PSX

This page collects information on the PSX - not the PlayStation (1), but the japan-only PS2 variant with advanced multimedia and DVR-functions. Being a hybrid of a DVR and a game console, it has a lot of unique traits. Sadly, it has a lot of reliability issues, most notably nowadays dying Hard Drives and Disc Drives. This article aims to make repair easier and collect information that might help in circumventing the HDD vendor-lock in the future. It also aims to be a general collection of information on reverse-engineering of the PSX.

Specifications

Models	DESR-5000 DESR-7000 DESR-5100 DESR-7100 DESR-5500 DESR-7500 DESR-5700 DESR-7700
HDD	160GB 250GB
Recording Mode	HQ HSP SP(standard) EP LP SLP
CPU GPU	90nm EmotionEngine+Graphics Synthesizer
Software Engine	PS2 based real time OS
Recording Format	DVD-R(Video format) DVD-RW(Video format,VR format) DVD+RW(VR format)
Playback Format	DVD-VIDEO DVD-R(Video format) DVD-RW(Video format, VR format) DVD+RW(VR format) CD CD-R,[Memory Stick] "PlayStation" CD-ROM "PlayStation 2"CD-ROM/DVD-ROM
Tuner	Terrestrial analog(VHF1-12ch,UHF13-62ch,CATV13-35ch) BS satellite analog(1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15ch)
Dubbing	HDD to DVD is 12 times maximum (-R)
Video Playback	Recorded program while recording on HDD
Video Editing	GOP Editing High Speed GUI
Timer	EPG(G Guide)
Photo	JPEG
Music	ATRAC3
Game	"PlayStation" software / "PlayStation 2" software
Network	Ethernet 100 base/TX (Network game, additional feature in the future)
Ports	1 D output(D1/D2) 1 Composite/S Video/Stereo sound output 1 Optical digital Audio(SPDIF) 1 Composite/S Video/Stereo sound input 1 USB(Ver. 1.1)port, 1 Memory Stick slot 2 "PlayStation" "PlayStation 2"format Memory card slots 2 "PlayStation" "PlayStation 2" format Analog controller ports
Dimension	312 x 323 x 88mm(W x H x D)
Weight	Approximately 5.8kg
Accessories	Remote Controller for PSX AV cable, antenna cable AC cord

Models

The PSX was released in eight retail configurations during its lifespan (nine, if you count the silver DESR-5100S); the 5000 series (with an embossed logo on top and grey stripe at the back) shipped with 160 GB Hard disk drives, while the 7000 series (with a colored logo on top and black stripe at the back) contained 250 GB drives. Software updates were made available by disc and download.

The 7500/7700 models added a Ghost Reduction Tuner. The inclusion of Broadcasting Satellite (Japanese) and UHF/VHF connectors varied by model.

Comparison of PSX systems

Model No.	Power Consumption	Weight	Case		Hard Drive	FireWire	VHF/UHF tuner		BS tuner		Memory Stick video export	Writable disc formats	Release FW	Current FW	Launch pricing	Release date
			Color	Light strip			In	Out	In	Out
DESR-5000	80 W	5.7 kg	white	–	160 GB	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW (DVD+RW only on Firmware 1.20 or later)	1.06	1.31	79 800 ¥	December 13th 2003
DESR-7000	80 W	5.8 kg	white/transparent	back	250 GB	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW (DVD+RW only on Firmware 1.20 or later)	1.06	1.31	99 800 ¥	Decemter 13th 2003
DESR-5100	80 W	5.7 kg	white	–	160 GB	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW	1.30	1.31	74 000 ¥	July 1st 2004
DESR-5100S	80 W	5.7 kg	silver	–	160 GB	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW	1.30	1.31	–	July 1st 2004
DESR-7100	80 W	5.8 kg	white/transparent	back	250 GB	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW	1.30	1.31	95 000 ¥	July 1st 2004
DESR-5500	70 W	6.2 kg	white	front	160 GB	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes (after having been updated to 2.11)	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD+R	2.06	2.11	44 800 ¥	December 2004
DESR-7500	84 W	6.5 kg	white/transparent	front, back	250 GB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (after having been updated to 2.11)	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD+R	2.06	2.11	59 800 ¥	December 2004
DESR-5700	70 W	6.2 kg	white	front	160 GB	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD+R	2.10	2.11	60 000 ¥	April 2005
DESR-7700	84 W	6.5 kg	white/transparent	front, back	250 GB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD+R	2.10	2.11	80 000 ¥	April 2005

All models have two sets of status LEDs and Infrared receivers; one along the front for horizontal orientation, and a second strip along the top-back for vertical orientation. The 'Disk Rec' indicator is only on the front of the device in later models.

Package management

PSX firmware has some kind of package management. There are two package managers: "Packman" and "PackmanJr".

File types

This list is incomplete.

• PAK: encrypted archive format that stores update data. Can be found on the PSX Update Disc. Has been reverse engineered and decryption/unpacking is possible.
• REL: encrypted package binaries found in PSX packages. Has been reverse engineered and decryption/unpacking is possible.
• STAR: some archive format used to store packages inside the INSTALL3.PAK on the 2.11 update disc (earlier update discs simply stored packages as folders). Neither compressed nor encrypted, yet not reverse engineered (as of June 2022).

Update history / Firmware changelog

1.xx versions are for DESR-x000 and DESR-x100 only.
2.xx versions are for DESR-x500 and DESR-x700 only.

The online update service has been discontinued. Update discs were available free of charge via mail-order until 2014.

1.06 (December 13th 2003)

• Preinstalled on DESR-x000, not available as update

1.10 (February 5th 2004)

• Available online or as update disc for DESR-x000
• Improved dubbing speed from HDD to DVD up to 24x (In DVD-R 4x speed compatible media SLP mode)
• Support for raw images in TIFF format (DCF standard) (Import via Memory Stick or USB connection (still only Sony digital camera))
• Support of MP3 music format (Play from CD-R, import MP3 file to HDD)
• Re-extension setting at the time of extension recording is possible ※ When you set the extended recording in the program reservation, after entering the recording extension time, you will be able to extend again.
• Rewind function (It is possible to fast forward / backward to the scene around 15 seconds during video playback)
• Correspondence of 30 times speed of fast forward, fast reverse (In addition to 2 times, 10 times, 120 times, it became possible to search 30 times)
• Video title sort function (Sort the programs by date, title, genre, watched / not watched etc.)
• USB keyboard support at the time of title input ("Playstation 2" compatible keyboard)
• Other software fixes:
  • Fixed that dubbing can not be performed by the externally connected device.
  • Correction of the point that the channel setting of Just Clock changes to the initial value when performing automatic channel setting.
  • When the optical digital out (SPDIF) is connected, if there is a pause when editing video recorded on the HDD, correction of a point where noise appears rarely

1.20 (March 31st 2004)

• Available online or as update disc for DESR-x000
• Support for recording and playback of DVD+RW (VR format)
• Added reproduction, import of moving image format from Sony digital still camera "Cyber-shot" (Import from Memory Stick or USB connection)
• Supports playback and import of GIF format (DCF standard) still images from Sony digital still camera "Cyber Shot" (Import from Memory Stick or USB connection, clip motion only)
• Support for quick play (1.3 times speed)
• Support for bilingual audio recording
• Support of 30x speed of fast forward and fast reverse of commercial DVD software
• Added reproduction, import photo from CD-R (JPEG, TIFF, GIF, MPEG1 format)
• The number of MP3 recognizable songs on CD-R has been improved to 99 songs / folders
• Reservation revision on program schedule
• Other software fixes:
  • Correction of the point which stops on the way of slide show playback.

1.30 (July 1st 2004)

• Preinstalled on DESR-x100, not available as update
• See "Changes for DESR-x000 (from 1.20)" from the 1.31 changelog

1.31 (August 3rd 2004)

• Available online or as update disc for DESR-x000 and DESR-x100
• Changes for DESR-x000 (from 1.20):
  • Supports changing the program name when making a timed reservation or recording reservation on the program guide
  • Added chapter mark setting function to video recorded by this unit
  • Supports additional writing of DVD+RW and DVD-RW (Translation error, probably means support for appending more data to RW DVDs that have been written to before)
  • Supports changing the recording mode of video recorded with this unit (optimization)
  • Supports dubbing DVD menu creation
  • Added initialization function to disk options
    • DVD-RW and DVD+RW can now be initialized from the disc options.
  • Added still image type visualizer
  • Compatible with "PlayStation®BB" (page view: viewing function of various channels only)
  • Added "Dubbing to VR mode" to the settings
  • Added "DVD bilingual audio recording" to the settings

• Changes for DESR-x100 (from 1.30):
  • Faster return to home menu from PlayStation BB
  • Improved PlayStation BB content display
  • Smoother home menu

2.06 (December 2004)

• Preinstalled on DESR-x500, not available as update
• Many changes compared to 1.31, however, since this version was only available preinstalled on DESR-5500 and DESR-7500, no official changelog is available

2.10 (April 2005)

• Preinstalled on DESR-x700, not available as update
• See "Changes for DESR-x500 (from 2.06)" from the 2.11 changelog

2.11 (May 17th 2005)

• Available online or as update disc for DESR-x500 and DESR-x700
• Changes for DESR-x500 (from 2.06):
  • Dubbing function to "Memory Stick"
    • TV programs recorded with "x-おまかせ・まる録" (a feature to automatically record by keyword), photos created with "x-PictStory", and videos taken with a digital video camera can now be exported to a "Memory Stick" and taken out.
    • Also, if you export to a “Memory Stick Duo” using the Memory Stick Duo Adapter (sold separately), you can play these works on the “PSP” as well.
  • Continuous extension support for daily / weekly reservations
    • If you manually set the extension time when using daily reservations or weekly reservations, it will be extended not only for the first time but also every time (daily or weekly).
  • x-Pict Story audition function
    • You can audition and check the BGM when selecting the BGM in x-Pict Story.
• Changes for DESR-x700 (from 2.10):
  • Video export to Memory Stick is 10% faster
  • Auto-shutdown after finishing video export to Memory Stick can be enabled

Hard Drive

See also: Hard Drive
Unlike the PS2's official hard drives, the PSX's hard drives are not rebranded. They do however implement the same proprietary firmware features as the official PS2 hard drives do. A hard drive with these features is required for the console to boot. Thus, the PSX's hard drive can currently only be replaced with another PSX's hard drive or one of the official PS2 hard drives. See: Sony custom ATA commands

Using an official PS2 hard drive requires additional work due to their different sizes and partitioning schemes. This also makes the DVR functions unavailable due to the lack of space for a DVR partition.
Note: DESR-x500 and DESR-x700 require the DVR-partition to boot. Thus, these consoles can NOT boot from a 40 GB PS2 drive!

All PSX hard drives are 3.5 inch IDE/P-ATA drives with a capacity of either 160 GB or 250 GB, depending on the console model.

OEM drives used

160 GB

• Seagate "U Series 9" ST3160022ACE
• Maxtor "DiamondMax 9" (exact model number?)
• Maxtor "DiamondMax 10" 6L160P0

250 GB

• Hitachi "DeskStar" HDS722525VLAT80

Disc Drive

The PS2-part of the drive is based on the H/I chassis SCPH-5XXXX fat PS2 drive, both electrically and mechanically. The whole drive assembly is connected to the motherboard using 3 flat flex cables: One is an IDE connection to the dedicated drive board of the PSX-part, one provides power (5V, 12V, GND) and also connects the PS2-part sled motor to the motherboard (since it is controlled by the motherboard directly), and one connects the KHS-400C PS2-part pickup to the motherboard, since it is also directly controlled by the motherboard. The spindle motor is always controlled by the dedicated PSX-part drive electronics over IDE, even in PS2 mode.

Two different models have been made; the older one is used in DESR-x000 and x100, the newer one in DESR-x500 and x700. The drive has an updatable firmware for the PSX-mode part of the drive; at least the newer drive actually received such an update (Sony model name: DW-DX02A, known firmware versions: 0YX7 Sep 15 2004, BV1M Mar 08 2005).

• DESR-x000 and DESR-x100 drive
  • Uses Sony KWS-200A optical pickup

<imgur w=240>8UIuNSN.jpg</imgur>

• DESR-x500 and DESR-x700 drive
  • Uses Sanyo SF-DB11 optical pickup

<imgur w=240>XkMxA6G.jpg</imgur>

Integrated Circuits (MA-S38, used in DESR-x000 and DESR-x100)

<imgur w=240>8GcBpTO.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>tFQSjoP.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=240>le4VpFe.png</imgur>
Block diagram of closely related sony drive DRU-500A using the exact same chipset and optical pickup above.

• Digital
  • Texas Instruments S4 TMC57934APDV (EnDec, Servo-DSP, ATAPI-interface)
  • Sanyo LC67F5006A (ARM7TDMI-based microcontroller with 6 Mbits of Flash-ROM and 256 Kbits of SRAM)
    • Stores the drive firmware inside its Flash-ROM
• ROM and Flash
  • Rohm BR9040F (chip marking: 9040) (Serial EEPROM, 4 KBits / 512 Bytes, organized 256x16) (holds calibration/configuration data)
• DRAM
  • Samsung K4S640832H-UC75 (133 Mhz SDRAM, 8 MBytes, organized 8Mbits x 8)
• Analog + Digital
  • NEC uPD68812 (chip marking: 68812 Y02) (analog & servo)
  • Sony CXD9711R (front-end/signal processor/ IC for laser unit, no public datasheet available)
  • <imgur w=240>RFGGpWE.jpg</imgur>
• Analog
  • Rohm BD6670FM (3-Phase spindle motor driver for CD-RW)
  • Fairchild FAN8035L (6-CH Motor Driver, used as driver for focus, tracking, tilt, sled)
  • ST KF25 (2.5V low drop voltage regulator)

Integrated Circuits (MA-S43, used in DESR-x500 and DESR-x700)

<imgur w=240>SMelZmP.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>bq7vfM1.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=240>aSsQnHT.png</imgur> <imgur w=240>7a19mhs.png</imgur> <imgur w=240>4vJpjgw.jpg</imgur>
Pinout of debug header above (directly connected to MT1828E). LiteOn PC DVD drives and their Sony OEM equivalents using the same chipset also have a debug connector with this pinout.

• Digital
  • IC402: Fairchild 74VHC157M (Quad 2-Input CMOS Multiplexer)
  • IC603: Mediatek MT1828E (main DVD-drive/burner controller, includes microcontroller/s, DSP, EnDec etc., no public datasheet available)
    • Pinout available from some PC DVD drive's schematics
    • Likely has one or more 80C32/MCS-51 8-Bit microcontroller cores as other Mediatek chipsets from that time do.
    • Has a debug header on board; see above for pinout
• ROM and Flash
  • IC102: Rohm BR93L66 (chip marking: RL66) (Microwire serial EEPROM, 4 KBits / 512 Bytes, organized 256x16) (holds calibration/configuration data for MT1816E)
  • IC302: SST 39VF080 (Flash ROM, 1 MByte / 8 MBits, organized 1Mx8) (updatable firmware for MT1828E)
• DRAM
  • IC303: Samsung K4S161622E-UC80 (125 Mhz SDRAM, 2 MBytes, organized 512K x 16Bit x 2 Banks)
• Analog+Digital
  • IC103: Mediatek MT1816E (front-end/signal processor IC for laser unit, no public datasheet available)
    • pinout available with example circuit in schematics of some DVRs, see picture above
    • <imgur w=240>L14GJ54.jpg</imgur>
• Analog
  • IC110: Rohm BD6670FM (3-Phase spindle motor driver for CD-RW)
  • IC309: Fairchild 74HC4053A (Triple 2-Channel Analog Multiplexer)
  • IC401: ST KF33 (3.3V low drop voltage regulator)
  • IC403: ST KF25 (2.5V low drop voltage regulator)
  • IC1000: Fairchild FAN8035L (6-CH Motor Driver)

Notes

• Contrary to some information on the internet, the drive does NOT seem to be married to the individual console. It is however likely that you can not replace the older drive type by the newer type or vice versa (needs verification), due to different specifications and features, despite identical electrical interfaces (which is just IDE/ATA through a 50 pin flat flex cable).
• Several revisions of the Sanyo SF-DB11 pickup exist, with only the older ones being compatible with the PSX. Trying to install a newer one will burn the flat flex cable and/or blow the 5V drive-power fuse on the motherboard depending on your luck. It didn't seem to damage anything else though; most notably all electronics (after replacing the blown fuse) AND the laser pickup (after being installed into a compatible PC drive that uses this newer revision) survived.
  • Known compatible revisions: T02, T05, T06, bottom sticker number starts with DB11
  • Known incompatible revisions: T09, T14, bottom sticker number starts with 11NX.
  • There's also some revisions that start with "S", e.g. S03. These are likely also NOT compatible.
  • Symptoms of a blown 5V fuse:
    • Drive appears dead (the slot-mechanism however still works and correctly pulls in and ejects discs)
    • When forcing the console into PS2 mode through FMCB, inserting a disc will cause the PS2-laser to start focussing since it runs from another power source, however, the spindle motor will not spin
    • The front USB port does not work
  • <imgur w=240>jPNVCqr.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Vo2DfEx.jpg</imgur>
• There is an official documentation of the KWS-200A used in the DESR-x000 and DESR-x100 PSX, released by Sony itself:
  <imgur w=240>TxkqxiO.jpg</imgur>

Motherboards

XPD-001

<imgur w=480>3VI7Zy4.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=480>XYRnjjJ.jpg</imgur>

XPD-005

<imgur w=480>NdGWHc8.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=480>9Y7cnAR.jpg</imgur>
<imgur w=240>N2KbF4f.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=240>GKSod5P.jpg</imgur>
<imgur w=480>UMfHEc5.png</imgur>

Integrated Circuits (XPD-001)

General ICs

• Texas Instruments F741580AGGB
  • Memory Stick controller
  • Has a dedicated NOR-flash located on the other side of the motherboard containing its firmware (Fujitsu MB85431BC)
  • Probably also functions as some kind of SysCon/SMC, controlling LEDs, IR-receivers etc (needs verification)
  • Related IC is used in some VAIO-Notebooks with an internal Memory Stick reader, where it's called "SUMIRE2" in the schematics

ROM and Flash

• Fujitsu MB85431BC
  • NOR-Flash
  • Firmware for F741580AGGB (Memory Stick controller)

• Fujitsu MB85432BF
  • NOR-Flash
  • Firmware for DVRP

• Samsung K9F6408U0C-QCB0
  • NAND-Flash (8 MBytes)
  • PSX firmware

• SCEI XB00-010
  • Mask-ROM or OTP-ROM
  • PS2 BIOS

• ST M93C46 (chip marking: C46WP)
  • Microwire EEPROM (1 KBits/128 Bytes)
  • Connected to CXD9764GP

Integrated Circuits (XPD-005)

General ICs

• Texas Instruments F741580AGGB
  • Memory Stick controller
  • Has a dedicated NOR-flash located on the other side of the motherboard containing its firmware (Fujitsu MB85431BC)
  • Probably also functions as some kind of SysCon/SMC, controlling LEDs, IR-receivers etc (needs verification)
  • Related IC is used in some VAIO-Notebooks with an internal Memory Stick reader, where it's called "SUMIRE2" in the schematics

ROM and Flash

• Fujitsu MB85431BC
  • NOR-Flash
  • Firmware for F741580AGGB (Memory Stick controller)

• Fujitsu MB85432BF
  • NOR-Flash
  • Firmware for DVRP

• Samsung K9F6408U0C-QCB0
  • NAND-Flash (8 MBytes)
  • PSX firmware

• OKI MR27V3202F (printed on chip: R27V3202F)
  • One-time programmable ROM (4 MBytes)
  • PS2 BIOS

• ST M93C46 (chip marking: C46WP)
  • Microwire EEPROM (1 KBits/128 Bytes)
  • Connected to CXD9764GP

Downloads

PSX User Manuals(.pdf)

CEATEC Japan 2003

Sony showcased the PSX at Japan's CEATEC in 2003, here are images of the event:
<imgur w=480>sbpPiSr.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>UZB5uq1.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>UnGORVQ.png</imgur>
<imgur w=480>GI3kFIW.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>szGoAlM.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>RQ9Ee8k.png</imgur>
<imgur w=480>xIgpOEK.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>z6uE6W2.png</imgur> <imgur w=480>1yslQL8.png</imgur>

Resources

PSX at PC Watch(Japanese Site)
Archived Sony Press Release
Sony PSX DVR(Fan Site)