Is this the right time to cash in for a PSP or not ?

[ahmadka]

Well, I have been waiting very patiently, for the PSP scene to develop enough, before I decide to cash in for a PSP....but now I dont know how much longer I can wait....So my first question to you guys is whether this is good time to buy a PSP, or should I wait more ??

Secondly, I have done a little research of the homebrew scene on the PSP...and it turns out that 1.50 is the king of firmwares...and that u use devhook to emulate the later firmwares....

is there any danger, damage to the PSP, or generally any disadvantage to running the devhook program ?

and basically, how is devhook able to 'emulate' a firmware... i just cant wrap the fact around my head ...

Lastly, I have some very basic Qs...just answer them in a sentence or two please...I just want to know what they basically are...

1) What is MPH's Firmware Launcher ? Is it similar to Devhook ? Which one is better ?
2) What is a Custom Firmware for the PSP ?
3) What is a Dual boot in the PSP ? Does this mean that there are 2 firmwares hard coded into the PSP ? Or that only 1 firmware is hard coded, and is used to emulate the other ?
4) What is Epsilon ?
5) What is Harleyg's Custom Firmware Patch v0.2 ?
6) Whats UMD Emulation ? and what are its benefits ?
7) Whats XMB ?

Thankyou for your time....

[Renzatic Gear]

.is there any danger, damage to the PSP, or generally any disadvantage to running the devhook program ?

You don't have to worry about damaging the PSP while using Devhook. The only time you can screw one up is during the upgrade/downgrade flashing process. Devhook runs off the memory stick, so it's perfectly safe.

The only disadvantage to the program is setting it up...it can be a pain if you don't know what you're doing.


and basically, how is devhook able to 'emulate' a firmware... i just cant wrap the fact around my head ...

It forces the PSP to draw the bios from a different location. When you first turn the PSP on, it looks to the memory battery to draw the bios from and throws it into memory. With Devhook, it looks for it on the memory stick and loads it from there.

1) What is MPH's Firmware Launcher ? Is it similar to Devhook ? Which one is better ?

I think MPH's Firmware Launcher is just the frontend for the 2.0-1.5 downgrader. Devhook is an entirely different program..as illustrated above.

2) What is a Custom Firmware for the PSP ?

Firmware updates written by the homebrew community. They usually have a few enhanced features or little tweaks written here and there to help ease the process of playing emulators or homebrewed games and apps.

I've heard some of them are pretty robust, but they're a huge risk to use since you're having to flash hacked code onto the PSP's physical memory battery.

3) What is a Dual boot in the PSP ? Does this mean that there are 2 firmwares hard coded into the PSP ? Or that only 1 firmware is hard coded, and is used to emulate the other ?

If you go the modded PSP route, you can buy a board that has 2 memory batteries onboard and solder it to the PSP's motherboard. That way you can use one for the most up-to-date Sony bios, and use the other for 1.5. You get the best of both worlds. It's kinda like what Devhook does, but it's more efficient since it's hardware based. No goofing around with software settings or anything, you just pick one and it fires right up.

The only problem is the installation...which makes Devhook look like a walk in the park. I wouldn't go that route unless you ABSOLUTELY know what you're doing or have $500 to spend on a premodded PSP.

4) What is Epsilon ?

It's a bios written specifically for the dual boot modchip. I think it forces the PSP to boot both bios's in tandem, so you can use homebrew in 2.71/2.8 without having to swtich between the them.

5) What is Harleyg's Custom Firmware Patch v0.2 ?

Gonna guess this is an update for Harleyg's custom firmware bios.

6) Whats UMD Emulation ? and what are its benefits ?

You can use certain versions of Devhook to emulate the UMD drive. That way you can use UMD image files ran off the memory card instead of the drive itself.

The biggest advantage is speed, the memory card is a helluva lot quicker than the disc drive. A game that takes 5-10 seconds to load off the UMD takes a second or two off the memory card. Plus it saves a ton of your battery life since it's not having to spin the discs to get the data.

The disadvantage is it opens up the PSP for piracy. With a UMD emulator in place, you can just go online, download games, and slap them on your memory card. That's why alot of the PSP homebrew sites ignore UMD emulation, and one of the main reasons why Sony always combats the scene with constant firmware updates.

7) Whats XMB ?

Cross Media Bar. The OS used by the PSX, PSP, and soon, the PS3.

Thankyou for your time....

Hey, quite welcome. :D

[ahmadka]

hey thanx Renzatic for the wonderful explanation.... one question though, regarding the UMD emulation...I didnt get what you meant here:

The disadvantage is it opens up the PSP for piracy. With a UMD emulator in place, you can just go online, download games, and slap them on your memory card. That's why alot of the PSP homebrew sites ignore UMD emulation, and one of the main reasons why Sony always combats the scene with constant firmware updates.

I dont understand how this can lead to piracy...why dont you simply remove the emulator from the mem stick...that leaves no traces then....secondly, the images can be copies of your own legally owned games...

also, does UMD emulation have a 100% success rate ?

if u have a UMD emulator, with a loaded image, and a physical UMD loaded too, which one will the PSP boot ?

thanx in advance...

[ahmadka]

i phoned up the local PSP suppliers in my region and asked them if they had any 1.50 PSPs.....they said they had lots of 'em.....i asked 'em hows it possible, cuz 1.50 is old, and they probably should have run out of them by now....turns out that since 1.50 was the most famous FW...every FW they got, they downgraded it to 1.50 ....... for no extra charge.....so it looks like that i dont have to do the risky business myself after all ..... btw they also had the latest 2.8 ones, if anyone's interested.

the only thing is, that the sets they have are Asian models...in other words, Japanese. Now, I know that the PSP doesnt have any regions,... so will these JAP models be any different to the US / EU ones ??

Regarding Devhook, I have a general question: How is devhook able to 'emulate' another firmware ? Does it set up a virtual machine or what ?

and can anyone tell me whats the meaning of 'DAX ISO' in the PSP world ?

[Renzatic Gear]

I dont understand how this can lead to piracy...why dont you simply remove the emulator from the mem stick...that leaves no traces then....secondly, the images can be copies of your own legally owned games...

Just because you don't use it to pirate doesn't mean someone else won't. If it's out there, someone somewhere will put it to ill use.

also, does UMD emulation have a 100% success rate ?

I've never used it myself, but I've never come across anyone complaining about it not working before. The best way to find out is to use it yourself and see what happens.

if u have a UMD emulator, with a loaded image, and a physical UMD loaded too, which one will the PSP boot ?

It'll load from the disc first.


the only thing is, that the sets they have are Asian models...in other words, Japanese. Now, I know that the PSP doesnt have any regions,... so will these JAP models be any different to the US / EU ones ??

Other than defaulting to Japanese, there's no difference.

Regarding Devhook, I have a general question: How is devhook able to 'emulate' another firmware ? Does it set up a virtual machine or what ?

It's not really an emulator so much as it's a loader. It's not really emulating the firmware itself, rather tricking the PSP into loading the FW from the memory stick instead of the bios.

It's like booting Windows from a USB drive instead of a harddrive.

and can anyone tell me whats the meaning of 'DAX ISO' in the PSP world ?

I'm gonna guess it's a downloadable copy of Daxter. ISO's are disc images copied to your harddrive.

[ahmadka]

ok thanx again for the info dude....

others are telling me that I wont be able to play non-JAP UMD Movies on a JAP PSP....to this, I might have found a solution: A guy told me, that if the firmware of your JAP PSP is 2.00 or below, then you can use Devhook with UMD emulation to play non-JAP UMDs on ur PSP...is this true ?

DAX, is an ISO loader, which uses 'DAX' compression....not Daxter :D

[ahmadka]

EDIT:

I asked the seller about US UMD Movies not being playable, and this is what he said:

He says the set is *made* in China / Japan (dont know which one), but its actually the US model........and that all sets are made in china/japan, regardless of the region they are shipped to............is this correct ?

[ahmadka]

OK, I have heard that the LCDs made for the PSPs are manufactured from two different companies: Samsung and Sharp .......and people are saying that one is better than the other....

So which manufacturer is better at making PSP screens ?

Secondly, does the PSP come with a warranty card or something ? Or something else that is required in order to claim your warranty ?

Thirdly. does downgrading come under piracy ? And does it void the PSP warranty ?

Lastly, Do you know any websites giving PSP's Packaging pictures ? That is, pictures of how is was packed when you bought it ??

[ahmadka]

well thanx for all the help guys....its really helped me a lot :) and I mean that....

the reason why I am asking so much stuff, is cuz the people selling locally in my area, are not authorised dealers, and sometimes give the details with complete honesty....they will try to make refurbished goods look like brand new...and so on......this is precisely why I was asking for pictures of the packaging......e.g. foam, box etc......so that I can figure out the right stuff from the wrong.....

I went out today and met a couple of PSP unauthorised dealers...... and they let me see the PSP boxes and the stuff inside them.........And I think I spotted several fake packaging boxes......e.g. refurbished goods being sold as 'new' with fake boxes, manuals, etc....

I have taken the courtesy of taking some shots of the boxes, mem sticks, battery packs, etc...So that you guys can have a look, and tell me which ones are fake, and which ones are real......

So please have a look at the pics in the RAR file:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QB9U6RRV (436KB)

Please tell me that stuff that you think is real, and one that is fake....

thanx in advance...

EDIT:

I would also like to request those guys here who own a PSP, to please take some snaps of their PSPs box, and put them up here.....please dont forget to mention the region of your PSP........

I know all this sounds very absurd, but please try to understand my situation....I dont wanna end up buying a PSP with 'fake' stuff :P...

[ahmadka]

please help me out guys......please upload your PSPs box art....grab ur mobile/digital/web camera, take some quick shots, and send them my way....with todays technology, it shouldnt take more than 10 minutes....

EDIT: alternate download link (recommended for people who cant open RAR files):

www.geocities.com/ahmad.najeeb/psp_packs.zip

[Renzatic Gear]

Why are you so worried about getting a fake PSP? If you grab one from a reputable source, you won't have to fret over getting shafted.

[ahmadka]

the thing is that out of all the people sellin PSPs here, nobody is officially authorised to do so. This is cuz Sony hasnt started providing PSPs warranty in my country yet....I even called up the Sony's offices here,....and they said they sell all other Sony stuff, but not PS1, PS2, or PSP, due to this warranty issue, although they do have them up on display (without the boxes :( )......

So there's no 'reputable' source, in that sense, that is available to me.....all the people selling the PSPs here, are people not officially checked....so they r selling PSPs with weird looking boxes..these are actually refurbished PSPs, being sold as new...because refurbished goods are mostly incomplete in terms of their packaging (foam, cardboard, etc..), extra look-a-like packaging is made, to fool the careless buyer.......this is why i need to see some *original PSP boxes in close-up*, so that I can recognise the right from the wrong......and this is precisely why i am asking the global community to pleeeeeeeeeease send in pics of their own PSPs boxes (in fairly closeup mode), so that i when i step out the door to buy a PSP, I should be able to identify an 'original PSP', and not end up with a refurbished one with fake printed material........


so pleeeeeeeeeease, send in pics of your own PSP cases......it will help me tons i swear......

[ahmadka]

ok, I have again gone out, and taken much better pics this time.......all pictures are now 640 x 480....so you should be able to see eveything clearly..........please tell me which boxes you think are fake/refurrbished, and which one look real....

here is the link: www.geocities.com/ahmad.najeeb/psp_packs2.zip (2.5MB)

also, pleeeeeeeeeease upload your own PSPs box pictures ....... pleeeeeease........just take your mobile/digital/web camera, take some qucks snaps, and then send them my way..............it would reeeeally help me a lot.....

[Renzatic Gear]

lol, man...you're needy, aren't you?

I checked out your pics, and as far as I can tell, they're all real. If they're counterfeits, then someone went through alot of pains to make sure they're nigh on indistinguishable from actual Sony produced PSP boxes.

Once I get my camera back I'll take a few shots of my box and let you compare them to your heart's content.

But in the meantime, the best I can do is tell you to check out the PSP itself and see if it looks dodgy or not. See if they'll let you turn it on and play with it for a few.

[ahmadka]

i spotted something funny.....have a look at the cp4.jpg in pack 9 (PSP Packs 2)...if you look carefully, you will see the Marvel comics, and the Columbia Pictures logos on the back.....apparently this box is a look a like of the PSP package that came with the Spiderman 2 game.....but there was no such game with this pack...........see how tricky this can be ?? :D

Also, like in Pack 12, can you actually get the PSP earphones/remote control seperately ??

lastly, in pack 8, i tried to take a picture of the back of the PSP remote control, so that you guys can see if this is an authentic remote control or not........but the focus is not correct :(......but i think it mentioned the phrase: PSP-120 on the back......does it say this on back of your remote control ??

[ahmadka]

Ok, coming back to the general PSP topic...

1) I know that ISO, CSO, and DAX are file formats for storing game images on the PSP....but can someone explain to me in a little more detail, what their respective pros and cons are ? and can they be converted between each other ?

2) Does the PSP have analog buttons ? or digital ones ? and does the PSP have a rumble feature ?

3) and whats so special about the UPDATE folder that is included in the PSP games ?

[ahmadka]

Ok, u know pack 8 from the second set of pictures that i uploaded ? Well, I think that it original. Cuz the serial number written on its side (which i censored out), registered successfully on the PSP website :) ........ I went again today to have an in-depth look at the set....Everything seemed fine, except one..... The packaging, and all the accesories coming with it, indicate that the PSP is from USA...but to my horror, the actual PSP is model PSP-1000, meaning its from JAPAN.....so is this possible ? I mean, the packaging, manuals, etc... based on the USA Value Pack, but the PSP is from JAPAN (PSP-1000, X = Back, O = Enter) ???...

If you want to have a look at the packaging, here's the link:


www.geocities.com/ahmad.najeeb/pack8.zip

btw, the firmware was 2.70.......