Owners of the new slim PSP (PSP-2000) are already taking their shiny new PSPs apart to discover what Sony has done to the new model apart from the disclosed features. It turns out that the new PSP model has a entirely new PCB version – TA-085. The new PCB version could contain further measures to prevent downgrading and possibly the installation of custom firmwares.

Most of you know that the TA-082 PCBs have been patched to allow custom firmwares to be installed, so it more that likely Sony has put in a new measure to prevent this. Aside from the upgraded UMD drive, new video-out features and firmware version 3.60, Ookm, creater of homebrew enabler (HEN), speculates that the NAND Flash and DRAM memory could both be imbedded in the new CPU chip.

It is difficult to determine what changes Sony has made to the PCB and other components without the help of Sony themselves, but we’re sure the homebrew community will figure it out soon. Updates will be posted as more information becomes available.

The September issue of the XTREME PSP Magazine is now available to download. Issue 27 has over a 100 pages of great content including lots of game previews and reviews. You can find the full list of content below. Also, don’t forget to enter the competiton in this issue for a chance to win a new PSP (PSP-2000), details inside.

• Previews
  • Jackass, The Game
  • The Sims 2: Castaway
  • Worms: Open Warfare 2
• Reviews
  • Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2
  • Guilty Gear Judgement
  • Crazy Taxi: Farewars
• Custom Firmware Comparison
• Tips and Cheats
• and more…

Remember, the competition deadline is September 25th 2007, so get you entries in as early as you can. Multiple entry is allowed, however, similar entries will be rejected. Good luck to everyone, the winner will be announced in Issue 28 – watch out for it in October.

[Download XTREME PSP Mag Issue 27]

In a shocking development, PSP homebrew icon and pioneer Fanjita has announced his retirement over at his website Fanjita.org, citing trust issues as the main reason.
While no specifics were mentioned, the famed developer did say that “the betrayal of trust that preceded the Pandora release was extremely hurtful.” This, he says, left him to unable to fully trust the people he previously enjoyed working hard with.

“I’m tired of the continual pressure and idiocy of the PSP scene – long gone are the fun days of pioneering amongst like minds, in a mutually supportive and gentlemanly environment,” he says. “The Pandora Battery therefore marks my last major PSP project,” says Fanjita. “I expect that Team C+D and Noobz will continue to release stuff without me, and I still hope to finish up some of the non-exploit projects that I’d been working on.

The noobz team was working on a PSP unbricker that would restore any bricked PSP’s using the faulty M33 Custom Firmware, however, instead of releasing a unbricker program, they have released the ultimate unbricking tool. Dubbed Pandora’s Battery, the program lets you convert a normal PSP battery into a "jigstick", allowing you to unbrick any PSP.

The unbricker is the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes research and development by some of the top names in PSP hacking, under the name of the Prometheus project. This group of people, from various development teams, was dedicated to developing and releasing PSP hacks and exploits, with the aim of improving the status of PSP homebrew, and making sure that it was kept alive.

All the instructions needed to use the tool are included in the readme file, be sure to pay close attention to any instructions. Here is the process in brief:

• You run a program on a homebrew-enabled PSP that will convert a standard PSP battery into a jigkick battery. Note that you can’t then use that battery normally – so you should use a spare one.
• You run a program to generate the unbricker memory stick image, built from the v1.5 update EBOOT (note that this, and the custom IPL, means the release is completely free of Sony copyright materials).
• You run some programs on a PC to install the image to your memory stick.

[Download Pandora’s Battery]

Thanks to Sable for the tip.

Today, SCEE finally announced the introduction of PlayTV, a combined TV tuner and Personal Video Recoder (PVR) for the PlayStation 3. PlayTV will be available in UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain early in 2008, with other PAL territories to follow in due course. The twin channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software turns PS3 into a state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV. PlayTV will also record individual programmes or whole series to the PS3 hard drive for viewing later on the family TV, or for transferring to the PSP for remote viewing outside of the home.

Operating on the widely available Digital Video Broadcasting ? Terrestrial (DVB-T) format, PlayTV uses an incredibly quick and easy to use 7-day Electronic Programme Guide EPG. that provides the navigation for programming the PVR features of PlayTV. In line with PlayStation?s focus on advanced technology made easy, PlayTV provides a host of added value features seldom seen on anything but the highest cost standalone PVRs:

• PlayTV?s two TV tuners are High Definition ready and are able to view, record and play back High Definition signals in full HD1080P to fully complement PS3?s already impressive High Definition credentials.
• Unlike the electronic programme guides found on conventional satellite and cable services, PlayTV’s EPG is lightning fast, and simple to use with either PS3?s SIXAXIS? wireless controller or the BD remote control to really enhance viewing pleasure.
• Intuitive controls, single button help features, tutorial videos and simple navigation make PlayTV a positive joy to use compared with the complexity of some standalone PVR models
• Seamless connectivity with PSP allows you to set recordings, watch Live TV and recorded TV programmes remotely on PSP via a Wi-Fi connection (using Remote Play feature). Alternatively, quickly transcode recorded TV shows for high quality viewing to PSP by USB cable for remote viewing away from the home.
• Optional on-screen graphical display provides a wealth of information about the status of PlayTV and provides quick access to programme information, stored TV programmes and the controls to pause or record live TV. PlayTV will also set the correct interface for either Standard Definition or High Definition displays, maximising the viewing experience.
• PlayTV will evolve with time, with great added value functionality being updated via PLAYSTATION Network; a feature that sets it above all other set top boxes. PlayTV will never be out of date.

“The introduction of PlayTV really will extend the already broad entertainment credentials of PS3, and makes it an exceptionally attractive proposition for the whole family,” said David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “PS3 already provides High Definition gaming, Blu-ray Disc movies, music, video, photo album, web browsing and PLAYSTATION Network support. With the introduction of PlayTV?s state of the art TV tuner and PVR functionality, PS3 is now the best choice of home entertainment hub for the whole family.”

SCEE has revealed more information about the joint venture between themselves and British Sky Broadcasting (Sky). The service will offer PSP owners in the UK and Ireland the opportunity to watch videos on demand and on the move. The Go! branded Video Download Service will launch in early 2008, and will be the first official PSP video download service anywhere in Europe.

Unlike other services, the Video Download Service will launch with a rich selection of high quality entertainment. The choice of programmes available will include a diverse mix of Sky content, spanning sports, entertainment, movies, music and animation. In addition to a selection of some of the best content from its own channels, Sky plans to work with third-party channel brands and content owners to create an even more comprehensive service. This is the first time Sky will offer video content through a non-Sky branded service.

The very latest premier movies and high profile sporting events, normally only available to Sky subscribers will be available on a pay per view basis, allowing users to choose their preferred way of using the download service. Customers will be able to download their choice of programmes direct to their PSP via a Wi-Fi connection or, alternatively, transfer content that they’ve downloaded to their PC.

“Both truly mobile and with a best in class high-quality screen, PSP delivers a great on-the-move video experience. Working with such a well known content brand, we will be able to offer PSP owners access to the best in cross-genre Sky content, available through the first official video download service. This really will make PSP the standout all-in-one portable gaming, video and music device”, commented David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Team M33 has unexpectedly updated their custom firmware to version 4. The update is not a major one and includes mainly bug fixes to Custom Firmware 3.52 v3, released earlier this week. You can check out the changelog below.

Changes in M33-4 (mainly bugfix)

• Fixed the bug that caused CRC error when writing to flash usb in the XMB. Now writing is OK.
• Added the new speeds to vshmenu and core, because we forgot in recovery.

Also, a few notes from Team M33:

• As we didn’t want to release a new update without something new, we worked in making 3.10/3.11 to work with popsloader, and that’s it, the new popsloader plugins supports them.
• Instruction for 3.10 and 3.11 are same as 3.30: you need pops.prx, popsman.prx and pafmini.prx with the correct names in popsloader directory. And remember that savedata of 3.10-3.30 are incompatible with those of 3.40 . We’ll research if a solution for this is possible.

[Download Custom Firmware 3.52 v4]