We've heard it before that a crack to allow unsigned code to run on a PlayStation 3 was close to release and nothing materialised, but this time the rumours seem a little stronger with many sites and prominent members of the device hacking community all but confirming the existence of a new soft-mod for the PS3, being referred to (with iPhone modding vernacular) as a "Jailbreak".
MaxConsole has a detailed breakdown of everything known about the mod so far, including several proof-of-concept videos and images of the purported soft-mod USB stick, giving us recourse to finally believe the hype.
For the uninitiated, a mod like this would enable owners of PlayStation 3 consoles to run copies of their games backed up to hard-drive for faster load-times than are capable when reading from a Blu-Ray disc. It would also allow homebrew developers to create applications like the coveted Xbox Media Center app to run on PlayStation 3 consoles. Unfortunately it also opens the door to game piracy on the platform. All things that, unlike it's competitors, PlayStation's security has managed to thwart for 4 years.
It is not yet confirmed if this is a security hole that Sony will be able to mend in current devices but it seems likely that a firmware upgrade could be used to plug it. The mod is reported to work on the current firmware version 3.41 so if this is something that interests you, you may want to hold off on any further upgrades until the mod is available.
Posted 10:17am 20/8/10
Posted 10:19am 20/8/10
4 years is pretty impressive though.
Posted 10:22am 20/8/10
Posted 10:31am 20/8/10
xbmc will rock.
Posted 10:33am 20/8/10
Posted 10:38am 20/8/10
I few australian modders have been given prototypes to test out, and if you search hard enough you can easily find more information on that
One of the guys i know says sony will be able to patch it, another says sony wont bother (they may initially but it will be easy enough to work around that any patch attempts will just annoy modders more then deter them)
One of them was also saying that xbmc for ps3 is already well under way and that they had a primal (by primal i mean, they had the basic code running, just couldnt enable all features due to the limitations of how sony close of areas of the ps3) version of it working on non hacked ps3's prior to the removal of linux, so it should be an easy feat getting it sorted out with this hack.
I really am looking forward to this, the ps3 is a beast of a console and by far gets the most use in our house, id gladly stick one in each room if i could hav xbmc and homebrew running on them.
Also sif id want to waste 35gig a game installing to the HDD.
Posted 10:39am 20/8/10
Posted 10:45am 20/8/10
That means nothing, order from oversea's. success.
Posted 10:59am 20/8/10
Posted 11:05am 20/8/10
Posted 11:16am 20/8/10
Hardly any games are that big. Think about it, most games are on both PS3 and 360, and both systems have the games on a single disc. A quick look at PS3 rips on the net shows that a lot of them hover around the 8-10GB range, just like a lot of other games. Of course, there are some which are significantly bigger, as it's silly not to take advantage of the extra space for higher-quality videos and such.
Well, that's made a lot more difficult since Sony patched out the OtherOS capabilities. Of course, if this mod does indeed trick the PS3 into thinking it's a development unit, that opens up a huge range of possibilities, as dev units will execute unsigned code.
Posted 11:21am 20/8/10
Posted 11:30am 20/8/10
theres only two games that i know of that used the whole 50gb disc. they were mgs4 and ff13. ff13 on xbox had like 3 discs.
can anyone tell me why xmbc is so good?
last edited by ravn0s at 11:30:12 20/Aug/10
Posted 11:37am 20/8/10
Its the ultimate home theatre software, it will play anything you throw at it, not only that it's open source and complete customizable.
I had it running on the original xbox and it played everthing except for hi-def content (hardware limitiation not software)
Many have built media pc's to run xbmc.
On the original xbox, it would rip dvd's put them in a nice libary, it connects to imdb and tv databases to extract covers and information. aswell.
Its just f*****g awesome. kthx.
Posted 11:38am 20/8/10
Posted 11:41am 20/8/10
He's making an assumption based on how the hack works,
as he explained it contains code owned by sony, which was not intended for this use, or re-production by a non sony manufacture.
Posted 11:42am 20/8/10
Posted 11:56am 20/8/10
Posted 11:59am 20/8/10
http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=XBMC_Features_and_Supported_Formats/Codecs <- that.
Posted 12:00pm 20/8/10
Posted 12:20pm 20/8/10
Posted 12:40pm 20/8/10
Posted 12:46pm 20/8/10
Posted 12:51pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:10pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:12pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:21pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:28pm 20/8/10
Its basically software in a pkg format.. this format is the same as the content that is on the psn store. The software was packed by the sdk thus the reason the ps3 reads it. The software itself is just a backup manager it reads whats on the disc and copys it to the hdd and will then play that copy from the hdd, at the moment it does not copy blu-ray movies or dvds.
So you dont load games from the XMB (dashboard) you load them from a program installed on the usb drive (similar to how the wii works with soft modding and usb loading)
You would have to load homebrew via the same method.
What this means though is that they are able to technically get unsigned code on to the hdd and read by the ps3, this will allow for custom dash boards, xbmc and other neat and nifty things.
its expected to retail for $169
Given what the actuall hack is though i expect some third partys to start making it and bringing the price down.
Posted 01:30pm 20/8/10
I dont think too many ppl will be wasting 30gb on 1 game.
Posted 01:34pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:36pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:36pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:37pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:39pm 20/8/10
Posted 01:42pm 20/8/10
There was another thread a day or two ago about iiNet releasing 1000GB / month plans for $100/month . I dont think size is going to impede pirates.
Posted 01:51pm 20/8/10
Hmmm didn't think if blocking file sharing on USB, good point and a scary one.
Posted 02:01pm 20/8/10
PS3 have the ability to hook up to printers, cameras, the ps eye, charge controllers amongst a host of other abilitys, to stop file sharing or modify any way that the usb port reads information will cause a huge chain of effect for all those other features.
Posted 03:00pm 20/8/10
people would have said the same thing about removing other os.
but yer i doubt they will do it.
Posted 03:37pm 20/8/10
Sure the ps3 doesnt need to hook up to a huge array of usb devices, but i believe its part of the sony plan to have everything talking to each other... plus the japs love neat s*** like that.
Posted 05:22pm 20/8/10
Posted 05:38pm 20/8/10
As I said in my previous post, hardly any games would be that big. Most wouldn't even be 10GB. How do you think cross-platform games fit on a single DVD for the 360?
Posted 05:44pm 20/8/10
Posted 07:38pm 20/8/10
I wish I had an antenna on my car that didn't run almost parallel to the car so I could fly the jolly roger yarrrr
There's heaps of ways, re-compression of video to smaller size for one.
last edited by Whoop at 19:38:03 20/Aug/10
Posted 08:01pm 20/8/10
Posted 08:29pm 20/8/10
Source
Posted 10:49pm 20/8/10
Posted 12:57pm 22/8/10
Posted 01:02pm 22/8/10
Posted 01:30pm 22/8/10
Posted 03:41pm 22/8/10
well done.
Posted 04:50pm 22/8/10
Posted 05:13pm 22/8/10
Posted 05:25pm 22/8/10
Posted 06:29pm 22/8/10
Posted 08:32am 23/8/10
Posted 08:47am 23/8/10
Posted 08:57am 23/8/10
To be honest Dan. I dont believe the whole "backing up" to hard drive to speed up load times stuff. Games load pretty bloody quick as it is. The sad fact is, a mod like this will be used 98% of the time to run pirated software.
Posted 09:15am 23/8/10
I have absolutely zero interest in pirating video games (especially a blu-ray PS3 game), but I have lots of interest in buying awesome hardware like this and using it in other interesting ways!
Posted 09:57am 23/8/10
I have to admit Trog, I haven't used XBMC so I'm not across everything it does. What can it do over and above PS3 media server?
Posted 10:01am 23/8/10
I haven't used PS3 media server so I am not sure how it differs. I do know though that people that have tried most other media things always seem to end up coming back to XBMC swearing it's the best
Posted 10:06am 23/8/10
Posted 10:15am 23/8/10
Edit: me wonders if I can get a 3rd "if only" post from Dan.
Looking at Grogs post, XBMC apparently is more of an open source media library rather than just a media server. That being the case, sure, I'd run it as well :)
Posted 11:09am 24/8/10
I'd get one of these but id be worried about Sony banning me from PSN? Sure single player games are awesome but online is where its at.
Posted 11:18am 24/8/10
I booted it up recently to be met with a YLOD
Posted 04:43pm 24/8/10
hopefully mine doesnt do that anytime soon
Posted 05:46pm 24/8/10
Posted 06:55pm 24/8/10
Posted 10:57am 26/8/10
You are pretty spot on, however what xbmc does over what ps3 media server is add extra functionality, eg, allow you to change subs on the file. Ps3 media server requires you to make changes at your pc. I assure you, XBMC is a fantastic piece of software that makes media playback so much easier and enjoyable.
PS3 media server purely streams media, the software "PS3 Media server" adds some functionality, mkv playback, subtitle support, and a few other codecs, but its all pc based functionality. XBMC is a media player on the ps3 that will read network storage and play media from there. (it can also play media locally). It allows you to access that functionality directly from the software on the ps3, and in most cases lets your make changes during playback. Imagine VLC on your pc with a pretty interface and media libary
Thats a very valid concern, this hack is probably detectable, however in my instance i would like one purely for homebrew and offline functionality, id be buying a 2nd ps3 just for this hack which is something id like to endorese to everyone, but i know is not cost effective to most. Wait it out, see how the hack development works out, this may just be a short lived hack.
Probably not a good idea to post it, it has code owned by sony and breaches all kinds of copy write laws.
Posted 11:04am 26/8/10
I have the Wii in the kids entertainment room which I soft modded so the kids can play the games without touching any disc's.
Posted 12:31am 28/8/10
The injunction is in place until Tuesday 31-August at which time Sony has to convince the courts that the injunction should stick or the floodgates open on Wednesday 1st September.
PSX-Scene have a screenshot of the court document, which you can visit yourself here.
It seems that the Australian stores that were about to distribute these devices have to hand over any in their control to Sony's solicitors and that some of these will be examined by Sony including destructive testing, but that Sony will pay retail for them.
I thought it was also interesting that the order is in effect just by dropping it off at the address of the store and pasting a copy in to their website's contact form.
Posted 02:05pm 31/8/10
Posted 09:08pm 01/9/10
im none too worried though because its' completely balls right now so I have nothing to lose
Posted 09:45pm 01/9/10
Posted 09:50pm 01/9/10
I'm certainly not one to praise or defend Sony, but you can't really expect them to do nothing when a simple USB device is allowing people to rip/download PS3 games and play them on their console.
Posted 10:02pm 01/9/10
Posted 10:03pm 01/9/10
Posted 10:20pm 01/9/10
Posted 10:44pm 01/9/10
Posted 10:33am 02/9/10
http://www.news.com.au/technology/psgroove-makers-claims-their-device-can-hack-a-ps3-for-free-and-doesnt-promote-piracy/story-e6frfro0-1225913145033?area=technology
either way homebrew could be written for the device that would allow pirating games.
However due to the fact its advertised as being homebrew specific may allow for it to not get f***ed over in the courts. (probably still will though)
Also ive seen ps3 games for download on sites since the ps3's release. im yet to see an increase since the announcement of these hacks/exploits.
Posted 11:15am 02/9/10
These previously sold in Australia for about AU$40, but everyone is out of stock and the one company that seems to be getting stock tomorrow now lists them at $110 + postage
There are similar supply problems across online retailers world wide
The restrictions in the homebrew mod that stopped the copying software from running can be removed with a patch that's available online.
Posted 01:23pm 02/9/10
*cough*
Posted 02:19pm 02/9/10
Posted 12:22pm 03/9/10
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/02/1530210/Open-Source-PS3-Jailbreak-Released
The PS3 jailbreak is available open source and you can DIY it.
Posted 12:36pm 03/9/10
Posted 12:57pm 03/9/10
Posted 01:45pm 03/9/10
Posted 03:27pm 03/9/10
Main point of note is still that if you want homebrew on your PS3, don't be updating beyond the current firmware. Surely can't be too much longer before Sony rollout an update that plugs the hole.
Posted 03:37pm 03/9/10
My PS3 is currently blocked from the internet in anticipation of a forced patch (which Sony allowed themselves to do in recent changes to the T&C with a PS3 update)
Looks like Sony won the court case today. The court named the Chinese company that supplied the device, named their bank account, and have demanded that all stock be turned over to Sony's lawyers.
Thanks to my long standing and well known interest in programmable usb boards I think it's time to finally fork out for a AT90USBKey and start programming my own USB devices. I wish i'd bought one two years ago when I first got interested, not now that they are priced double.
Posted 03:47pm 03/9/10
http://netzke.blogspot.com/
Posted 07:53pm 03/9/10
Can you explain further, ive been unable to sign into psn for a few days, yet when i run network setup on it all the tests come back fine.
Havent dont any research into the error yet, but when you said that i was wondering if im experiencing the same thing.
Posted 08:33pm 03/9/10
Posted 09:37pm 03/9/10
Posted 09:40pm 03/9/10
Posted 12:28pm 04/9/10
It can't be too far away that other phones offer this facility too.. I'd read yesterday of Android development, but Kararto has delivered the N900 version sooner.
Posted 12:32pm 04/9/10
Posted 09:10pm 12/9/10
Posted 06:53am 13/9/10
Just say what you mean - it allows you to play pirated games.