Sony has released its system software or firmware operating system for its PlayStation 3 gaming console version 2.4 update, and gamers can download and install the updates from the PlayStation Network directly to the PS3, or download system software updates from the Official PlayStation website to their PCs and then storage media, from which the update can be installed to the system.

New or revised features and enhancements:

Settings Changes

• You can now set the PlayStation 3 system to turn off automatically after updating the system software.
• [Reassign Controllers] and [Controller Vibration Function] have been added as options under [Accessory Settings].

Game changes

• You can now access the (XrossMediaBar) screen while playing PlayStation 3 format software.
• Only some of the XMB functions can be used during gameplay.
• If you press the PS button for more than two seconds, the screen showing options to quit the game, turn off the system and other settings will be displayed.
• The XMB screen is not displayed when you are playing PlayStation 2 or PlayStation format software.
• The XMB screen cannot be displayed when you are playing certain PlayStation 3 format software titles.
• The procedure for quitting PlayStation 3 format software has been changed.
• You can now collect trophies in games that support the trophy feature.

System changes

• A new “view mode” has been added to the Playstation Store.
• [Search] has been added as an option in the browse mode menu of the Internet Browser.
• The [Information] screen has been redesigned and renamed as [Profile].
• You can now perform an Internet search directly from the XMB screen.
• You can now see the system clock on the XMB screen. The date and time that were set under [Settings] > [Date and Time] are displayed.
• When using a keyboard, you can now clear the entire text entry field at once.
• An icon is now displayed when you press the PS button for an operation that cannot be performed.
• You can now turn off the PlayStation 3 system from the XMB screen using the [Turn Off System] option.
• The number of Friends who can be added to a Friends list has been increased from 50 to 100.

Media Changes

• You can now sort items that are grouped in a folder by month or year using the [Film Date] option.
• You can now print images from a playlist that was created under (Photo).
• You can now use a mini-size control panel while playing music.
• You can now play music content encoded in MP3 Surround format.
• MP3 Surround can only be played in Linear PCM output.
• You can now use the [Frame Noise Reduction] and [Block Noise Reduction] settings for video content that is saved on the hard disk or storage media.
• You can now play upscaled video content that is saved on the hard disk or storage media.
• When the video content is played, it is upscaled automatically to fit the screen size.
• Upscaling of Blu-ray Disc (BDAV) video content is now supported.
• For DTS playback on DVD-Video and Blu-ray Disc media, DTS-ES and DTS 96/24 for DVD-Video and DTS-ES Matrix for Blu-ray Discs are now supported.

Download the PS3 Firmware v2.4 and instructions here (for US PS3).