1st 2008 11:56PM]

Does HULU WORK? not gonna update if that doesnt work

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:22AM]

Hulu has never worked full screen, and it only worked some of the time in windowed mode (well, there was a program you could download to make Hulu work I think, but it was beta software...or something). This is great if Hulu will actually work full screen now.


Off to check.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:49AM]

Ugg.... "There is not enough memory" when trying to play an HD video. So that seems out of the question at this point in time. Regular videos seem to work though. They aren't as fluid as they are on a PC, but it's a good first step. Hopefully they will fine tune the compatibility with subsequent firmware updates.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:10AM]

Can anyone get full screen to work? When I do full screen, it gives me a big square box in the middle instead of stretching like Hulu does on the PC. It seems like more picture can be had from hitting the right bumper still....this is a bit frustrating.

[SITEiNK @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:34AM]

this problem is a coding error on hulu's part. you'll have to just zoom in on it until hulu fixes the issues with their controls.
yea the video memory issue is a problem with the PS3, and it's one of the very few glaring over-sights on Sony's part with this system. I wish there was a way to upgrade it. Unfortunately, this will limit us quite a lot going forward. ...and it bums me out...
The relatively small amount of video memory is also the reason that many games that are found on the rival system are in 1080p while the same title on PS3 is only 720p. very frustrating...
it's like sending a lambo out with training wheels. the PS3 deserved much better.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:42AM]

I'm not expecting miracles. I somehow figured that HD streaming was never going to work. It would be nice if Sony could enable some sort of mode where all of the memory went to the browser... I mean, 256mb should be enough for 720p, atleast in theory. Instead of loading to memory, it could load to HDD, and run that way. If 1080p video can run off of a Blu-Ray disc, then they should be able to get HD videos from Hulu working.

I'd settle for proper full screen support at 480p right now. I still think Sony absolutely needs to integrate Hulu and other streaming sites to combat the 360 and Netflix, but they seem to be dragging their feet.

[Sean @ Dec 1st 2008 11:48PM]

yesss except i'm still playing my game

[Jeff Stoelker @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:01AM]

fail!
negative comment on you ftw

[John @ Dec 1st 2008 11:50PM]

I just want to get game updates that make the games use the stuff they added in earlier updates...

[B.Cherry @ Dec 1st 2008 11:51PM]

Cool. But I need an update to let me play my own music in GTA IV...

[Brandon @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:21AM]

There goes 30 minutes of gaming while I wait for this update to install. Why is it MSoft can update their entire GUI in > 10 minutes, but Sony takes half an hour to make a .01 update.

[Dan @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:26AM]

Your problem there bud. Mine updated in about 3 mins. Not sure why its taking you 30 mins, but its not on Sonys end thats for certain. BTW you said MS updates in GREATER than 10 mins so careful with your signs. Its funny how noone has mentioned that PS3 supports flash and Ipod touch/iphones dont. Oh Apple.

[Brandon @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:29AM]

Doh, thanks mate.

But I'm not sure I'm alone for the updates. I've seen other PS3s take a very long time to update, certainly longer than I've seen Xbox 360s.

I still love my PS3, but I just wish they could get these updates to move quicker.

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:29AM]

For good or bad, Sony updates the entire Flash ROM each update. I'm sure it's a piracy measure.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:29AM]

Sony's site slows down because everyone is downloading. But also every firmware update is huge.

I asked a friend at Sony why that is, and he said it is because the firmware is encrypted. Encryption increases the amount of (false) entropy in the payload such that it can't be compressed. So the payload comes down essentially uncompressed and thus is huge.

All PS3 firmware updates (like for individual games) that involve code are this way too.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:34AM]

The download takes as long as the install, possibly longer. It's absolutely Sony's lack of bandwidth, and I doubt it is due to congestion since I almost never update the first day an update is out. Any way you look at it, their way of updating is a joke when compared to the quick and painless 360 and Wii updates (not that I update my Wii anymore, can't risk the loss of homebrew)

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:38AM]

The last 360 update was not quick. It downloaded some kind of laoder, that took a few seconds. Then it rebooted and downloaded for a couple minutes at boot.

[Platinum_Skeet @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:56AM]

I don't know much about the Wii updates because I gave mine to my mom last year but...

The last 360 update was the first that took more than 10 seconds to install. Even at three minutes it kills the time on a PS3 update. I have a 22,000 kbps down connection from Comcast and the last time I did a PS3 update I did was 2.5 and it took 15 minutes. It wasn't at peek times at 2am. The last 360 update took me 2 minutes and that was at peek times...

After that last update I haven't seen a reason to update anymore until something worthwhile comes around and I hear a lot of people are saying it's worth it....

[Rededrkangl @ Dec 4th 2008 11:58PM]

Can you say "Bricked PS3"?

[Stewie @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:41AM]

Mines downloaded an installed in less than 5 minutes.

[John @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:00AM]

@BananaBoat

quick and painless updates on the 360. I find that a bit odd since my Xbox bricked itself 3 times on updates. The latest one was with the new XBOX experience. It is in the shop with Microsoft getting repaired.

As for my Sony PS3. Got the first gen and updated and installed within 2 minutes. Did the updated around 7:00 p.m. pacific time.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:06AM]

I refuse to believe that anyone has that bad of luck.

[Platinum_Skeet @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:20PM]

I refuse a PS3 update takes 2 minutes...

[catapults.music @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:15AM]

It's too bad the full screen playback is at 10 frames a second. I just don't get how a machine as powerful as the PS3 can't deal with something that my 5 year old POS computer can handle pretty good. For those looking for great Hulu support on the PS3 or 360, check out PlayOn, I am seriously impressed with it. Stuff like the FOX animation shows look better than broadcast at 480p if you have the bandwidth for it.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:23AM]

Why would PlayOn run video any smoother? Is the PS3 not doing the decoding when you use it? (I'm considering downloading it now that the official solution is a bust).


I'm constantly amazed at how poor the PS3 browser is, and I thought that this update might have fixed some of the issues, but you are right in saying that the full screen playback is terribly slow.

My dreams of the PS3 being a DVR I don't have to program are constantly screwed by Sony's inability to get their shit together. Give the browser higher priority and let the GPU accelerate video >< Gahhhh.

[catapults.music @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:23AM]

I'm not sure of the details, but essentially, PlayOn uses your PC to re-encode video in near-realtime from places like Hulu, YouTube, CBS, and ESPN into MPEG2 video, which is then streamed to the PS3 as a flat media file. So, instead of going through the browser, the PS3 connects to the PlayOn software on your computer as though it's a local media share, and you can then watch the video using the PS3s normal video interface, which includes pause, rewind, fastforward, scene browsing, time remaining, bitrate, all that good stuff. As long as the source is high quality, the video being streamed to the PS3 can be excellent, since it's able to take full advantage of your local network as opposed to being limited by your internet connection.

PlayOn makes really good use of the user queues that all of those services have, as well as viewing categorization by genre, popularity, recently added, etc all right from the PS3s Cross Media Bar. So, basically, for Hulu and CBS, everything is at your finger tips, and for YouTube, you can see whats popular, or view stuff you've added to the queue via the website.

From the time you select a video, it takes about 15 seconds to start, which isn't too bad. I notice my 4 year old PC works pretty hard to do it, and the PS3 runs a little hotter than usual, but all in all, I'm super impressed by it.

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:51AM]

Gah, like always, there is a catch. It's trialware, and you need a license to continue using it after 14 days, and a license is 30 dollars. I know that the second I pay for a license, the PS3 will get a firmware update that makes the software useless. Then there is the whole...I don't want to pay some random company thirty dollars, even if paypal is fairly secure, thing (yes, I know, every software developer for a startup company is crying right now)

Oh well, maybe Sony will fix the problem in the next 14 days. Maybe they could...I don't know...buy the company that developed Play On, and offer it for 10 bucks? (That is, if PlayOn works. I'm done for the night, sleep time)

[BananaBoat @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:54AM]

Oh, and you are right, it probably re-encodes the video from whatever (.flv?) into MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 which the PS3 most likely has hardware acceleration for. Or maybe it starts as MPEG-4 and the browser just doesn't have the ability to hardware accelerate video, so Play On uses the video playing application, which does have support. Whatever.

[catapults.music @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:05AM]

Well, heck, give it a try anyhow, it's interesting from an academic standpoint and it will at least give you something to hope for from the PS3 someday =). Honestly, I thought the exact same thing as you the first 5 times someone told me about it, and now that I've tried it, I might just pay that money. The way it streams video couldn't be broken by Sony, it's essentially just like streaming a file you have on your PC.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:27AM]

Thanks for the tip, I'm setting it up right now after I found that video hosted on CBS.com still doesn't work.

[LYONZY @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:08PM]

tversity is a free alternative. it can also stream internet videos like youtube and hulu (which are native .flv ).

although i only use it for my 360. honestly i just play mp4's, divx etc. files on my ps3.

[catapults.music @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:35PM]

TVersity is awful crap and is not an alternative for PlayOn. It does not support Hulu or CBS (other than a few individual CBS shows you can opt-in to), and YouTube functionality is limited to your user queue, no access to popular videos of day/week/month/ever. Also, unfortunately, the install process is a totally insulting mess. I feel gross having installed it on my computer and hope it uninstalls without leaving a trail behind.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:02AM]

I agree with catapults. After trying out PlayOn, I tried TVersity, and there's no comparison. I searched in vain to find out how to get the same functionality with Hulu/CBS videos, until I found people clamoring for that unsupported feature on TVersity forums. I'm amazed at the quality of PlayOn's video too, nothing like getting every FPS that you're entitled to, unlike flash through the PS3 browser.

[Jeff Stoelker @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:00AM]

woot finally able to use Pandora internet radio now

[Jeff Stoelker @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:04AM]

you spammed the comment again?
worst review ever
this comment is getting voted down once again

[yode @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:09AM]

huh? this is my first comment. And I was just explaining how now you can watch porn with streaming flash on the PS3 now.

[nohone @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:05AM]

Thanks Engadget for letting me know when a FW update is available for my PS3. Can you let me know when XNE is available for my 360?

[Vince @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:51AM]

Can anyone try out if www.asian-horror-movies.com is working with it?
It's not working on my Wii and I don't like watching the movies on my PC, or Laptop or EEEPC.
If it is working, I will advise my wife to buy me a PS3 for Christmas :-)

[Owen @ May 19th 2009 4:43AM]

How about iPlayer? Does that work?

[BinaVison @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:52AM]

30 MIN install for this.... I'll stick with my Xbox 360, with a 5 MIN install for a complete overhaul of the operating system (NXE)

[r3ap3r @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:32AM]

Ah, the old "pull arbitrary number out my ass" trick.... I see what you did there :p

[R3ap3R @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:30AM]

Keep up with this shit, and I am going to DDOS you.

[Smitty258 @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:36AM]

Can anyone tell me if Slacker Internet radio works on the PS3? It may be a bit of a selling point for my wife. :)

[animal @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:07AM]

i'm wondering when ps3 can support 1680*1050

[Baris Gul @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:42AM]

Just did it - 7 minutes for download and install.

iPlayer works per an earlier post - can't get to it from the States

Hulu - a lot better!

- I can login now to look at my queue
- Full Screen works
- Hi-Res works unlike with 2.50 where it just was stuck in an endless loop(although a wired connection prolly would work better - choppy on my wireless)