On the eve of the PSP-3000's release, Sony made available today the latest rev of the PSP and PS3's system software.

For the PS3, the update takes the system to version 2.5. Among the changes, users might notice a different look for the sign-up and account management screens. Account management is now done directly on top of the XMB interface, and the management options have been made easier to understand. The sign-up screen has a newly designed background and new buttons, along with help tips for each setting.

The new look of the PS3 account management interface.

Changes to the various areas of the XMB menu include:

User

• Content that's currently background downloading or waiting to be installed will be installed before the power automatically turns off.

Settings

• BD/DVD Settings changed to Video Settings
• Continual playback added to Video Settings. Set this to on, and the PS3 will play back media from your hard disc or other storage device in succession.
• In Video Settings, Cinema Convert and Upconvert have been changed to BD/DVD Cinema Convert and BD/DVD Upconvert
• Power Savings setting added -- you can make the system automatically power off if there's no controller input over a certain period of time.
• Peripheral Settings -- In Audio Device settings, the method of reconnecting a Bluetooth device has changed.
• Printer Settings -- Under Printer Selection, you can now select printers that are compatible with Network Connection. You can also select HP printers.

Music

• In the control panel and mini control panel, you can now make nine sound level adjustments.
• Pause added to the mini control panel.

Video

• In the control panel, you can select from nine levels of audio.
• Scene search added to control panel. Selecting this brings up thumbnails for various points of the video, allowing you to visually select the scene you want to see.
• Can set mosquito noise reduction for videos that have been stored on the hard disc and media
• For BD (BDAV)/DVD playback, can set Chrome Up Sampling Processing. This can help return color that may have been lost due to compression of digital video content.

Games

• Trophy Collection -- added Server Synchronization to the option menu
• When playing PlayStation 3 software, you can now press the PS Button and select a quick view of current settings and connections from the Settings -> Network Settings menu. This may not work with all PS3 software.

Network

• Adobe Flash Player 9 compatibility for browser

PlayStation Network

• Auto sign-in and sign-out method changed. Press triangle at the Account Management section to toggle.
• Changes to the buttons for Download List and View Cart. Button for Input Code added, allowing you to directly input codes from PlayStation network cards and tickets into the store interface.

Friend

• The system now displays the last sign-in time for offline friends. Depending on the time setting, this may or may not display.

A posting at the official PlayStation blog in America also makes mention of a user screenshot feature that will be implemented on a game-by-game basis. This is not mentioned at Sony's official firmware update page.

Scene selection for video (left) and the slightly updated store interface (right).

For the PSP, the new update takes the portable to version 5.0. The big change is the highly anticipated direct access to the PlayStation Store, allowing you to purchase product directly from your PSP. The PSP version of the store has the same look as the PS3 store, complete with the newly added code input button.

PSP users can now access the PlayStation Store directly from the portable using an interface that looks nearly identical to that of the PS3.

PSP-2000 series owners will find that they can now make PlayStation software output full screen to the television. Additionally, PSP-2000 users can now output PlayStation software to interlaced televisions.

Changes to the XMB interface include:

Video

• The types of files that can be played back has increased to include MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) Video Main Profile (AVC CABAC) at 640x480 size.

Music

• Sleep Timer added to the control panel. The system will automatically go into sleep mode after the specified time has passed.

Settings

• Title Display added to Video Settings. This outputs titles next to thumbnails when browsing through videos on the XMB interface.
• Auto USB connect added to System Settings. This makes the system switch automatically into USB mode when a USB device is connected.
• For PSP-3000 series, the Energy Saver Settings menu now includes Auto Backlight Adjust. With this on, the system adjusts backlight based off the video in order to save power.

In addition to this, the XMB background has been updated, although this can be changed back to the previous background or a "Sweet Cookie" background from the theme setting in the XMB menu. The system also now includes a full-sized keyboard.

The PSP's account management screen, and a full-sized keyboard, all new with version 5.0.

As previously disclosed, PSP-3000 users have a couple of specific features to look forward to. The system settings option now includes a Color Space setting. The external display setting option now includes a noise reduction setting.