Thread: PlayStation 3 Secrets - Everything about PS3

The purpose of this webpage is to provide information (a majority are secret or are hard to find) on the PS3. If you think you know all there is to know about the PS3, read the following and you might learn a thing or two that you didn't know before. It is updated as new information is uncovered in the public, so visit often if you wish to keep up to date on the latest secrets. Please link to this webpage rather than copy the contents.

Super Secrets

With the PS3 power switch in the off position, turn power switch back on while holding down Eject button. This "fan test" mode allows you to clean out the dust inside the PS3. It works for Models CECHG and higher. (Note that a plugged in PS3 Slim does not have a power switch at all and is always in standby).

The following requires the power switch in the back to be on...

Hold Power button down for 6 seconds (while PS3 is on): turns off PS3.

Hold Eject button down for 6 seconds (while PS3 is on): force disc to eject.

Hold Eject button down for 12 seconds (while PS3 is on): reset Blu-ray.

Hold Power button down for two beeps (while PS3 is off): Reset video to lowest settings.

Hold Power button down for three beeps (while PS3 is off): Enter PS3 diagnostic mode (repeat procedure twice)

Hold PS button down on controller for 10 seconds: Turns off Sixaxis or Dualshock 3.

The PS3 can enter a special "Service Mode". When it does the bottom right hand corner of the screen has a red translucent rectangle with the words "Playstation 3. Factory/Service Mode" inside of the rectangle. It is rumored that by plugging a special JIG in the USB port, the PS3 is triggered into Service Mode the next time it boots up. This special mode then accepts firmware code loaded in from the USB port, and allows reflashing the firmware chip.

Each PS3 has a special 512KB EEPROM chip on the motherboard using a SPI Serial Interface Renasas chip.



PS3 Model Differences

The following chart describes the basic differences between various PS3 model numbers. The chart is broken up into two parts. The first part lists the prefix, while the second part lists the suffix. Combining prefix and suffix allows you to arrive at an actual PS3 model number. All PS3 models have PS1 compatibility via software emulation. For PS2 mode compatibility, models using software emulation have less compatibility with PS2 game titles than models with the Emotion Engine (hardware chip). Later models that had the Graphics Synthesizer chip removed meant no PS2 compatibility at all (hardware or software). The chart is semi-ranked from most important to least important feature, taking into consideration possibility of adding back a missing feature. For example, PS2 and SA-CD compatibility are ranked higher than harddrive size because "once not in the system, it is not there forever". Meanwhile, harddrive capacity and memory card readers allows for upgrading or adding of the capability later. Unimportant cosmetic variations (like color, chrome trim and exact location of ports) are not included. Pink entries indicate not officially released.


Note that the PS3 model number prefix from above needs a two digit number appended at the end to designate a region. Starting with the PS3 Slim models, the PS3 started using PSP model naming nomenclature, 10xx, 20xx, 30xx. In this case the second generation PS3 (Slim) is CECH-20xx. Therefore, append a two digit Code (suffix) from below to arrive at the actual PS3 model number. For example, a first generation Japanese 60GB PS3 would be designated CECHA00, while the one in North America would be designated CECHA01. A second generation Japanese PS3 Slim would be designated CECH-2000A, while the North American one would be designated CECH-2001A. Both are 120GB models because starting with the PS3 Slim, the harddrive size is variable and a letter is added after the region code to designate the drive size (in this case A=120GB, and B=250GB). Note that although globally some PS3 share the same model prefixes, they are actually different because of their special support for their country and SDTV region (NTSC or PAL), which the suffix code below delineates.

Sometimes special promotions are created by Sony that introduce or bundle new color, games, or peripherals with a PS3. These promotional PS3 often have additional suffixes added to the model numbers. For example: CECHE01 MG. Although extra games or peripherals are included, the basic PS3 machine follows the same specs as the model prefix. So in this case, the example PS3 above would have the same specs as a CECHE PS3. The following is a chart listing the suffix for these special models. Note that multiple suffixes can be attached at the end. For example, CECHH-CWDM would indicate a Ceramic White CECHH PS3 that includes a Devil May Cry 4 game. If the PS3 does not have a color suffix, it is assumed to be Clear Black in color.

Sometimes special promotional PS3 are released unique model numbers that are not just appended suffixes. Included in these special one-time offers are often free packaged games. The following lists these unique model numbers that don't follow a pattern.


Special PS3 Models

The PS3 also comes in three different flavors for developers and retailers.

PS3 Test Unit
Developers get a PS3 Test unit (Debugging Station) that allows it to run unsigned code. The machine is normally labelled Test below the PlayStation 3 logo, and it comes with a testkit. The PS3 model numbers for these Test machines are similar to the the ones for consumers, but instead of the CECH prefix, the model numbers have the DECH prefix. Unlike consumer units, a PS3 Test unit has an extra "Settings"->"Debug Settings" menu in the XMB (XrossMediaBar), which allows many options like downgrading to previous PS3 Test firmwares (available in PS3 Test firmware 2.00 and higher), changing the PS3 region, and treating a USB drive as a Blu-ray drive,. The PS3 Test unit is identical to the consumer PS3 unit hardware-wise, but the different software settings is tailored for allowing easy debugging of programs. By default it is missing Blu-ray movie decryption keys found in the retail PS3, but has decryption keys for running debug encrypted software. The PS3 Test, therefore, cannot decrypt and play retail Blu-ray movie discs, but can run retail PS3 games. In the DECHA models, PS2 games (any region, debug and retail) loading were disabled, but later firmwares allow it.


Note that an S prefix can be attached to end of the PS3 Test model number, which designates that the unit is made specifically for trade "S"hows, so the TEST logo is not next to the PlayStation 3 logo. In all other purposes though, it is identical to a PS3 Test unit. The A and J designate America or Japan variation.

PS3 Tool Unit
Developers also get a PS3 Tool unit (Reference Tool) that comes with an extra internal harddrive, 512MB of XDR RAM (256MB more than consumer unit), and a full devkit. This unit has extra hardware on board that listens to port 1000, and connecting to this port with a webbrowser opens up a system configuration page, which allows you to set the machine to emulate different models (like 20GB or 60GB model), amount of user memory (512MB XDR or 256MB XDR), and debug or system sofware mode. Early versions of this machine is large and squarish, and does not resemble consumer PS3s, while later versions do.


PS3 Demonstration Unit

Retailers can obtain a PS3 Demonstration Unit for shop display that puts the machine in a special mode that allows playing PS3 games for only a limited time before rebooting. These Demonstration units can have their Demonstration firmware updated to newer versions by connecting to the internet. The PS3 Demonstration unit is identical (hardware-wise) to the consumer PS3 and the PS3 Test units, with the only difference in software installed and the included 120GB harddrive.

Although the PS3 Demonstration Unit is locked into demonstration mode, you can unlock this mode by entering a secret unlock code (those with firmware less than version 1.5 need not enter code). To unlock, navigate the XMB and highlight the Settings->Security Settings icon. Then press and hold these four buttons: L2, R2, Select, and Square. If the PS3 has firmware less than 1.5, the machine should be unlocked from demonstration mode. For firmware 1.5 and greater, you will be prompted to enter a four digit security code. Depending on the firmware installed (displayed on the corner of the screen), the codes are (NTSC and PAL PS3 may have different codes for a given firmware):


You can force the machine to go back to demonstration mode by pressing the four button combo again, or turning off and on the PS3. Note that Demonstration PS3 units have certain features disabled. For example, you are not allowed to access the PlayStation Store.

Early PS3 Models

Before the consumer PS3 was released on November 11, 2006, earlier models existed. These models were made for developers and also to test if the system was viable. The earlier models have a prefix of CEB (Cell Evaluation Board).



Future PS3 Models

Every once and a while, new PS3 models are released by Sony. If you wish to know ahead of time what the new models are, you can visit:
[Only Registered users can see links . Click Here To Register...]

Enter for Grantee Code: AK8
Enter for Product Code: CEC

You should get a listing of the products released by Sony pertaining to the PS3. Check the latest dates to verify rumors of upcoming products. Although they are mainly for peripherals, you may need to leave out the CEC and go through all the list (unfortunately a lot of them) to pinpoint down the products models for PS3. This is how the PSP rumors were confirmed, by enter PSP into the Product Code and leaving AK8 as the Grantee Code

Blu-ray, DVD, PS3, PS2, and PlayStation (PSone) compatibility with PS3

The above PS3 Model chart also displays the compatibility of PS3 with the various video and games formats.

Game compatibility
PS3 games (on Blu-ray discs) are not region locked, but they are released and labelled with numerical regions codes (which seems to match DVD region codes). Any PS3 game from any region will play in any PS3. However, there is the special situation when you try to play back the game in Standard Definition. If the PS3 game only has Standard Definition and Enhanced Definition for either PAL (576i and 576p) or NTSC (480i and 480p), your PS3 must have the same Standard Definition and Enhanced Definition format support, or you won't be able to play it. This is not a problem if you play the game in High Definition (720p, 1080i, 1080p), but there exists the possibility to region lock (based on Blu-ray game region) games if the publisher decides to do so. All PS3 games have a serial number containing a four character prefix, followed by a five digit suffix. The following are the common prefix for PS3 games:


The first letter indicates the storage format. Normally, it is B for Blu-ray disc format. Other formats may include S = DVD. The second letter indicates if the game is first party (C = Sony), or licensed from third party (L = others). The third letter indicates: A=Asia, J=Japan, U=United States, or E=Europe. The last letter indicates the type: D = Demo, S = Game, M = ?. Note that for some third party games, Sony may take it and repackage with appropriate material for other territories, thus the game become first party as well.

PS2 games are divided into four main regions (NTSC-J, NTSC-U/C, NTSC-C, PAL) and two formats (NTSC or PAL) locked. Note that the PS2 game discs can be single or double layer, although there are very few dual-layer PS2 games (like Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance). The PS3 supports both.

PS1 games (disc-based) are divided into three main region (NTSC-J, NTSC-US, PAL) and two formats (NTSC or PAL) locked. Most early PS (PSone) games are not protected, but later releases (like Metal Gear Solid Integral) have special marks that require special CD lens to read. The PS3 supports reading these protected discs. Note that PS games downloaded from the PlayStation Network store are not region nor format locked as long as you are able to pay (if not free) and download them from the store.


Movie compatibility
For Blu-ray video, the discs are divided into three (A, B, or C) main regions which must match the region of your PS3 for playback. The initial Blu-ray discs that were released supported region codes, but were not enforced, so a PS3 can play Blu-ray discs from any region (this might change in the future).

For DVD playback, the discs are divided into six (from 1 to 6; note 0, 7, and 8 are special cases) main regions and two formats (NTSC or PAL). Not only must your PS3 match the region, it must also support the format as well.


Compatibility Notes
Note that Blu-ray and DVD uses different region coding methods and country division, and they should not be confused with each other. Also note that the above table only applies if you have the latest firmware version installed, which can remove or add format or region lock for DVD playback. For example, the Hong Kong PS3 originally only played back NTSC Region 3 DVD, and with an update supported both NTSC and PAL Region 3 DVD playback. The situation may change, so provide feedback if you note otherwise.

As for model releases and dates, note that although the PS3 was not officially released in China, the majority of them are actually made there, so you can find all sorts of models in that country. The region codes for China designate what they should be if an official PS3 was released.

PS3 Audio

The PS3 supports many different audio formats, either disc based, network streaming, or via fixed and removable flash storage like the internal harddrive and external memory cards. In addition, because most of the advanced audio support is done via software on the Cell, the feature list is constantly changing. The following information is based on the latest firmware at the time of this writing. Feel free to come back for updates to the compatibility charts that follows. Also, because of limited analog output options for surround sound (the AV Multi analog cable only has stereo left and right channels), you need to purchase an Audio (and/or Video) Receiver that support "HDMI in" to enjoy 5.1 or 7.1 surround channels. TOSLINK (optical digital) AV Receivers are not recommended because it has a lower bandwidth and it is also an unprotected link, restricting output of high bandwidth and protected audio. Basic HDMI 1.1 that has 7.1 analog outputs for speakers (and a passthrough HDMI for the video to your HDTV) is recommended. Because of the various ways to connect your speakers to the PS3, how you choose the connection determines the quality of the audio output. Analog storage of music became obsolete with the introduction of the Compact Disc (CD). Now all retail music is stored digitally. Because of this, there are three stages to get audio (in digital form) to your speakers (in analog form).



Digital versus Analog

The PS3 can do all of the stages above, but depending on the connection, it may skip some of the later stages if you have the right equipment that can handle it. The three main audio output options on the PS3 are the HDMI, TOSLINK (optical digital), and AV Multi cable. HDMI and TOSLINK are digital connections, whereas the AV Multi cable is analog. Both HDMI and TOSLINK can support more than two channels of audio (up to 7.1 for HDMI and 5.1 for TOSLINK), while the AV Multi cable can only support two analog channels (left and right) for connecting directly to the two RCA jacks that lead to your speakers.


Bitstream versus Linear PCM

The PS3 provides options for either "Bitstream" or "Linear PCM" when outputing the audio signal. This option is located in the "Settings->BD/DVD Settings->BD/DVD Audio Output Format(HDMI)" and "Settings->BD/DVD Settings->BD Audio Output Format (Optical)" settings of your XMB. Linear PCM is audio data that is not encoded (nor compressed) and is in it's pure digital form, ready for conversion into analog for the speakers. A regular CD stores all its songs in Linear PCM form. Most audio starting with the DVD store digital data encoded and compressed (like Dolby Digital or Digital Surround). If "Bitstream" option is selected, the PS3 will take this encoded and compressed audio and send it untouched to the HDMI or TOSLINK cable for your external decoder to decode. In other words, the receiver at the other end of the HDMI or TOSLINK must have special chips that can decode and uncompress formats like Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround, and then convert the resultant Linear PCM to analog (via a DAC) for the speakers connected to the external decoder. If "Linear PCM" option is selected, the PS3 will actually decode the audio into Linear PCM first, before sending it to the HDMI or TOSLINK. In this case the receiver on the other end of the HDMI or TOSLINK only needs to convert the Linear PCM to analog for the speakers connected to it. Because of the current bandwidth limitations of TOSLINK, choosing Linear PCM (the decoded and uncompressed signal) on this connection limits you to only two channels of audio. For multichannel (like 5.1) over TOSLINK, you must use "bitstream", which uses smaller bandwidth of compressed and encoded data.


Audio Storage Formats

As disc based storage medium became popular it was feasible to store audio digitally. The first digital format was basically the CD (redbook), which stored 44.1kHz of Linear PCM (plain uncompressed and unencoded 16bit digital). In order to store multiple channels (up to 7.1) efficiently, many formats that took advantage of compression and encoding were invented. The DVD introduced 48kHz sample rate, and many types of encoding. The following table describes the various audio formats (those in pink are not supported by PS3).


"Bitstream"ing of Dolby TrueHD audio is supported on the Slim PS3 (CECH-20xx models and higher). The Fat PS3 must decode the signal internally and output LPCM via the HDMI cable, and it is possible to remap existing channels to the extra rear two channels to keep 7.1 output (Firmware 2.40 and higher). TOSLINK is obviously not supported because of bandwidth issues.

"Bitstream"ing of dts-HD Master Audio is supported on the Slim PS3 also, while the Fat PS3 can, again, only output "Linear PCM" via the HDMI cable.

dts-HD High Resolution Audio (dts-HD HRA) is a lossy format and is supported in the PS3. However decoding is supported for "Linear PCM" in the PS3. dts-HD HRA is dts Digital Surround (the Core) plus any extra frequencies or channels up to 7.1. If selecting "Linear PCM", TOSLINK can only output stereo channels.

HDCD support in PS3

HDCD support is provided via the "bitstream" option. Note that because there is no specific CD option for turning on or off "bitstream", you must trick the PS3 into doing it. Since the CD is already in Linear PCM, the PS3 will normally just output the data (expecting it to be already decoded). HDCD has hidden bits in the Linear PCM that will trigger the external decoder to process the extra 4 bits. So as long as you choose HDMI or TOSLINK, and you use an external decoder that accepts HDCD, you should hear 20bits instead of plain 16bits.


dts 5.1 Music Disc support in PS3

dts 5.1 Music Disc (dts-CD) is supported if 44.1kHz is selected as the only output frequency, and you use an external decoder. Choosing 44.1kHz can be done via the "Music Settings" and "Sound Settings" inside the "Settings" menu of the XMB. The PS3 normally treats all CDs as unencoded Linear PCM and will just take the Linear PCM untouched from the CD and send it down the HDMI or TOSLINK, or convert to analog first before sending it down the AV Multi cable. Because the Linear PCM on the dts-CD is actually encoded 5.1 channels (or 6.1), you must trick the PS3 into sending the data untouched to an external dts-CD decoder via HDMI or TOSLINK (NOT the analog AV Multi). To accomplish this, you must turn off upconversion (48kHz, 88.2kHz and 176kHz must not be selected), otherwise, your signal will sound like FM noise.


DVD-Audio support in PS3

DVD-Audio is not supported in the PS3. However, if the DVD-Audio has a DVD-Video section, the PS3 can play the Dolby Digital, dts Digital Surround, or Linear PCM from it. Note that HDMI 1.2 and higher supports DVD-Audio, but Sony doesn't support it because they have a competing SACD format.


Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) support in PS3

The PS3 does support SACD (SA-CD) in models CECHF and lower. This is an important feature that unfortunately got removed in some of the later models (CECHG and higher). SACD is basically a DVD-like density disc containing high definition audio. This audio can be in either stereo channel or 5.1 channel, or both. SACD uses DSD (Direct Stream Digital) audio format, which is basically 1-bit encoding at an extremely high bitrate (2.8224MHz) and is compressed in lossless DST (Direct Stream Transfer) format. Many SACD discs are now usually sold as a "hybrid SACD" containing two layers (one DVD layer and one CD layer both on the same side). Do not confuse "hybrid SACD" with "DualDisc" (this format has the two layers, but on opposite sides of the disc). A "hybrid SACD" has the DVD-like density layer containing the SACD portion, while the CD layer contains the regular CD portion (for backwards compatibility with normal CD players). The SACD portion contains both high definition 5.1 channel and high definition stereo channel versions of the songs, while the CD portion contains only the regular stereo channel version of the songs. So if you pop in a hybrid SACD into a PS3, you should see three disc icons: one for regular CD; one for stereo channel SACD; and one for 5.1 channel SACD (note some multichannel SACD can come with less than 5.1 channels).

SACD over HDMI connection

Note that to play back 5.1 channel SACD (lossless), you need to use the HDMI interface (which has multiple pins for decoded multiple Linear PCM channels). You can get maximum 176kHz stereo channel or 5.1 channel Linear PCM output using HDMI. Note that some receivers have limited bandwidth and may downsample to 88.2kHz on multichannel 5.1. Please provide feedback if you cannot obtain 176kHz multichannel 5.1.

SACD over TOSLINK (Optical Digital) connection

The PS3 supports the option for TOSLINK output of SACD audio, however only in stereo channels. The TOSLINK is not fast enough for all 5.1 decoded channels. In an earlier firmware (pre-2.01), choosing TOSLINK will force the PS3 to re-encode the decoded SACD 5.1 channels into DTS 5.1 (lossy) for output (via bitstream) to your external DTS 5.1 decoder. In these earlier firmware, you can avoid the lossy conversion over TOSLINK by deselecting "DTS 5.1 ch." in the TOSLINK "Sound Settings". However, you are then relegated to only two channels of Linear PCM over TOSLINK and PS3 will downsample to 44.1kHz for copy protection measures. Note that conversion to dts 5.1 was REMOVED in firmware 2.01. Downsampling to stereo 44.1kHz is the only option supported in current firmwares.

SACD over AV Multi cable connection

If you choose the AV Multi cable for output, you can only get stereo channels, but they can be up to 176kHz. The PS3 will convert first to Linear PCM and then to analog for your two channel AV Multi cable.

Audio Compatibility Chart

For dts, backward compatibility is built into format. The dts Digital Surround (5.1) is the basic core of dts, which is 48kHz at 5.1 channels. dts-HD High Resolution Audio is lossy, but provides 24bit/96kHz for 8 (7.1) channels. dts-HD Master Audio is the only lossless version of dts at 8 (7.1) channels. These two dts-HD formats both contain the basic dts Digital Surround (core 5.1) as a fallback for older decoders. Therefore, in the chart above, when playing dts HD HRA or dts HD MA audio formats via bitstream, you may end up with the fallback core dts Digital Surround via TOSLINK because of bandwidth limitations. Also, notice that for TOSLINK (optical digital), selecting Linear PCM will result in only stereo (2) channels (even if the original audio format was lossy like Dolby Digital and dts Digital Surround). Decoded and uncompressed 5.1 channel LPCM data from lossy Dolby Digital and dts Digital Surround consume too much bandwidth for the TOSLINK to handle.


For Dolby Digital, selecting bitstream output of Dolby TrueHD will force the PS3 to output regular Dolby Digital at 640kbps on the Fat PS3, while the Slim PS3 will output the bitsteam fine.

PS3 Video

The PS3 has many display options when playing back a game or video via the two video output ports: HDMI and AV Multi. Each supports carrying a variety of signals, but only HDMI carry the clearer digital signal, while the AV Multi only carry analog signals. Note that the other end of the HDMI or AV Multi cable connected to the actual display can have different type of connection plug(s) depending on the cable you buy. The following is a breakdown of the different signals and max resolutions using different cables and connection types.

Note that there are different D-Terminal signals (like D1-D5) that support different resolutions (the lower the number the lower the resolution). A specific D-Terminal numbered device supports all resolutions of a lower number D-Terminal signal. A D5-Terminal device can also support resolutions of D4-Terminal signal (and all resolutions below it). The following chart describes the various resolutions available via a D-Terminal cable connection.


Note that in PAL PS3, if you are outputing to a SDTV display, the sync is 50Hz. NTSC games and movies (at 60Hz) will have frames skipped to match 50Hz, so you may see motion skipping.
Previous generation consoles (like the PS2) used the Standard Definition TV (SDTV) primarly, but as display technology got improved in computers, it exceeded the capability of TV. In those days, SCART RBG had the most clear display, however if SCART RGB is connected to the SDTV, playing back video discs (like DVD and Blu-ray) will force the PS2 into component video output mode (YPbPr) and MacroVision protection will be inserted into the signal (the end result of seeing YPbPr input on RGB displays is green tinted imagery). Nowadays, High Definition TV (HDTV) were created that allowed the TV to catch up with current display technologies. The main improvements in HDTV are: higher resolution, more color depth, and larger color space.

These improvements are easier to understand when you know the technology used in the PS3 that handles displays. The PS3 normally uses a graphics chip (called the RSX) that has inside of it a memory buffer to hold data for all the colored dots that represent a picture on a screen. This information is sent to the video output, and the memory buffer is again filled with data for the next picture to be sent. Sending these pictures 60 times a second allows you to have video or games with 60 frames per second. Each colored dot is actually called a pixel, and each pixel value is represented in RGB. RGB stands for the primary colors of Red Green Blue. Combining different intensities of these primary colors allow you to reproduce different colors. Most LCD displays have a Red LED, Blue LED, and Green LED for each pixel to light it in any color. In the PS3, current technology use 8 bits to represent 256 (0-255) possible data values of brightness intensities for each of the R, G, and B component in a pixel. Therefore, in a pixel, the maximum brightness value for R, G, or B is 255, and the lowest is 0. Since each of the R, G, and B takes up 8 bits, the total bits needed to represent a dot (pixel) on the screen is 24 bits.

Given the above information, a "color range" would be defined by the possible colors that can be output from the three LEDs of RGB. LEDs that support the brightest intensity (value 255) and look the darkest when off (value 0), would have a larger color range or color gamut than low quality LEDs. A "color space" standard would define what those light intensities are, how the color should look, and how bright or dark they should be for given values of 0-255 in each of the RGB. Devices that support the standard must look the same when given same color values from RGB. In this case, the PS3 normally supports the sRGB color space standard, which is compatible with BT.601 (SDTV) and BT.709 (HDTV) color space standards. Similarly, the "color depth" would be defined as number of bits to represent each dot or pixel, and normally in the PS3 it is 24 bits per pixel (8 bits for each primary value of RGB). The "resolution" would be defined as the total dots going across and total dots going down for a screenful of data sent out of the RSX, for example 1280x720 for 1280 dots across and 720 dots down.

Besides RGB, another common video display technology you should be aware of is YPbPr and YCbCr. RGB video display technology divides colors into Red, Green, and Blue primary colors and normally stores and sends these data separately as R, G, and B. YCbCr divides colors into Luma (Y) and Chroma (CrCb) and sends these separately as Y, Cr, and Cb. Y is the brightness (from black to grey to white), while Cr and Cb subtracts red and blue elements from Y to get the final correct pixel color. It is possible to convert between RGB and YCbCr. YCbCr and YPbPr differ mainly in that YCbCr is digital and YPbPr is analog. When you use analog Component cables through AV-Multi, the green plug carries the Y (brightness), the blue plug carries the Pb (subtracts blue from Y signal), and the red plug carries the Pr (subtracts red from Y signal).

The PS3 can output two types of HDMI signals to the display: digital RGB or digital YCbCr. When playing games or using the XMB, you will always be using digital RGB because the RSX manipulates the data in RGB. Blu-ray, DVD, and AVCHD stores video data in digital YCbCr, so when you play back these content using a HDMI connection, you can select (via options) whether you want the PS3 to convert to RGB first then output, or just output YCbCr directly. If your display is not using HDMI, then the image data (game, XMB, or video) are futher converted to YPbPr (analog component), RGBS (analog RGB with composite sync), CVBS (composite), or Y/C (S-video) depending on your connection type.

Note that "standard" VGA (carries analog RGBHV signals) common in computer displays is not supported by the PS3. VGA (uses 15-pin D-Sub connector) is an analog format which requires separate Red, Blue, Green, H-Sync (Horizontal) and V-Sync (Vertical) signal lines. PS3 does support a special "sync on green" variation supported on many Sony monitors where the horizontal and vertical sync is actually embedded in the Green signal line.



PS3 Resolution (SD to Full HD)

The PlayStation 3 has support for "Full HD" (Full High Definition), which is generally defined as supporting the maximum resolution of 1920x1080p. The "p" signifies progressive, rather than "i" for interlaced. You can find out more about this at the HDTV resolutions page. Progressive means each image (picture sent out of RSX) is shown from top to bottom all at once rather than interleaving odd and even lines during each screen cycle (field). Previous television standards use SD (Standard Definition) of NTSC and PAL. Below is a video showing the PS3 displaying in "Full HD".



It is important that you get a display that has the highest resolution possible (1920x1080p). Because your HDTV will scale and stretch any signal that is not native to its display size, you should also purchase games or video that can be output in the resolution of your display. Many PS3 games these days are able to software scale and stretch so the signal matches 1920x1080p, but the internal rendering resolution is actually lower. In many cases, the buffer is rendered in multiple passes before it gets passed to the HDTV. Each pass may be software scaled and stretched, or not, so you may get blocky and non-blocky images together on your display.

The standard software development kit from Sony given to game developers provide the following basic resolutions that can be scaled and streched to 1920x1080p via API calls:

~~1600x1080p
~~1440x1080p
~~1280x1080p
~~960x1080p

Note that the developer can always directly render to the buffer at a higher resolution in separate passes to provide better details like for example the Heads-Up Display and detailed photos and images inside the game.

PS3 Color Space (sRGB to x.v.Color)

sRGB, BT.601, and BT.709

A color space standard defines a specific range of colors, and how they should look from devices like HDTVs. Standard Definition television uses BT.601 color space standard, HDTV uses BT.709 (compatible with BT.601) color space standard, and computer displays uses sRGB (compatible with BT.709) color space standard. The PS3 supports all three standards, and uses different color space standards in different scenarios. The PS3 RSX buffer stores images in digital RGB format, in the sRGB color space. Blu-ray and DVD movies are stored in YCbCr format on disc and is output in YCbCr (BT.601 or BT.709 color space) or converted first to RGB (sRGB color space) depending on your setup options.

As previously mentioned, the RSX manipulates values of 0-255 for each of the primary colors of RGB. In television, because of the limitation of early analog signals (inclusive of converting digital to analog), using the full range of values in 8 bits (0-255) to represent each of the RGB primary colors left problems in the display. To compensate for these problems, the full range of values was limited to 16-235 instead of 0-255. So video content (like DVDs) and displays (like TVs) would treat all values lower than 16 as 16, and higher than 235 as 235. The darkest primary color value you get would be value 16, and the brightest primary color value you get would be 235. This SDTV standard became BT.601, which was then expanded upon into BT.709 in HDTV. The BT.709 standard got carried over into sRGB color standard used in PCs and computer displays. This meant a primary color value of 123 in BT.709 HDTV display should look the same as a primary color value of 123 in sRGB computer displays. However, in sRGB color space, values lower than 16 and values higher than 235 were valid colors, unlike in BT.601 and BT.709. sRGB color space content retained these values because computer displays (using analog RGBHV in VGA) were better than TV displays at the time (1998) when sRGB color space standard was defined from BT.709. This meant darker and lighter primary color values on computer monitors were viewable, while analog TVs couldn't handle them. It should also be noted that analog RGBHV used in VGA computer displays were also better than TV because all the primary elements were separated from each other, like the Horizonal Sync (H) and Vertical Sync (V).


RGB Limited/Full Option when using HDMI connection

If you are using a HDMI connection, the digital signal is better than the analog RGBHV in VGA (the PS3 does not support RGBHV, nor VGA connections). Because of the digital HDMI connection, analog problems associated with values less than 16 and values greater than 235 in TV do not exist. This meant you can output the full 0-255 primary color values to your HDTV untouched if it supports HDMI 1.3, and you also turn on RGB Full option in the PS3. The RGB Limited option was created to allow the PS3 to output to earlier HDTV displays that followed BT.709 in HDMI 1.2 protocol, which do not or could not support displaying 0-15 and 236-255 primary color values. Since these earlier BT.709 HDTV displays would not normally handle 0-15 and 236-255 values anyways, the PS3 scales or cuts out those values in the content before passing them to the HDTV. This is expecially important for compatibility with PS3 Games and XMB, as the RSX sRGB color space had 0-255 primary color values, which would cause problems in these displays.


Super White option when using HDMI connection

The Super White On setting forces the PS3 to not scale or clip the video (DVD, Blu-ray, or AVCHD) primary color values to 16-235, but to pass 0-255 on to the display, when the PS3 is using YCbCr over HDMI. Normally, video content are supposed to contain only 16-235 for their primary color values. However, in certain cases the content will contain Super White signals (values 236-255) to highlight special areas of the display so they are super bright (like in menus). In certain cases values 0-15 (sometimes called Blacker than Black) will also exist on the DVD (for blackness calibration). These signals will normally not be passed to the display unless you turn on Super White on the PS3, and your HDTV can handle 0-255 YCbCr content (normally HDMI 1.3 compliant displays). Again, because the PS3 is using a digital connection via HDMI, analog problems associated with these out of bound values on old TV do not exist, so turning this option on is possible for HDTVs that support 0-255 YCbCr primary color values. When using HDMI Full RGB to play back video content (which will convert YCbCr content from disc or AVCHD to Full RGB), the Super White option has no effect (because this is not a YCbCr connection), but note that the 0-15 Blacker than Black (BTB) and 236-255 Super White (SW) content from the disc or AVCHD are ignored regardless. This may be a bug in firmware because what this means is that the only way to get BTB or SW content when playing back video from disc or AVCHD is to use YCbCr with Super White on. HDMI RGB connection with RGB Full ignores BTB and SW video content during conversion, and remaps 16-235 from the YCbCr video to Full RGB 0-255.

The following is a summary of the RGB Full/Limited and Super White options on the PS3.


Assuming you use a HDMI 1.3 connection, and the HDTV supports HDMI 1.3 with Full RGB, the following optimum settings should be made. If you are using the PS3 for games or XMB, you should use RGB Full. If you are playing back video, you have the option of using YCbCr or RGB, but you should choose YCbCr with Super White On. Many old equipment like AV receivers and HDTV may not support the newer HDMI 1.3 protocol that allows Full RGB, and they may miss up your calibration. Normally when playing back DVD on a PC application window, the darkest black background of the video should be a dark grey tint because PC's sRGB allows darker 0-15 primary values. If you try to calibrate the monitor so that the DVD video's darkest black is the blackest black, you won't see many darker colors in PC programs. And this is related to the problem with old HDTVs and especially old SDTVs. Old CRT TV technology had the darkest black the same color as the beam hitting the phosphor at the lowest value (which happens to be a dark grey color). HDTV emulated this color with the BT.709 color space, but many HDTV manufacturers set the blackest black to even darker values so the videos look nicer. This is why on many older HDTVs, PS3 games on PS3 RGB Limited setting looks better because those older HDTVs were calibrated with darker blacks to make DVDs look better. Forcing the PS3 games to have a reduced color gamut of 16-235 will match the color of these older HDTV displays. In these older HDTVs, setting PS3 Full RGB for games will end up with many shades of dark colors indistinguishable (similar to if you tried to run a PC application on a PC monitor adjusted for the darkest black of a DVD movie). So you should not calibrate your HDTVs darkness for video (and miss out on 0-15 and 236-255), but calibrate your HDTVs darkness for PS3 games and XMB (and get full 0-255). Perhaps in the future when there is an option for passing BTB and SW video data when in RGB Full mode, you won't need to use YCrCb output anymore and videos, games, and XMB can coexist in the same sRGB color space without color remapping.

x.v.Color

Because HDMI Full RGB (and thus sRGB) had more bits left over for defining the color space (the inclusion of 0-15 and 235-255 primary color values), sRGB actually had a wider color range than BT.601 (SDTV) and BT.709 (HDTV). x.v.Color (or xvYCC) was created to allow YCbCr to catch up with Full RGB (sRGB) and use the data values from 0-15 and 236-255 to expand the color gamut and color space for video content when using the digital HDMI.

In order to utilize this larger color space, the storage medium (AVCHD), processor (PS3) and display (HDTV) all must be able to support x.v.Color. x.v.Color uses special mathematics defined in values 0-15 and 236-255 to expand the color space, not to mention the primary color values are no longer compatible with sRGB, BT.601, nor BT.709, as they point to brighter and darker ranges. To incorporate this wider color space, the HDTV must have better individual LEDs with the lowest darkness and highest brightness that fall within x.v.Color guidelines.

The following chart describes the x.v.Color color space specification and compares it with other standards.


Note that the main purpose of x.v.Color is not complete coverage of CIE-LAB, but complete coverage of another standard called Munsell Color System (which was first used for describing paint colors). In that system, sRGB only covers about 55%, while x.v.Color has 100% converage. Therefore, the above 63% of x.v.Color is a calculated figure. x.v.Color is not supported in DVD discs, and is currently not supported in Blu-ray discs either. x.v.Color is currently supported in AVCHD videos. x.v.Color won't be supported in PS3 games and XMB unless the larger x.v.Color color space is defined as a new standard for HDMI RGB (note that it won't be called sRGB color space anymore) and Deep Color is also supported (you can't use the special mathematics of 0-15 and 236-255 to expand the color gamut if Full RGB is using them for regular color values).

PS3 Color depth (True Color to Deep Color)

The number of bits used on the PS3 to display a single pixel of color is 24 bits, with 8 bits used for each of the Red, Green, and Blue primary colors. This is the same color depth used in computer displays and another name for it is True Color. If you have a HDMI RGB connection, Deep Color expands the number of bits per pixel to 30 bits total (10 bits per primary color), 36 bits total (12 bits per primary color), or 48 bits total (16 bits per primary color). The increase in bits provide the PS3 with the ability to use more colors in a given color space standard, allowing gradual transitions between two similar colors, lessening banding effects.

The following chart describes the various Deep Color specifications compared to previous standards.



HDTVs have display controllers that can manipulate the sending of brightness voltage to the LEDs in incremental values. For 8 bit controllers you can send 256 distinct voltages (valued from 0 to 255) to the LED, with 255 representing the maximum voltage possible, and 0 representing the lowest possible. To support Deep Color, new 10, 12, or 16 bit controllers would need to be implemented so that they support incremental voltage values to the LEDs ranging from 0-1023 for 30 bit per pixel displays, 0-4095 for 36 bits per pixel displays, and 0-65535 for 48 bits per pixel displays. Note that you also need a PS3 game or XMB that outputs more than 24 bits per pixel (Life with PlayStation is the only one currently) in digital RGB via HDMI, as DVD, Blu-ray, and AVCHD currently do not support Deep Color. It may be possible that future Blu-ray and AVCHD specs support Deep Color content via YCbCr directly, or converted to Deep Color digital RGB for display.

Note that when you use Deep Color, it does not necessarily mean you are expanding the color range defined by sRGB. Increasing the RGB primary bit depth to 16 bits Deep Color (48 bits per pixel) only rescales sRGB color space's normal primary color values of 0-255 to 0-65536, allowing more granuity inbetween the min max color range values. In this case, a primary value of 255 in 24 bits per pixel True Color would be the same as a primary value of 65536 in 48 bits per pixel Deep Color. Deep Color do not affect RGB Full/Limited and Super White display options, as those options pertain to 24 bits per pixel True Color mode only.


x.v.Color together with Deep Color

Having a bigger color space of x.v.Color but only 24 bits (8 bits per primary color) to represent all the fine granuity in the wider range of colors actually creates a worse picture because banding would be more prominant (each RGB LED component still lights up in 256 value increments, but now with a wider range of intensity or brightness). To keep the color banding down, Deep Color support (with the greater number color granuity possible using more bits) is usually included along with x.v.Color in HDTV displays. Similarly, if you have Deep Color but a normal BT.709 color space display (not x.v.Color) the technology may have been wasted. To give an example, in a 48 bit per pixel Deep Color display (16 bit per primary), if the LEDs do not have a wide enough range of brightness (x.v.Color), it would be difficult if not impossible to manipulate micro LED voltages for 65536 possible voltage increments (Deep Color). In other words, the longer the string (x.v.Color color space), the easier it is to chop it up into many tiny pieces (65536 pieces for 48 bit per pixel Deep Color).

PlayStation 3 Hardware

PS3 Motherboard



The original PS3 used a motherboard revision of 1-871-868-22. A major revision was made for the PAL territory release (1-873-513-21), which basically removed the PS2 Emotion Engine and substituted it with software based emulation. For the CECHG and later models, PS2 hardware were completely removed, so hardware allowing even PS2 software emulation was taken out.


-CECHA: COK-001 1-871-868-22
-CECHA: COK-001 1-871-868-32
-CECHB: COK-001 1-871-868-22
-CECHC: COK-002 1-873-513-21
-CECHC: COK-002 1-873-513-31
-CECHE:
-CECHG: SEM-001 1-875-384-11
-CECHG: SEM-001 1-875-384-21
-CECHH: DIA-001 1-875-938-11
-CECHH: DIA-001 1-875-938-31
-CECHJ:
-CECHK: ???-002 1-876-912-32
-CECHL: VER-001 1-878-196-21
-CECHL: VER-001 1-878-196-31
-CECHM:
-CECHP:
-CECHQ:
-CECH-20xx: DYN-001 1-880-055-21
-CECH-20xx: DYN-001 1-880-055-31

The architecture of the PS3 motherboard divides the main pieces of the system into 256MB XDR memory, Cell, RSX, and 256MB GDDR3. The HDMI display is connected to the 256MB GDDR3 (the video memory). The communication path also lines up in that order. Therefore, communication with the 256MB XDR memory must go through Cell, and communication with the GDDR3 must go through the RSX. More info on each of these components follows.

Main System Memory

The PS3 has 256MB of 64 bit bus Rambus XDR main system memory. Some models use four 64MB Samsung chips, while other models uses four 64MB Elpida chips. Note that another 256MB of GDDR3 memory is located inside the RSX chip using four 64MB Samsung chips. The earlier models with hardware PS2 compatibility also contained an extra 32MB of RDRAM using two 16MB Samsung chips.

The PS3 operating system (XMB) uses up 43MB of XDR memory (confirmed) in the latest firmware versions, leaving around 213MB for games. Note that available memory seem to increase with each firmware release. It is rumored a 24MB version is available for many first-party developers currently. In earlier firmware versions, more XDR memory were reserved, and not only that, additional GDDR3 memory were also reserved by the OS. Games compiled using earlier SDKs (with matching earlier OS restrictions) will run expecting less free available memory than games compiled using later SDKs.



Cell Broadband Engine

The Cell CPU has one 3.2Ghz PPE (Power Processor Element) with two threads and eight 3.2Ghz SPE (Synergistic Processing Elements). The chip serial number is CXD2989 (Fat), and CXD2992 AGB (Slim). The PPE is a general purpose CPU, while the eight SPE are geared towards processing data in parallel. One SPE is disabled to increase yield, so the PS3 can have at most 9 threads runnings at the same time (2 from PPE and 7 from SPE). Note that one SPE is reserved for the hypervisor, so PS3 programs can take advantage of 8 threads. Both the PPE and SPE of the Cell are 64 bit, and manipulate data in Big Endian. The Cell was introduced at 90nm. Later, PS3 model numbers starting with CECHG uses the 65nm version, while the PS3 Slim (CECH-20xx) used the 45nm version.
~~1 PPE (Power Processor Element)
-------3.2Ghz
-------64 bit, Big Endian
-------2 threads (can run at same time)
-------L1 cache: 32kB data + 32kB instruction
-------L2 cache: 512kB
-------Memory bus width: 64bit (serial)
-------VMX (Altivec) instruction set support
-------Full IEEE-754 compliant
~~8 SPE (Synergistic Processing Element)
3.2Ghz
-------64 bit, Big Endian
-------1 SPE disabled to improve chip yield
-------1 SPE dedicated for hypervisor security
-------256kB local store per SPE
-------128 registers per SPE
-------Dual Issue (Each SPE can execute 2 instructions per clock)
-------IEEE-754 compliant in double precision (single precision round-towards--------zero instead of round-towards-even)
~~90nm (235.48mm2 die size) technology (CECHF models and lower)
~~65nm (174.61mm2 die size) technology (CECHG models and higher)
~~45nm technology (PS3 Slim CECH-20xx models and higher)

RSX - Reality Synthesizer

The RSX is a graphical processor unit (GPU) based off of the nVidia 7800GTX graphics processor, and is a G70/G71 hybrid with some modifications. The RSX has separate vertex and pixel shader pipelines. The chip model number is CXD2982 GB for PS3 Fat. CDX2991 EGB for Slim. The following are relevant facts about the RSX...
Little Endian
~~8 vertex shaders at 500Mhz
~~28 pixel shaders (4 redundant, 24 active) at 550Mhz
~~28 texture units (4 redundant, 24 active)
~~8 Raster Operations Pipeline units (ROPs)
~~Includes 256MB GDDR3 650Mhz clocked graphics memory
-------Earlier PS3 Models: Samsung K4J52324QC-SC14 rated at 700Mhz
-------Later PS3 Models: Qimonda HYB18H512322AF-14
~~GDDR3 Memory interface bus width: 128bit
~~Rambus XDR Memory interface bus width: 56bit out of 64bit (serial)
~~258mm2 die size 90nm technology (earlier models)
~~65nm (later models) technology

More features are revealed in the following chart delineating the differences between the RSX and the nVidia 7800 GTX.



Other RSX features/differences include:

~~More shader instructions
-----Extra texture lookup logic (helps RSX transport data from XDR)
-----Fast vector normalize

Note that the cache (Post Transform and Lighting Vertext Cache) is located between the vector shader and the triangle setup.

A sample flow of data inside the RSX would see them first processed by 8 vertex shaders. The output are then sent to the 24 active pixel shaders, which can involve the 24 active texture units. Finally, the data is passed to the 8 Raster Operation Pipeline units (ROPs), and on out to the GDDR3. Note that the pixel shaders are grouped into groups of four (called Quads). There are 7 Quads, with 1 redundant, leaving 6 Quads active, which provides us with the 24 active pixel shaders listed above (6 times 4 equals 24). Since each Quad has 96kB of L1 and L2 cache, the total RSX texture cache is 576kB. General RSX features include 2x and 4x hardware anti-aliasing, and support for Shader Model 3.0.


RSX Libraries

The RSX is dedicated to 3D graphics, and developers are able to use different API libraries to access its features. The easiest way is to use high level PSGL, which is bascially OpenGL|ES with programmable pipeline added in. At a lower level developers can use LibGCM, which is an API that talks to the RSX at a lower level. PSGL is actually implemented on top of LibGCM. For the advanced programmer, you can program the RSX by sending commands to it directly using C or assembly. This can be done by setting up commands (via FIFO Context) and DMA Objects and issuing them to the RSX via DMA calls.
Although the RSX has 256MB of GDDR3 RAM, not all of it is useable. The last 4MB is reserved for keeping track of the RSX internal state and issued commands. The 4MB of GPU Data contains RAMIN, RAMHT, RAMFC, DMA Objects, Graphic Objects, and the Graphic Context. The following is a breakdown of the address within 256MB of the RSX.

Speed, Bandwidth, and Latency

Because of the aforementioned layout of the communication path between the different chips, and the latency and bandwidth differences between the various components, there are different access speeds depending on the direction of the access in relation to the source and destination. The following is a chart showing the speed of reads and writes to the GDDR3 and XDR memory from the viewpoint of the Cell and RSX. Note that these are measured speeds (rather than calculated speeds) and they should be worse if RSX and GDDR3 access are involved because these figures were measured when the RSX was clocked at 550Mhz and the GDDR3 memory was clocked at 700Mhz. The shipped PS3 has the RSX clocked in at 500Mhz (front and back end, although the pixel shaders run separately inside at 550Mhz). In addition, the GDDR3 memory was also clocked lower at 650Mhz.



Because of the VERY slow Cell Read speed from the 256MB GDDR3 memory, it is more efficient for the Cell to work in XDR and then have the RSX pull data from XDR and write to GDDR3 for output to the HDMI display. This is why extra texture lookup instructions were included in the RSX to allow loading data from XDR memory (as opposed to the local GDDR3 memory).

PS3 Flash memory

The PS3 has 256 megabytes of flash memory to store firmware, using two NAND 128MB Samsung flash chips. The installed firmware data is interleaved between the two flash chips for speed. To prevent errors, Error Correcting Code (ECC) Checksum is added/used on the data in the PS3 flash chips. In newer PS3, a single 16MB Spansion flash chip is used.



Because of the smaller flash chips in later versions, newer firmware versions allow for the firmware data to be partially stored on the harddrive (instead of totally inside the firmware), making the flash purely responsible for holding data involved in the critical booting up process. This allows for cheaper flash chips, while using the harddrive for later bootup stages. Below is a layout of the directories inside the earlier flash versions:


Obviously, PS1 and PS2 emulation code on PS3 would reside in ps1emu and ps2emu. Most of the executable files have extension .sprx and are encrypted, (most likely decrypted using the SPE of the CELL). There are four main flash partitions: flash0, flash1, flash2, and flash3. Most of the data is in flash0 and flash1.

PS3 Firmware versions

The PS3 firmware is updated frequently. The following is a brief description of each version.



The firmware updates for consumer PS3 units are located in a file named PS3UPDAT.PUP. The firmware data can be downloaded manually from the internet (location: [Only Registered users can see links . Click Here To Register...] ), or automatically by the PS3 if an internet connection is enabled. If you are updating manually, place the PS3UPDAT.PUP in location /PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP of the memory stick or USB storage device so the PS3 can find it. Note that you need to do this each time you upgrade your harddrive in the newer PS3 models (because the firmware is partially stored on the harddrive and changing harddrives require system files from firmware update file to be re-written on to the harddrive). If this is the case, the PS3 will request this PS3UPDAT.PUP before formatting your new harddrive, and when you have done so, press "SELECT" and "START" buttons on the controller to tell the PS3 to start reading the firmware file.

The consumer PS3 units checks on the internet for new firmware versions and their location via this address:

Code:

http://fus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/list/us/ps3-updatelist.txt

If your machine is not a United States PS3, substitute the two "us" in the address above with one of the following:

PS3 HDMI chip

The following chart describes what features were included in each HDMI protocol revision. Each newer revision is required to support all "mandatory" features of previous versions. DVD Audio, introduced as an "optional" feature of HDMI 1.1, is not supported in the PS3. Sony elected to support the "optional" feature of Super Audio CD introduced in HDMI 1.2 (but only on some early PS3 models). Some optional HDMI 1.3 features, like Deep Color and xvYCC, are included in the PS3, while bitstream transmission of Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio were left out.

The early first generation Fat PS3 uses the Silicon Image Vastlane SiI9132CBU, which implements HDMI 1.3a mandatory protocols and the optional deep color and xvYCC features. The SiI9132 did not implement the optional bitstream transmission of Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio, which is why for these two audio modes, the PS3 must do the transcoding itself and output LPCM (which even basic HDMI 1.0 protocol can handle). The paired receiving end chip with same feature set should be a SiI9133. The first Silicon Image chip that supported bitstream Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio is the SiI9134 (with receiving end of SiI9135). In later models of the Fat PS3 (CECHL), Panasonic manufactures the HDMI 1.3a protocol chip (Panasonic MN864709), but it contains the same bitstream limitations.

The Slim PS3 has an upgraded HDMI 1.3c protocol chip (Panasonic MN8647091), and this time bitstream of Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD MA is finally implemented, so you can use your Audio Video Receiver to decode the audio signal. In addition, HDMI CEC (Bravia Sync) is now fully supported.

Note that although HDMI CEC wiring is mandatory via HDMI 1.0 (a pin on the port is dedicated to CEC), actual implementation support for the CEC specification protocol (introduced in HDMI 1.2a) is optional. That is why the PS3 Fat did not have a CEC Controller chip attached to that pin, so all HDMI-CEC commands are ignored. The PS3 Slim does have a CEC Controller implemented inside the Panasonic HDMI chip, so it does support HDMI-CEC (Bravia Sync).



Harddrive

The PS3 uses a SATA (SATA-150) controller that has a transfer speed of 1.5 Gb/s. For compatibility, if you have a SATA-300 (sometimes called SATA-II or SATA2) harddrive, you should set the harddrive via jumper to use the slower SATA-150 speed, instead of default 3 Gb/s of SATA-300. Note that all the PS3 models come with 5400RPM drives. You can purchase 7200RPM drives, but the speed increase are insignificant when price is taken into consideration.



Blu-ray Drive

The Blu-ray drive in the PS3 supports dual-layer Blu-ray discs. One layer can store 25GB, so a dual-layer disc can store 50GB. The filesystem is UDF V2.5. There is a mandatory AACS encryption (using 128 bit AES) on all Blu-ray movie discs, and data is stored in the AACS folder of the Blu-ray disc. In addition, the Blu-ray disc supports BD-ROM Mark and BD+ encryption systems. The BD-ROM Mark stores decryption keys on the disc that are not readable or writeable by ordinary means (analog). These marks are created by special duplication machines, and normal Blu-ray recorders for consumers (that can create BD-R and BD-RE discs) are not able to make these marks. A regular consumer Blu-ray drive (like in the PS3) has special hardware that can only read, and not write, the BD-ROM mark. BD+ allows new encryption codes to be stored on a per Blu-ray disc basis (located in BDSVM folder on the disc, and the acronym stands for Blu-ray Disc Secure Virtual Machine), thus the Blu-ray drive could run new code off of the disc and remove the code when the disc is ejected. BD+ can also be used to upgrade and patch cracked firmware. The BD+ code resembles the 32 bit DLX instruction set in big endian, and is run/interpreted by a virtual machine running in the Blu-ray drive.

The Blu-ray drive speed is as follows:
~~Blu-ray discs (405nm wavelength): 2x (9MB/s)
~~DVD discs (660nm wavelength): 8x (8.1MB/s)
~~CD discs (780nm wavelength): 24x (3.6MB/s)

AACS protection for Blu-ray movies

AACS protects Blu-ray movies by having the Blu-ray disc store 4 pieces of information, a set of media keys, a volume id key, an encrypted title key, and the encrypted movie file(s). The Blu-ray player stores 2 pieces of information, a device key (and associated sequence keys), and a host private key (certificate). To decrypt, first the media keys from the disc is merged with the Blu-ray device key (and associated sequence keys). The result is a processing key. The disc volume id key (stored as a BD-ROM mark on the Blu-ray disc) is obtained after providing the Blu-ray drive's host private key to the special BD-ROM mark reader also in the Blu-ray drive. The processing key and disc volume id key is then processed using AES algorithm to obtain the Volume unique key. Having the Volume unique key allows decryption of the disc's encrypted title key, which results in the unencrypted title key. The unencrypted title key can decrypt the disc's encrypted movie.

Regular protection for Blu-ray games

Blu-ray games (PS3 games) do not use AACS. However, PS3 games do use the BD-ROM mark to store decryption keys on the Blu-ray disc. Each PS3 Blu-ray game normally includes a firmware update file (PS3UPDAT.PUP) to update a PS3 that does not have internet access. The version is normally the minimum PS3 firmware version needed to run the Blu-ray game.

The directory layout on Blu-ray games are as follows:



Blu-ray Chips

The drive controller contains a BGA-sized 2MB flash memory chip for Blu-ray drive firmware code, with the contents encrypted. In addition to this, there is a 8MB SDRAM working memory chip. Each drive contains a unique identification number, possibly stored in the SPI Serial Interface NOR Macronix flash chip. This chip or the flash chip probably stores the device key (and associated sequence keys), and the host private key. The Blu-ray drive's controller board is coupled with the PS3 it came in, so you cannot swap Blu-ray drives (along with its controller) into another PS3 without having the identification numbers corrected on the controller of the drive (and/or motherboard of the PS3). You can, however, remove just the drive (without controller) and swap it into another PS3 without problems as long as the drives are similar.

The Blu-ray drive is controlled by the Sony CXD5065 Digital Signal Processor chip and the Sony CXA2720 Front End Processor chip. Motors are driven by Rohm BA5888FP and Rohm BD7956FS.



Blu-ray Lens

Note that the lens in the Blu-ray drive went through various evolutions as newer PS3 models were released. Many of the initial 40GB models (CECHG) used a cheaper version of Blu-ray lens, which had a high failure rate, requiring replacement.

Tons of info, including a lot of things I didn’t know before, so this was a very interesting read indeed. Thanks so much for posting!

It seems a bit difficult and hard to try after having such an expensive device..!!

When I read this thread I realized that I dont know a lot of about my PS3. Thanks for sharing It really useful