Soldato
- Joined
- 16 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 9,682
- Location
- On the pale blue dot
Seeing as there's about 5 threads on the PSP on this forum, I'd thought I'd add another! 
As the PSP is now less than 24 hours away, and there are rumours and speculation that some of us may get our pre-orders today as they were dispatched yesterday (Game, but not Gameplay it would seem) I thought it'd be wise to make a thread for people to share the love and tell us all what they think of it, and possibly build up some new useful information to help those who are still sitting on the fence decide if they want to buy one. So, when your PSP arrives, post the following information:
1: When did you get it, although there's no way to verifiy if you are lying or not, lets see who gets their's first and see what method gets PSPs to people quickest!
2: Where did you order it from, was it an online shop or did you go to a midnight opening etc (please remember competitor rules)?
3: How much did you pay / did you get any package deal or added bonues?
4: What games did you get for it?
5: What other bits and bobs did you get for it?
6: What are your initial impressions of the console, games and other bits and bobs you brought?
7: Are there any defects, for example dead or stuck pixels?
8: Any other useful info you think you should add?
I'll keep this first post updated as far as I can if there is any really useful information that comes to light, like how many people (if any) are getting dead pixels, or solutions to problems found.
Oh and a last note, if you got your PSP already from import etc, good for you, but this thread is for UK PSP owners Feel free to join in the discussion and impart your knowledge, but 'I am *** w1nn3r I imported it 6 months ago and you all suck for waiting until now' posts are not appreciated.
EDIT: But please remember these questions are for UK PSP owners
Useful Information
www.yourpsp.com portal
www.yourpsp.com, the official portal, is now up and running. From here you can download some free bits and bobs for example the Gamma Pak for Wipeout Pure. Our forigen friends in the US and Japan already have these addons and more, though it is not known if these will work on UK copies of the game (until someone tells us otherwise!). Also from this site you can register your PSP to receive Spiderman 2 on UMD. In order to register you must input the model and serial number of your PSP, as well as details such as your date of birth and your address. Data protectionists amongsts us may rightly warn us that this is for marketing, however it is OPTIONAL to enter information such as your telephone number, and you can select what flavour of spam (if any), you would like to receive.
Dead and stuck pixels
Dead pixels are when one of the elements which make up the screen do not work, leaving a black dot where it should be. Stuck (sub)pixels are when one of the screen's pixels, which are made up of red, green, and blue elements, get stuck on one of these colours or a combination of two or three. This problem is common to all computer monitors, LCD TVs and just about anything that uses a TFT. More information on this issue can be found here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17209584. This problem was reported to be quite rampant in US and Japanese stocks of the PSP, and therefore the following information is being gathered to see how bad (if at all) the problem is here.
Based on forum user input here are the current number of dead and stuck pixels on UK PSPs:
Forum members who have reported dead or stuck pixels: 8/27
Dead pixels: 9 reported.
Stuck pixels: 9 reported.
According to forum members ~30% of PSPs suffer from one or more dead or stuck pixels, of this percentage 50% suffer from dead pixels, and 50% suffer from stuck pixels.
[Statistics based on a sample of 27 UK PSPs]
Some people have found that using a video file that rapidly alternates the screen between red, green and blue can 'unstick' stuck pixels (but not dead pixels). Forum member richieboy, a PSP owner whose stuck pixels account for most of the stuck pixels reported, has had some success running a pixel fixer:
The pixel fixer in question is located here: http://www.psp-vault.com/Article168.psp
Also, a disclaimer, due to the nature of the video:
PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY.
Firmware and 'Homebrew'
Homebrew refers to various applications that can be run from the PSP by bypassing protections on the PSP's firmware. Unfortunately this usually means the installation of illegal roms and cracked software. The last known firmware version that 'supports' homebrew applications is 1.5 however UK PSPs come installed with firmware version 1.52, which does not 'support' homebrew. It is theoretically possible to 'downgrade' 1.52 firmware to 1.5 however this, along with homebrew in general, steps on the forum rules and will not be discussed further. The demo disk which is included with the value pack includes the version 2.0 firmware, which adds many features including a fully functional web browser. Unless you wish to walk down the murky homebrew route (remember messing with the firmware, like flashing a BIOS, can turn your PSP into an expensive paperweight) there is no reason really not to update the PSP to firmware version 2.0.
Game Wallpapers
When looking throught save data notice how the background changes to a game specific one? Want that background? Plug your PSP into the USB port of your computer or the memory card into a card reader and browse to the x:\PSP\SAVEDATA\ directory (where x is the drive letter). In here you can find all of your save file directories. In each one there should be 2 PNG files, ICON0.PNG and PIC1.PNG. Copy (not move) PIC1.PNG into your PSP's photo directory and it will be available as a image like all others, and can be set as a wallpaper. You may also want to rename the file as, of course, adding more than one game wallpaper named PIC1.PNG will overwrite the previous one.
Contacting Sony About Dust and Dead Pixels
Forum user masterk reports:
The telephone number used is: 08705 998877
However, the situation is different for dead pixels, as Fubar reports:
Using the PSP's Internet Browser
Please see the dedicated FAQ: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17464963
Forums member's who have contributed to this information (in alphabetical order):
antc, blackster, Caged, Che, davewhite04, Demontec, Feek, fly14i, flyborg, Fubar (x2), Fuggle, HugoFJH, JoeRiches, kicks66, masterk, Memphis, MikeHowett, mqketucker, paul8811, Peve, pioneer2000, ra5a-libre, richieboy (x3), Spikey, Tattooed, the_running_man, Watson, Windle, wyrdo, zenf1
As the PSP is now less than 24 hours away, and there are rumours and speculation that some of us may get our pre-orders today as they were dispatched yesterday (Game, but not Gameplay it would seem) I thought it'd be wise to make a thread for people to share the love and tell us all what they think of it, and possibly build up some new useful information to help those who are still sitting on the fence decide if they want to buy one. So, when your PSP arrives, post the following information:
1: When did you get it, although there's no way to verifiy if you are lying or not, lets see who gets their's first and see what method gets PSPs to people quickest!
2: Where did you order it from, was it an online shop or did you go to a midnight opening etc (please remember competitor rules)?
3: How much did you pay / did you get any package deal or added bonues?
4: What games did you get for it?
5: What other bits and bobs did you get for it?
6: What are your initial impressions of the console, games and other bits and bobs you brought?
7: Are there any defects, for example dead or stuck pixels?
8: Any other useful info you think you should add?
I'll keep this first post updated as far as I can if there is any really useful information that comes to light, like how many people (if any) are getting dead pixels, or solutions to problems found.
Oh and a last note, if you got your PSP already from import etc, good for you, but this thread is for UK PSP owners
Feel free to join in the discussion and impart your knowledge, but 'I am *** w1nn3r I imported it 6 months ago and you all suck for waiting until now' posts are not appreciated.EDIT: But please remember these questions are for UK PSP owners
Useful Information
www.yourpsp.com portal
www.yourpsp.com, the official portal, is now up and running. From here you can download some free bits and bobs for example the Gamma Pak for Wipeout Pure. Our forigen friends in the US and Japan already have these addons and more, though it is not known if these will work on UK copies of the game (until someone tells us otherwise!). Also from this site you can register your PSP to receive Spiderman 2 on UMD. In order to register you must input the model and serial number of your PSP, as well as details such as your date of birth and your address. Data protectionists amongsts us may rightly warn us that this is for marketing, however it is OPTIONAL to enter information such as your telephone number, and you can select what flavour of spam (if any), you would like to receive.
Dead and stuck pixels
Dead pixels are when one of the elements which make up the screen do not work, leaving a black dot where it should be. Stuck (sub)pixels are when one of the screen's pixels, which are made up of red, green, and blue elements, get stuck on one of these colours or a combination of two or three. This problem is common to all computer monitors, LCD TVs and just about anything that uses a TFT. More information on this issue can be found here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17209584. This problem was reported to be quite rampant in US and Japanese stocks of the PSP, and therefore the following information is being gathered to see how bad (if at all) the problem is here.
Based on forum user input here are the current number of dead and stuck pixels on UK PSPs:
Forum members who have reported dead or stuck pixels: 8/27
Dead pixels: 9 reported.
Stuck pixels: 9 reported.
According to forum members ~30% of PSPs suffer from one or more dead or stuck pixels, of this percentage 50% suffer from dead pixels, and 50% suffer from stuck pixels.
[Statistics based on a sample of 27 UK PSPs]
Some people have found that using a video file that rapidly alternates the screen between red, green and blue can 'unstick' stuck pixels (but not dead pixels). Forum member richieboy, a PSP owner whose stuck pixels account for most of the stuck pixels reported, has had some success running a pixel fixer:
richieboy said:
The pixel fixer in question is located here: http://www.psp-vault.com/Article168.psp
Also, a disclaimer, due to the nature of the video:
PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY.
Firmware and 'Homebrew'
Homebrew refers to various applications that can be run from the PSP by bypassing protections on the PSP's firmware. Unfortunately this usually means the installation of illegal roms and cracked software. The last known firmware version that 'supports' homebrew applications is 1.5 however UK PSPs come installed with firmware version 1.52, which does not 'support' homebrew. It is theoretically possible to 'downgrade' 1.52 firmware to 1.5 however this, along with homebrew in general, steps on the forum rules and will not be discussed further. The demo disk which is included with the value pack includes the version 2.0 firmware, which adds many features including a fully functional web browser. Unless you wish to walk down the murky homebrew route (remember messing with the firmware, like flashing a BIOS, can turn your PSP into an expensive paperweight) there is no reason really not to update the PSP to firmware version 2.0.
Game Wallpapers
When looking throught save data notice how the background changes to a game specific one? Want that background? Plug your PSP into the USB port of your computer or the memory card into a card reader and browse to the x:\PSP\SAVEDATA\ directory (where x is the drive letter). In here you can find all of your save file directories. In each one there should be 2 PNG files, ICON0.PNG and PIC1.PNG. Copy (not move) PIC1.PNG into your PSP's photo directory and it will be available as a image like all others, and can be set as a wallpaper. You may also want to rename the file as, of course, adding more than one game wallpaper named PIC1.PNG will overwrite the previous one.
Contacting Sony About Dust and Dead Pixels
Forum user masterk reports:
masterk said:
The telephone number used is: 08705 998877
However, the situation is different for dead pixels, as Fubar reports:
Fubar said:Well i phoned Sony up, they said ""2-3 dead pixels is acceptable in the industry blah blah," i said, "but look the screen is small surely even 1 or 2 is unacceptable ffs, you are focused on them all the time, fine ill leave this for the time being but you will here from me again if i have any other problems." So i phoned MVC up where i got it from, they said it would be fine for me to come and get it exchanged! w00t result. They don't have any in stock thoughbut ive got 28 days to go in and get it refunded, or exchanged when they received stock (seems as if Sony has shafted shops, nowehre had enough supply for the demand :S (they have been out for yonks haven't they?) So i should get mine replaced soon, in the meantime im going to just hang on to this one.
Using the PSP's Internet Browser
Please see the dedicated FAQ: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17464963
Forums member's who have contributed to this information (in alphabetical order):
antc, blackster, Caged, Che, davewhite04, Demontec, Feek, fly14i, flyborg, Fubar (x2), Fuggle, HugoFJH, JoeRiches, kicks66, masterk, Memphis, MikeHowett, mqketucker, paul8811, Peve, pioneer2000, ra5a-libre, richieboy (x3), Spikey, Tattooed, the_running_man, Watson, Windle, wyrdo, zenf1
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