Hacking Cobra USB to go Open Source!

[codezer0]

Could be news-worthy for at least some of you. Article Source: PSX-Scene

The gist of it? After some poking and prodding, and likely due to the expanded support that their new ODE has compared to the USB dongle, the existing Cobra USB dongle code will be going open source. Source link details what is needed to compile the source, as well as what would be included when it is released.

I'm not sure about others, but I for one am very much looking forward to this. While I don't have access to the necessary tools (yet), I know one thing I would hope for is to see this finally R.E.'d so that these functions are available without requiring the dongle, particularly - since I still have my CECHA - being able to play ps1 & ps2 disc backups that the real dongle and its associated CFW allows. THEN I could finally retire my existing mod-chipped PS2.

 

[weatMod]

what exactly do you mean by "disc backup compatibility" ?

and i think you forget network loading no?
what can we load from networks with cobra? without? you need cobra to load ps3 disc games over network dont you

 

[reprep]

correct me if wrong but ps1,ps2 and psp backups can now be played on cfw ps3. so does cobra have any extra feature which isn't possible on cfw yet?

 

[DinohScene]

Dongle or ODE.
Both achieve the same thing and that's making money for companies.

I'd rather see a sort of homebrew flasher being released.

OT: Hope this brings something interesting.

 

[weatMod]

correct me if wrong but ps1,ps2 and psp backups can now be played on cfw ps3. so does cobra have any extra feature which isn't possible on cfw yet?

i think with cobra you can play BR backups with the disc menu
and as for ps2 i a pretty sure that with cobra you can just play the ISO and without it you have to convert the ISO and compile it with the ps3 emulator , or compile them into a ps2 classic SIO image first for them to work

 

[weatMod]

Dongle or ODE.
Both achieve the same thing and that's making money for companies.

I'd rather see a sort of homebrew flasher being released.

OT: Hope this brings something interesting.

no they dont ,ODE works on all FW and all HW dongles only work up to 3.55 and only on systems below 3k models with old syscon

do you really think you can make your own nand flasher /nor flasher cheaper than what e3 offers it for

 

[DinohScene]

no they dont ,ODE works on all FW and all HW dongles only work up to 3.55 and only on systems below 3k models with old syscon

do you really think you can make your own nand flasher /nor flasher cheaper than what e3 offers it for

Dongle or ODE.
Both achieve the same thing and that's making money for companies.

Wasn't talking about what their purpose is.

And you'll never know.
You got the NAND-X/Jrunner and some Maximus NAND dumper for 360, yet you can fashion your own dumper from an old LPT cable and some diodes.

 

[weatMod]

Wasn't talking about what their purpose is.

And you'll never know.
You got the NAND-X/Jrunner and some Maximus NAND dumper for 360, yet you can fashion your own dumper from an old LPT cable and some diodes.

i dont know about that, it seems more complicated for ps3 , not easy like 3ds, progskeet and e3 flasher have alot more components on their board than a diode ,i know orogskeet is supposed to be versatile and not just for ps3, but e3 is not and it much more comple than a diode
not really that familiar with 360 rgh, jtag scene or dumping tools for 360

 

[DinohScene]

i dont know about that, it seems more complicated for ps3 , not easy like 3ds, progskeet and e3 flasher have alot more components on their board than a diode ,i know orogskeet is supposed to be versatile and not just for ps3, but e3 is not and it much more comple than a diode
not really that familiar with 360 rgh, jtag scene or dumping tools for 360

E3 also can function as a dualboot chip for the PS3.
Well that and it's got a lot more functions then a plain NAND dumper.

Afaik, the basics of NAND dumping is just having a current go to the NAND so that the flashchip becomes "readable"
Then cables from the programming ports go to a PC so that PC sided software can make a byte to byte raw dump.

 

[codezer0]

what exactly do you mean by "disc backup compatibility" ?

and i think you forget network loading no?
what can we load from networks with cobra? without? you need cobra to load ps3 disc games over network dont you

Still can't pop in a disc backup of a Ps1/2 game and actually have it recognize and play on CFW, multiman or no. Cobra USB was about the only dongle I wished I'd bought only because it enabled this, as well as did something for PSP games/ISO's/homebrew so they could play in full screen, whereas they'd be a tiny box when playing on an actual PSP via video out.

If there was a way to actually play PS1/PS2 disc backups straight even on my CECHA without requiring this dongle, I'd really like to know. Because to date, the only way I knew it was even halfway possible was by having the dongle, which of course I don't. The dongle also overrode a PS3's default behavior in the sense that if you stuck a PS2 disc game into a "non-BC" PS3, it would at least try to play it via leftover emulation that Sony officially (re)used for PS2 Classics, thus proving (to me) that they took it out to force you to rebuy the games later, especially in those ultra-lazy "HD Collections" (looking @ God of War in particular Splinter Cell on PS3 is guilty of this too).

 

[codezer0]

correct me if wrong but ps1,ps2 and psp backups can now be played on cfw ps3. so does cobra have any extra feature which isn't possible on cfw yet?

Cobra USB dongle enabled being able to stick a backup disc of a PS1/2 game directly and have it play just like a genuine disc.

Given how many of my games were ruined by earlier PS1's and PS2's, this alone is one feature that I desperately need to retain my collection, and to finally retire my chipped PS2.

Since a BC PS3 does a significantly fantastic job of scaling the same games, even when using the same video cables. Playing them on the actual PS2 makes them look positively horrible by comparison; at the least multiman also can override scaling options for games that are more timing-sensitive (such as Bust A Groove and pretty much any rhythm game).

 

[weatMod]

Still can't pop in a disc backup of a Ps1/2 game and actually have it recognize and play on CFW, multiman or no. Cobra USB was about the only dongle I wished I'd bought only because it enabled this, as well as did something for PSP games/ISO's/homebrew so they could play in full screen, whereas they'd be a tiny box when playing on an actual PSP via video out.

If there was a way to actually play PS1/PS2 disc backups straight even on my CECHA without requiring this dongle, I'd really like to know. Because to date, the only way I knew it was even halfway possible was by having the dongle, which of course I don't. The dongle also overrode a PS3's default behavior in the sense that if you stuck a PS2 disc game into a "non-BC" PS3, it would at least try to play it via leftover emulation that Sony officially (re)used for PS2 Classics, thus proving (to me) that they took it out to force you to rebuy the games later, especially in those ultra-lazy "HD Collections" (looking @ God of War in particular Splinter Cell on PS3 is guilty of this too).

oh yes i know all of this you are right, there was a method released a while back to compile ps2 iso into a ps2 classic and i think one for psp games too to compile it into a psn psp classic or something ,not sure if they play full screen though, the ps2 iso when converted to a ps2 classic can play on non BC consoles, i am curious as to what the compatibility is for ps2 iso backups made into ps2 classics as compared to the ps2 iso backup compatibility that cobra method has, is one higer than the other ,or are they both the same, or does one play some games the other method doesnt and vice versa, i never read too deep into cobra or ps2 iso to ps2 classic conversion and compatibility, maybe someone who has can enlighten us

 

[weatMod]

Cobra USB dongle enabled being able to stick a backup disc of a PS1/2 game directly and have it play just like a genuine disc.

Given how many of my games were ruined by earlier PS1's and PS2's, this alone is one feature that I desperately need to retain my collection, and to finally retire my chipped PS2.

Since a BC PS3 does a significantly fantastic job of scaling the same games, even when using the same video cables. Playing them on the actual PS2 makes them look positively horrible by comparison; at the least multiman also can override scaling options for games that are more timing-sensitive (such as Bust A Groove and pretty much any rhythm game).

"Cobra USB dongle enabled being able to stick a backup disc of a PS1/2 game directly and have it play just like a genuine disc."

i think that you could already play ps1 iso backups that were burned to disc, but cobra allowed you to load ps1 iso backups from USB and network drive too i think ,and also allowed ps2 backups to run from USB and network

 

[reprep]

Still can't pop in a disc backup of a Ps1/2 game and actually have it recognize and play on CFW, multiman or no. Cobra USB was about the only dongle I wished I'd bought only because it enabled this, as well as did something for PSP games/ISO's/homebrew so they could play in full screen, whereas they'd be a tiny box when playing on an actual PSP via video out.

If there was a way to actually play PS1/PS2 disc backups straight even on my CECHA without requiring this dongle, I'd really like to know. Because to date, the only way I knew it was even halfway possible was by having the dongle, which of course I don't. The dongle also overrode a PS3's default behavior in the sense that if you stuck a PS2 disc game into a "non-BC" PS3, it would at least try to play it via leftover emulation that Sony officially (re)used for PS2 Classics, thus proving (to me) that they took it out to force you to rebuy the games later, especially in those ultra-lazy "HD Collections" (looking @ God of War in particular Splinter Cell on PS3 is guilty of this too).

yup psp games run boxed with tv-out cable but they run full scale in ps3 when repacked into psp master. in fact that is how i am playing final fantasy 3 on my rebug cfw ps3 even though i have a psp go, tv-out cable and a dualshock 3 synced to ps.

you have to repack ps1,ps2,psp isos to pkg files, where cobra works them just as .isos if i am not wrong. yup that might be considered an advantage. not a big one though.

about playing backup ps1,ps2 discs with ps3, it is not possible via cfw and possible via cobra, though i wouldn't recommend it. my ps3 disc drive is now broken thanks to me playing my backup dvd/divx dvds via showtime on ps3. it is really not worth using backup cds/dvds in ps3, you will just see disc drive read errors and problems with the drive. loading your backups via iso (or repacked into pkg files and installed to your hdd just like i am doing now) is a much better solution.

 

[weatMod]

yup psp games run boxed with tv-out cable but they run full scale in ps3 when repacked into psp master. in fact that is how i am playing final fantasy 3 on my rebug cfw ps3 even though i have a psp go, tv-out cable and a dualshock 3 synced to ps.

you have to repack ps1,ps2,psp isos to pkg files, where cobra works them just as .isos if i am not wrong. yup that might be considered an advantage. not a big one though.

about playing backup ps1,ps2 discs with ps3, it is not possible via cfw and possible via cobra, though i wouldn't recommend it. my ps3 disc drive is now broken thanks to me playing my backup dvd/divx dvds via showtime on ps3. it is really not worth using backup cds/dvds in ps3, you will just see disc drive read errors and problems with the drive. loading your backups via iso (or repacked into pkg files and installed to your hdd just like i am doing now) is a much better solution.

yes you can play ps1 backup discs with cfw , with cobra you can play ps1 sio from the USB

 

[codezer0]

The Cobra method on a BC PS3 is simply that it fools the system into thinking it's a legit disc, and runs it the same way a BC PS3 plays a genuine PS2 game.

The whole emulation used for PS2 Classics is based on the debug-mode emulator that was left over in the Sony firmware even on neutered units. The difference with the dongle is that at least with the dongle, it will actually try to load the disc game whereas the official behavior would be it rejecting the disc and saying "uh, no. this won't work here." I heartell that the debug-mode emulator improved a lot by around 4.*, but still not as good as the job that a full-BC ps3 has done for most games as of OFW 2.40.

Even the 80gig models with limited BC apparently enjoyed some improvements with the Cobra USB system, but not having such a model or the dongle, I can't be sure as to what.

I just know for me, if I can at least pop in my PS1/2 backup discs and have them play, I can safely retire my chipped PS2, which has had a stunning number of interested parties wanting to buy it off me. Being able to load and play PSP stuff and use the whole screen would be icing on the cake.

The "PS2 classics" thing just screams extremely inconvenient, in part because of having to re-rip every single game, the fact that the default behavior only allows one game at a time, and that even when using managers that would let me override that one-game limit, I know I don't have nearly enough storage space in the PS3 to contain even a third of my PS2 library, or PS1 either. And as of yet, there hasn't been a hard disk bigger than 1TB IIRC that would physically fit inside the PS3, since the PS2 Classics thing required them to be stored internally.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

From what I understand the Cobra dongle had the ability to just play ISO files from PS1/PS2 games on BC compatible PS3's.

That's probably the one feature I would like to see on CFW at this point in time, and the best feature of my BC PS3... lol

I can rip my favorite PS1 and PS2 games to the hard drive in the PS3 and keep my originals minty fresh!

As a side note playing PSP games on the PS3 sounds pretty cool too.

 

[codezer0]

about playing backup ps1,ps2 discs with ps3, it is not possible via cfw and possible via cobra, though i wouldn't recommend it. my ps3 disc drive is now broken thanks to me playing my backup dvd/divx dvds via showtime on ps3. it is really not worth using backup cds/dvds in ps3, you will just see disc drive read errors and problems with the drive. loading your backups via iso (or repacked into pkg files and installed to your hdd just like i am doing now) is a much better solution.

A: not enough storage to even practically consider that an option at this time. My PS1 library includes a generous number of multi-disc games as it is, and it is my understanding that I still can't load any of the repacked PKGs' externally.
B: Sadly, some of my genuine games are ruined to the point of inoperability in the PS3 proper, and thus the backup disc copy is my only intact way of playing it
C: there is still the foolproof convenience factor of being able to just stick the disc in and have it play without giving me a bunch of fuss.
D: Unless I can play the disc backups, I cannot sell my chipped PS2. Period.

 

[weatMod]

A: not enough storage to even practically consider that an option at this time. My PS1 library includes a generous number of multi-disc games as it is, and it is my understanding that I still can't load any of the repacked PKGs' externally.
B: Sadly, some of my genuine games are ruined to the point of inoperability in the PS3 proper, and thus the backup disc copy is my only intact way of playing it
C: there is still the foolproof convenience factor of being able to just stick the disc in and have it play without giving me a bunch of fuss.
D: Unless I can play the disc backups, I cannot sell my chipped PS2. Period.

i think you can load ps1 , ps2,BR and maybe ps3 games over a wired ethernet connection with cobra cant you?
i want to set up a NAS drive, my router has a usb for a NAS but i never set it up ,when the cobra features are finally compiled into a new cfw i would like to get a 3tb hdd or 2 with a ush hub if that is possible and wire my ps3 with ethernt cable to my router if i can store all ps1 ps2, ps3, BR iso on NAS dirve and load everything over the network , it is better than getting a dedicated drive for the ps3 worrying about hdd compatibility issues etc,

 

[reprep]

A: not enough storage to even practically consider that an option at this time. My PS1 library includes a generous number of multi-disc games as it is, and it is my understanding that I still can't load any of the repacked PKGs' externally.
B: Sadly, some of my genuine games are ruined to the point of inoperability in the PS3 proper, and thus the backup disc copy is my only intact way of playing it
C: there is still the foolproof convenience factor of being able to just stick the disc in and have it play without giving me a bunch of fuss.
D: Unless I can play the disc backups, I cannot sell my chipped PS2. Period.

you do know, cobra cfw ps2 emulation is not great, right? it is nowhere near a ps2. so i wouldn't retire my ps2 depending on software emulation, just like i am not retiring my psp because of ps3 software psp emulation.

for me, it is not convenient to put a cd and play the game than choosing the game in multiman (or xmb games section in a folder).

as i said, backup disc will ruin your ps3 laser and/or mechanical parts sooner or later.

some multi-disc games have problems (especially ones which doesn't save between discs), and i heard cobra supports these games. i heard about a solution for cfw, but i don't how well it works.