I am trying out a new recording setup to capture footage from my Playstation 3. The video and audio is directly fed from the Playstation into my STR-DN1040 A/V Receiver. The video and audio is then simultaneously put on HDMI Output A (connected to the TV) and HDMI Output B (connected to the HDMI Splitter). The splitter removes the HDCP copy protection and the Black Magic Intensity Shuttle (Thunderbolt edition) captures the HDMI Signal.
The Black Magic card can’t capture DTS Bitstream audio and therefore you have to restrict the audio output of the PS3 to PCM Stereo 48KHZ by deselecting all checkboxes except the PCM Stereo.
If you ever have used an Android phone I am pretty sure that you all experienced the following: Android Phones usually come with dozens of pre-installed applications. If you happen to receive your phone from a carrier it might even come with more carrier – centric applications which you might or might not like. The Android application managers offers the ability to disable most of these apps similar to how you uninstall applications acquired through the Google Play Store.
Disable Built – in Application
Short Remark: If the application came factory pre-installed and meanwhile has received updates through the Play Store the “Disable” button will probably be labelled with: “Uninstall Updates”
In contrast, the manufacturer may turn off the “Disable” functionality for certain system applications. As you can see on the next screenshot, the application cannot be disabled. The button is greyed out.
Application Management – Disabling Application not allowed
Fortunately, a way still exist to disable those apps without rooting your mobile phone using Android’s Debug Bridge.
Connect your device via USB and fire up a Terminal
Check that your device is connected using adb devices
Connect to a shell on your mobile phone using adb shell
pm list packages will show the package names of all installed applications on the phone (including built-in applications)
You certainly noticed that all PS4 Games require a mandatory installation on the hard drive. Depending on the game you will be up and running in a matter of minutes. Most of the games will install all the necessary files to get the game up and running first before silently copying the rest of the data in the background while you enjoy the game. Depending on the number of games you got at launch your 500 GB hard drive might already be running out of space as the system takes a good 80 GB away for its use and you are left with about 408 GB usable space for save games and data for the games.
Fortunately the hard drive in the Playstation 4, as well as the PS3 is user-replaceable and can even be replaced with a solid state drive. The PS4 systems uses a 2.5 inch laptop hard drive without any special connector so you can even replace the 500GB drive with a 2TB if you like. I highly value short loading times so I will be replacing my 500GB drive with a 256GB crucial m-4 ssd as soon as my PS4 arrives in about two weeks. (It hasn’t been released in Europe yet)
Follow these four steps to replace your hard drive:
Back up your data (in case you already have some games installed and don’t want to lose their save games) (optional).
Replacing the hard drive will wipe all your save games if you don’t back them up beforehand. If you don’t care about your save games you can safely skip this step. In case you are a Playstation Plus subscriber you can also copy your save games to the cloud.
1. Connect a USB storage device to the system via one of the external usb ports at the front (Remark: the usb stick needs to be FAT32 formatted. The PS4 won’t recognise NTFS formatted drives)
2. Select (Settings) from the function screen
3. Select [Application Saved Data Management] > [SavedData in System Storage] > [Copy to USB StorageDevice]
4. Select a Game
5. Press X to add a checkmark in the checkbox for the saved data you want to copy, and then select [Copy]
Remark: To be able to backup saved data your PS4 must be running the latest PS4 System Software and you must be signed into the PSN.
Replace the hard disk drive
Make sure the PS4 is turned off completely. The power indicator should be off. In case the power led lights up in orange, the system is in standby mode. Exit the standby mode by turning on the console and pressing the power button on the front panel. The power indicator will blink for a few moments before turning off completely.
Unplug the AC power cord and afterwards disconnect all the other cables from the systems
Slide the HDD bay cover in the direction of the arrow to remove it (gently slide the glossy cover that is only held by a few clips)
Playstation 4 HDD Replacement – Removal of Top Cover
Remove the screw at the front of the console
Pull the HDD towards the front of the system to remove it
PS4 HDD Replacement – Removal of screw
Use a Philips screwdriver to remove the screws from the drive itself (make sure to not remove the rubber inserts from the screw holes)
PS4 HDD Replacement – Removal of screws that secures the hdd
Replace the old drive with the new one in the mounting bracket and re-attach the 4 screws (do not over-tighten the screws, be gentle)
Attach the HDD to the system using the single screw (make sure to fully insert the new HDD in the HDD bay)
Install the system software
After the HDD has been replaced with a new one, the system’s operating system must be reinstalled.
Follow this guide for updating the PS4 Software to Version 1.50 to reinstall the OS. The update isn’t really an update as it replaces the OS completely.
Copying the backed up save data back to your PS4 system
You can copy the saved data either from the USB storage used in step 1 or you can download them from the cloud if you are Playstation Plus subscriber.
Connect the USB storage device to the system using one of the two usb ports at the front
Select (Settings) from the function screen
Select [Application Saved Data Management] > [SavedData on USB Storage Device] > [Copy to System Storage]
Select the game
Press X to add a checkmark in the checkbox for the saved data you want to copy and then select [Copy]
Remark: You need to be singed into the same PSN account you used when backing up your saved data
Sony recently announced that you would need to install a software update on launch day for the Playstation 4 in order to use the following features:
Remote Play – allows users to play PS4 titles remotely from a Playstation Vita over Wifi-Networks
Second Screen – let’s the PS4 use an Android phone or an iPhone as a second screen for games that support that feature e.g. Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed
Screenshots and Gameplay Recording – PS4 always records the last 15 minutes of gameplay that can be shared on Twitter or Facebook or streamed to twitch.tv by hitting the share button on the PS4 controller
Play as you download – PS4 games have to be installed to the hard drive but players don’t have to wait to start playing. As soon as the first part of the game has been downloaded, you can start the game while the rest downloads in the background
Voice Chat – Players can chat simultaneously with eight friends in a “party” chat. Players don’t need to be in the same game or applications to talk
Background Music Player
Blu-Ray Disc Player and DVD Player
Voice Commands
The problem is that as of 2013/11/15 the PSN Network is having some capacity issues as the Playstation 4 has launched in the US and everybody is trying to download the 1.50 from Sony’s PSN Servers. Luckily you can “side load” the update by downloading it onto your computer and using a USB – Stick to install the PS4 Update instead of directly downloading it.
The following instruction will allow you to install official PS4 1.50 update. Don’t worry this procedure is officially advertised by Sony as an alternative method to the automatic update. You will still be able to automatically future Updates from Sony directly.
1. Step: Download the system file
Download the update file that is available here (mirror) and save the file with the file name “PS4UPDATE.PUP” in the “UPDATE” folder.
2. Step: Prepare the usb stick
On an USB – Storage device (USB-Key, external USB-Hard drive) create the following folder structure:
[code language=”bash”]
USB – Storage \ PS4 \ UPDATE (All in UPPERCASE letters)
+-PS4/
|
+-UPDATE/
[/code]
Important: Check that the power indicator is not lit. If the power indicator is lit up in orange, touch the power button on the PS4 system for at least 7 seconds until the system beeps a second time.
3. Step: Apply the update
Connect the USB storage device that the update file is saved on, to your PS4 system, and then touch the power button for a least 7 seconds.
The PS4 system starts in safe mode.
If your PS4 system does not recognise the update file, check that the folder names and file name are correct. Enter the folder names and file name in single-byte characters using uppercase letters.
