Platform Specific Utilities

© 2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
© 2006,2007,2008 Sony Corporation

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TRADEMARK NOTICE

          "PLAYSTATION" and "PS3" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Cell Broadband Engine" is a trademark of
          Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
          Other company, product and service names may be registered trademarks, trademarks or service marks of others.

This note explains PS3 platform specific utilities which come with the release of Linux on PS3.

ps3-video-mode: switch video mode dynamically

The ps3-video-mode utility is used to display or change the video mode of the PS3 game console. The default behavior is to display the current video mode ID.

usage:
ps3-video-mode [-m, --mode mode-id] [-r, --rgb] [-f, --full-screen]
               [-g, --full-range] [-d, --dither] [-h, --help]
               [-V, --version]
options:
-m, --mode mode-id
        Set the system video mode to mode-id.  See the NOTES section
        below for more information on the mode-id value.

-r, --rgb
        Use RGB color space mode.

-f, --full-screen
        Use full screen mode.

-g, --full-range
        Use full range mode.

-d, --dither
        Use dither mode.

-h, --help
        Print a help message.

-V, --version
        Display the program version number.

Video Mode IDs and Mode Names
 The supported video mode-id values, coresponding mode-name values, and
 screen resolutions are as follows:

       AUTO Detect Mode:
              0: auto (480i/576i if not HDMI)

       60 Hz Broadcast Modes:
              1: 480i    (576 x 384)
              2: 480p    (576 x 384)
              3: 720p   (1124 x 644)
              4: 1080i  (1688 x 964)
              5: 1080p  (1688 x 964)

       50 Hz Broadcast Modes:
              6: 576i    (576 x 460)
              7: 576p    (576 x 460)
              8: 720p   (1124 x 644)
              9: 1080i  (1688 x 964)
              10: 1080p  (1688 x 964)
       VESA Modes:
              11: wxga   (1280 x 768)
              12: sxga   (1280 x 1024)
              13: wuxga  (1920 x 1200)

       60 Hz Full Screen Broadcast Modes:
              129: 480if   (720 x 480)
              130: 480pf   (720 x 480)
              131: 720pf  (1280 x 720)
              132: 1080if (1920 x 1080)
              133: 1080pf (1920 x 1080)

       50 Hz Full Screen Broadcast Modes:
              134: 576if   (720 x 576)
              135: 576pf   (720 x 576)
              136: 720pf  (1280 x 720)
              137: 1080if (1920 x 1080)
              138: 1080pf (1920 x 1080)

Note that VESA modes are only valid for the HDMI port.

The mode options --rgb, --full-screen, --full-range and --dither can be
specified via the mode-id as follows:

           RGB color space:  <video mode ID> + 32
           Full screen mode: <video mode ID> + 128
           Full range mode:  <video mode ID> + 1536
           Dither mode:      <video mode ID> + 2048

RGB Color Space Mode
 The RGB color space mode --rgb is only valid for the analog port.  The
 default is to use the YUV color space.

Full Screen Mode
 Originally 480/576i, 480/576p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p were analog broadcast 
 resolutions that included overscan.  The full screen mode option --full-screen 
 causes the overscan region of the broadcast modes to be used for pixel display.  
 Not all displays can support full screen mode.

RGB Full Range Mode
 The full range mode --full-range adjusts the dynamic range of the video
 output RGB values.

 This setting affects the video output signal on both the analog and HDMI
 ports, but is only useful with some HDMI displays.  When this option is
 not enabled the video output signal will have an RGB dynamic range of 16
 to 235, and when enabled will have an RGB dynamic range of 0 to 255.
 This option must be specified by the user because the HDMI information
 received from the attached display does not specify whether the display
 supports RGB full range mode or not.

Dither Mode
 The dither mode option --dither suppresses the Mach Band Effect.  See
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_bands.

Other Notes
 Don't change the display resolution while sound is playing.

 Don't change the display resolution from X.  If you do, you will need to
 restart the X server.  This is because the X frame buffer driver assumes
 a frame buffer has a fixed line length.

 If you would like to boot Linux into a specific video mode you may pass a
 video mode option on the kernel the command line.  Two formats are available.  
 One uses a video mode name as video=mode-name, and the other uses
 a video mode-id as video=ps3fb:mode:mode-id.  See the EXAMPLES section
 below for more information
example:
Examples (1) and (2) are equivalent, and both set the video mode to 60Hz
720p full screen:

           ps3-video-mode --mode=3 --full-screen    (1)
           ps3-video-mode --mode=131                (2)

ps3-boot-game-os: shutdown linux and switch to game os

This command switches boot flag in “other-os flash area” to boot game os, and reboot onto game os. This command requires root privilege.

usage:
ps3-boot-game-os [-n, --no-reboot | -p, --poweroff] [-h, --help] [-V, --version]
options:
-n, --no-reboot
        Don't reboot the system after setting the boot flag.

-p, --poweroff
        Power the system off after setting the boot flag.

-h, --help
        Print a help message.

-V, --version
        Display the program version number

ps3-flash-util: PS3 flash memory utility

The ps3-flash-util utility is used to operate on the system flash ROM of the PS3 game console.

usage:
ps3-flash-util [-d, --device flash-dev] [-s, --show-settings]
               [-w, --write-image image-file]
               [-g, --set-game-os | -o, --set-other-os]
               [-r, --set-raw | -z, --set-gzip] [-t, --game-time]
               [-T, --db-test] [-F, --db-format]
               [-P, --db-print owner key]
               [-D, --db-write-dword owner key dword]
               [-W, --db-write-word owner key word]
               [-H, --db-write-half owner key half]
               [-R, --db-remove owner key] [-L, --db-list-known]
               [-h, --help] [-v, --verbose] [-V, --version]
options:
-d, --device flash-dev
        Use the flash device node flash-dev (default=/dev/ps3flash).

-s, --show-settings
        Show the current flash settings (non-destructive).

-w, --write-image image-file
        Write the Other OS image image-file to flash memory and update
        the OS area header with information for the new image.  This is
        the option to use to write a new bootloader image to flash
        memory.  Use '-' for data on stdin.

-g, --set-game-os
        Set the system boot flag to Game OS.

-o, --set-other-os
        Set the system boot flag to Other OS.

-r, --set-raw
        Set the Other OS image compression flag to raw (not compressed).

-z, --set-gzip
        Set the Other OS image compression flag to gzip compressed.

-t, --game-time
        Print the Game OS RTC diff value.

-T, --db-test
        Test for the existence of an Other OS database in flash memory.
        Exits with a zero status if a database is found.

-F, --db-format
        Format (write) an empty Other OS database to flash memory.  Any
        existing data in the flash memory will be lost.

-P, --db-print owner key
        Print owner:key database entries.  A negative one (-1) value for
        owner or key can be used as a wildcard to match any owner or key.

-D, --db-write-dword owner key dword
        Add or update a 64 bit owner:key database entry.  The dword argument 
        supports input matching the scanf "%Li" format specification.

-W, --db-write-word owner key word
        Add or update a 32 bit owner:key database entry.  The word argument 
        supports input matching the scanf "%Li" format specification.

-H, --db-write-half owner key half
        Add or update a 16 bit owner:key database entry.  The half argument
        supports input matching the scanf "%Li" format specification.

-R, --db-remove owner key
        Remove an owner:key entry from the database.  A negative one (-1)
        value for owner or key can be used as a wildcard to match any
        owner or key.

-L, --db-list-known
        List known database owners and keys.

-h, --help
        Print a help message.

-v, --verbose
        Program verbosity level.  The level is additive.

-V, --version
        Display the program version number.

ps3-dump-bootloader: PS3 dump bootloader utility

The ps3-dump-bootloader utility will dump the Other OS binary image from PS3 flash memory to stdout.

usage:
ps3-dump-bootloader [-s, --sum] [-h, --help] [-V, --version]
options:
-s, --sum
        Compute the md5sum of the Other OS image and only print it to stdout.

-h, --help
        Print a help message.

-V, --version
        Display the program version number.

ps3-rtc-init: PS3 RTC init utility

The ps3-rtc-init utility is used to initialize the Linux RTC diff value in PS3 flash memory to that currently in use by the Game OS. The default behavior is to not overwrite an existing value.

usage:
ps3-rtc-init [-f, --force] [-h, --help] [-V, --version]
options:
-f, --force
        Overwrite any existing Linux RTC diff value in flash memory.

-h, --help
        Print a help message.

-V, --version
        Display the program version number.

Revision History

1.7May 28 2008Update ps3-flash-util manual
1.6Feb 2 2008Add ps3-dump-bootloader and ps3-rtc-init
Change ps3-video-mode, ps3-flash-util and ps3-boot-gameos specification
1.5Oct 26 2007Change ps3-flash-util specification
1.4Aug 17 2007Change command name
Update copyright
1.3Apr 25 2007Update copyright
1.1Dec 8 2006Added "Revision History" and "About This Document"
1.0Nov 11 2006Initial Revision