Web Browser Access

Proof Of Operation Video Capture

For: Playstation 3

by: je.saist

This is one of the proof of operation guides using an aquired video capture card.
For more information on the capture card and method, and why the picture
is so blurry and white washed, a hardware report is located here.


This guide walks through opening up the Internet Browser on the Sony Playstation 3, and saving a webpage as a favorite, as well as navigating to another web page through link

So, why use a console web-browser anyways if someone has a PC?  Well, not everybody has a PC that runs FireFox or Opera. By checking a webpage through a console browser, bugs or errata with the web page may be uncovered that wouldn't be noticed under normal testing.


1: Yes, a Playstation 3.

Sadly, while the Playstation 3 can output in PC quality graphics, the method of capture means that this is under 640*480, and without Component capture hardware, native in-os capture is limited at this resolution. The news gets worse for the Debian side of the equation, Debian will only output over an HDMI cable... and I don't have any HDMI capture hardware.






2: The PS3 browser is located under Network.

Now, I don't know what Sony bases their browser on. It fails the Acid2 test in a manner similar to Microsoft IE6, which indicates a severe problem with the underlying code. What I don't understand is why, when running a Linux-OS, Sony didn't just get with the FireFox devs and put FireFox in here.





3: Yes... we want to run whatever plugin is running.

In this case, that plugin is flash, however the PS3 browser never lets on what plugins are.
Again... why is FireFox not being used???





4: A press to the Triangle Button will bring up the options menu.

Press the X button on File to access the address entry.





5: And here is our address entry.





6: And a few seconds later, www.mepisguides.com is entered.






7: Surprisingly, my site was rendered correctly.





8: Back to the triangle button.





9: And down to Bookmarks.





10: A press of the X button on My Bookmarks.





11: Now we can add our site with another press of the X button.





12: There we go, and a press of the Circle button to exit.





13: A press on the Right Analog stick will zoom in so we can see the text.

A press of the X button while the mouse is over Mepislovers...





14: And... there we are...





15: Pressing on the Left Analog stick will zoom back out.





A couple other notes.  The R1 and L1 triggers seem to go back and forth between pages. the R2 and L2 buttons serve to zoom in and out smoothly.  Even so, I find Sony's strategy to be... well, confusing. Not including FireFox is a serious ding against the Playstation 3 as a useable browser. Not identifying various plugins as they are used is, well, confusing.

There are... some advantages though. Unlike with the Wii, a standard USB keyboard and mouse worked with the PS3 browser.  Also, unlike with the Wii, it can run in a much higher resolution...

However, given a choice between the two, Opera's use of the Wii-Mote and it's browser interface are far better.


Take me back to the Guides