PSP Development?

[Servando]

I did a simple search but I couldn't find any info on the subject. I know this is a forum for JP1 remotes and I also know that some people here have other remotes and devices so here I go:
Looking around, I have seen some devices (Phillips, Sony, LG) being supported by the IR of the PSP; since the homebrew scene of the PSP is growing pretty fast, I was thinking that maybe some of you guys have taken some interest on this little device and have something in the works for a pretty good remote. I'd be pretty cool to have a PSP as the remote controller of our AV systems.
Thanks

[The Robman]

I guess this prompts the obvious question:

what is PSP?

[Capn Trips]

I guess this prompts the obvious question:

what is PSP?

A Google search reveals several candidates:
Progressive Suprenuclear Palsy
Professional Sound Programmers
PaintShop Professional
PlayStation Portable

[The Robman]

I did a Google search on "PSP remote" before I posted, and while I could find sites that seem to be about what Servando is talking about, I still didn't find a page (in a quick scan) that said what it actually is.

[Capn Trips]

Apparently the PlayStation Portable has some sort of IR transmitter (amongst about a million other features). I don't game, so don't really understand any of the stuff they talk about on all of the reviews one can find about it, but I would wager Servando is talking about this game device.

What connetion it could possibly have to JP1, I don't know, unless someone opens one up and finds out that the IR transmitter portion is JP1 capable - which for no good reason I find HIGHLY unlikely.

[johnsfine]

the homebrew scene of the PSP is growing pretty fast

One of my kids has a PSP, but I didn't realize a PSP has an IR transmitter, nor that (apparently) you can write your own C programs for it.

The first hit I got just now on a google search of the subject was
http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/pspirremote.shtml
which has the C source code but no hint of how you compile it or load it into the PSP. I expect you're supposed to already know that before finding a site like that.

I know this is drifting even further into non-JP1, but do you know any sites that introduce writing your own programs for PSP in a simple enough yet interesting enough way that I might get my sons to try it? (Two of them are learning C programming in high school from a teacher who neither knows it well himself nor makes it interesting for students).

What connetion it could possibly have to JP1,

This is the Non-Jp1 area within this JP1 site, so it doesn't need a very strong connection to JP1.

The connection to JP1 is that we give out more any better information about IR protocols than you are likely to find from any other online site. If you have a programmable IR transmitter that you want to expand to handle some protocol that it doesn't do now, this is probably the right place to come for the IR protocol side of the problem. (Though clearly we aren't a great source of info for the who to program a PSP side of the problem).

[Capn Trips]

What connetion it could possibly have to JP1,

This is the Non-Jp1 area within this JP1 site, so it doesn't need a very strong connection to JP1.

The connection to JP1 is that we give out more any better information about IR protocols than you are likely to find from any other online site. If you have a programmable IR transmitter that you want to expand to handle some protocol that it doesn't do now, this is probably the right place to come for the IR protocol side of the problem.

I stand appropriately chastised.

[The Robman]

This is the Non-Jp1 area within this JP1 site, so it doesn't need a very strong connection to JP1.

Just FYI, it's only in the non-JP1 forum because I moved it here, it started off in the General forum.

So, do I take it that PSP does indeed stand for "Playstation Portable"?

[johnsfine]

Just FYI, it's only in the non-JP1 forum because I moved it here, it started off in the General forum.

I think it would be a good idea if you put a mention of having moved the thread into the thread itself when you do that. I've seen you do that when splitting threads.

So, do I take it that PSP does indeed stand for "Playstation Portable"?

I kind of assumed Capn Trips was joking about not being sure it meant Play Station Portable. I even wondered if you were joking.

When I hear PSP, I always think "Program Segment Prefix" because I did so much programming in environments where PSP meant that. But in the context of a device that isn't a remote control but might be used as one, I can't think of a meaning for PSP other than Play Station Portable. I'm sure the abreviation PSP is used somewhere for SOMETHING else that could be used as a remote control. But not anything that would be a close second guess when someone says just "PSP".

[The Robman]

I think it would be a good idea if you put a mention of having moved the thread into the thread itself when you do that. I've seen you do that when splitting threads.

When I think it's needed, I will leave a shadow thread in the forum that I'm moving it from, just so the originator can find it, but I don't see why adding a comment to the thread itself would make much of a difference.

So, do I take it that PSP does indeed stand for "Playstation Portable"?

I kind of assumed Capn Trips was joking about not being sure it meant Play Station Portable. I even wondered if you were joking.

When I hear PSP, I always think "Program Segment Prefix" because I did so much programming in environments where PSP meant that. But in the context of a device that isn't a remote control but might be used as one, I can't think of a meaning for PSP other than Play Station Portable. I'm sure the abreviation PSP is used somewhere for SOMETHING else that could be used as a remote control. But not anything that would be a close second guess when someone says just "PSP".

Do I take it that the Playstation is so popular now that everyone should assume that any acronyms that start with PS refer to it? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm asking for real. I've never owned or even used a Playstation, so it sure wasn't obvious to me, and I've never even heard of a "Playstation Portable" nor do I know how it differs from a regular Playstation.

It's kind of like when we talk about OFA remotes, it's OK to use the OFA acronym here or in the OFA forum at R/C, but you wouldn't use it outside of these circles and expect people to know what you're talking about.

[Servando]

First of all, sorry for posting to the wrong forum.
PlayStation Portable (PSP) is what I meant. I shouldn't have used the short way, but don't we always like the short way better?
anyway... I'm not a programmer or at least I can't really do more than simple scripts and that is why I haven't venture in the world of creating or modifying applications for this device, all I know is that it is possible to create programs that run on PSPs with firmwares 1.5 or under or if you have 1.51 or 2.0 you can downgrade the firmware to 1.5 and run the APPS without a problem.
As I said on my other post, people have been successful creating or implementing the protocols to control some equipment... how far can they go? I don't know, but I believe there is a whole lot of information about IR on this forum that in the right hands could turn a PSP into a $250 universal remote controller .

[johnsfine]

Do I take it that the Playstation is so popular now that everyone should assume that any acronyms that start with PS refer to it?

Of course not: The Playstation is so popular that everyone should know each of the specific acronyms that refer to it and not make wrong assumptions about any PS... acronyms that don't refer to it

I'm asking for real.

I'm not qualified to answer for real.

I have four sons, nine to sixteen years old, so I can't help absorbing some of this information. BUT I'm also an old enough to remember long ago being amazed how quickly "PS2" lost its previous meaning when IBM came out with the PS2. So I only had trouble adjusting, not new surprise, when Playstation blew that meaning of "PS2" away.

I've never even heard of a "Playstation Portable" nor do I know how it differs from a regular Playstation.

Answer 1: It's portable.

Answer 2: Wrong question. It's how does it differ from a PS2 (though even that might have gone obsolete when I wasn't looking). "regular Playstation" is long gone.

[johnsfine]

I'm not a programmer

people have been successful creating or implementing the protocols to control some equipment... how far can they go? I don't know

Lots of people have worked very hard reverse engineering a few IR protocols in various situations. Most of them don't know how much of that information is easily available here and at RemoteCentral.

If you want to find whoever is behind that IR software for the PSP and tell them they can get IR protocol help here, we won't get annoyed at further non JP1 questions for that.

From what little I could see in that URL I mentioned they seem to have cracked all the hard problems of getting enough control of the device to send IR. I don't know why they then decided to only support a few devices. If that was all they wanted to support then you probably can't convince them otherwise. If they thought getting the info and supporting more protocols was hard you can try to inform them otherwise.

in the right hands could turn a PSP into a $250 universal remote controller .

1) What is the IR strength of a PSP? Many hand held devices can be programmed to transmit IR, but most of them do so with weaker IR emitters than a universal remote uses, so many devices can't be controlled from across the room.

2) $250 universal remotes are interesting (to some people) when they have programmable enough displays to guide a beginner through use of a complex home theater. Obviously the PSP has the underlying CPU, memory and display power to accomplish that. But it is unclear that any freeware project would go to the required software effort to accomplish that level of end user simplicity.

My son uses his PSP primarily as an iPod substitute. As such, the PSP is a pretty poor price performance point. But the fact that it is also a game system seems to justify overpaying for it instead of an iPod.

[The Robman]

So I take it the old versions weren't portable then, eh? (Shows how much I know). My kids are 5 and 8, so while they've discovered Gameboys already, they're not hip to the PS2 or PSP or any other variation yet (thank goodness).

I second John's recommendation that, if you're involved with any PSP user groups, by all means invite them over here if they want some help getting new IR protocols included in the device. The same goes for the people trying to write lirc files for the same purpose.

While the PSP/lirc knowledge here is slim to none, the IR knowledge more than makes up for it.

[Servando]

It seems that the remote controller it's being developed already.
http://www.pspproject.net/index.php?entryid=8
I left a comment on their page so maybe they come by and look at all the IR development that is continuously going here.
If anyone here has the programming skills and the desire of making this work, there is some info on how to create code for the PSP here:
http://wiki.ps2dev.org/psp:programming_faq
Here is also the Phillips remote controller program with source.
http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/pspphilipsremote.shtml

I believe the only problem of having the PSP as a remote controller is that the IR transmitter is probably as strong as the one from a PDA and that won't pass any blanket test