Sony is starting to unlock the multimedia horsepower under the hood of the PlayStation 3.

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The 1.80 firmware upgrade–available as an automatic download to PS3s everywhere–adds a variety of features to the console, most of which bolster the system’s AV capability. The main upgrades are :

- Scale up capability of games and DVDs: DVD movies, PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games can now be scaled up to HD resolutions up to 1080p

- Streaming capability of digital media to PS3 via home network: The PS3 is now able to stream video, audio, and photo files from PCs and other DLNA-enabled storage devices (such as the Buffalo LinkStation NAS drive) on a home network (imagine YouTube on PS3….hmm)

- Copy saved data to memory cards : Now, saved PS1 and PS2 games on the PlayStation 3’s hard drive can be transferred back to the older 8MB Memory Cards (PS1 and PS2), for resuming play on an older PlayStation console

- Enhance photo viewing, editing, and printing capability: With its built-in multiformat flash media reader, the PS3 is a quick and easy way to view your digital photos. With the new firmware update installed, photos can be zoomed and cropped, and a new slide show style is available. Also, photos can be printed to Epson printers that are connected to the PS3 via USB.

- Extends the PSP “Remote Play” functionality–the ability to stream videos, music, and photos from the PS3 to the the PSP–from a LAN to the Internet. In other words, you’ll soon be able to access your PS3’s digital media content from your PSP, as long as the PS3 is online, and your PSP is within range of a Wi-Fi access point. But the PSP will need its own firmware upgrade first–to version 3.50–and that won’t be available until “next week,” according to Sony.

[ via Crave CNET ]

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