Yes. You can login to your account and download the latest updates for free. The only time you need to pay is either if you don't have an account with us to access the firmware or you are accepting an ownership transfer (wholesalers are permitted to free transfers however).

When we manufacture a cartridge, the labels are done in batches which are random. For example, for the year 2018 we may have started at 500. For the year 2019 we may have started at 3,000 and for the year 2020 it might have been 1,500. The decimal value indicates a private internal manufacturing identification number primarily used for batch logging. The Serial Number does not indicate the amount of units we have sold and each unit we ship has a serial label randomly selected and placed on the unit.

Yes. An internal modification is required. We have developed a small printed circuit board (PCB) that detects whether a PSIO cartridge is plugged in or not and routes two very important signals to the Parallel Port (Sony never did this for us when they designed the PlayStation unfortunately). We have called this little device, the "Switch Board". The Switch Board consists of nothing more than a 4066 Quad Bilateral Switch, a few resistors, a diode and a capacitor. More information may be found here, including the circuit diagram.

Note that not every PlayStation game is 650 MB, so you may be able to fit a lot more games than the table below based off of the math formula ((SD SIZE * 1024) / 650). Also, take into account that each MULTI-DISC image should be treated as a separate game.

• 4 GB will fit approximately 6 games
• 8 GB will fit approximately 12 games
• 32 GB will fit approximately 50 games.
• 64 GB will fit approximately 100 games
• 128 GB will fit approximately 200 games
• 256 GB will fit approximately 400 games
• 512 GB will fit approximately 800 games
• 1 TB will fit ~approximately 1,600 games (this is way over half the entire PlayStation library on one card)

NOTE: Currently there is a maximum limit of 1,000 games which will be lifted in a future firmware update.

Yes, so long as the Switch Board has been installed correctly, there is an option in the Menu System to boot from the CD-ROM drive directly. You may also simply unplug your PSIO cartridge to return your PlayStation back to regular stock-standard operation.

No. We only sell and ship PSIO on this website (under our company name Cybdyn Systems) and through selected distributors which we partnered contracts with.

Originally in previous early firmwares this was true, but later on we removed it since it proved to be problematic. Instead, a controller in Port 2 can now be used so a GunCon can be left plugged into Port 1.

No, but we may add support for it at a later date.

No. We refuse to use their services.

Yes, you can toggle an option in the Menu System to enable or disable such a feature. For more information, please read the 'Systems Manual' (available on our 'Downloads' page).

No. The USB port on PSIO is to stream software image data from a PC only.

You can watch video as a Sony STR format in a resolution of 320x256 at 15 Frames per Second in Stereo with 44.1KHz audio (MPEG frames interleaved with XA).

No. Although possible to do and devices do exist from the 90's to act as a VMC over the parallel port (albeit broken and buggy), we don't want to work on such a feature as getting a VMC to function correctly and not break games with PSIO is very difficult as PSIO is already handling CD-ROM data over the bus.

Not all software will run, and we are unsure what ones will fail without testing of each and every software title in its library.
With that being said, usually we can fix the problem with a firmware update if you let us know the exact problem.
You may however see what software has been tested here.

Yes, even if you have one PlayStation console running a game from PSIO and another from a CD-ROM.

Yes. You can complete games which use multiple discs since PSIO supports real-time disc swapping. Please read our 'Systems Manual' for information on how to set this up.

Unfortunately no. If we did have a phone, it would put too much stress on us since we'd have people calling all the time. Besides that, the hours to call would be difficult for a majority of users as we are located in Australia (GMT+10), not to mention trying to understand non-English speakers over poor quality long distance phone lines would be frustrating. The best way to contact us is via our Service Desk (JIRA Service Management) which can be found by clicking on the 'Contact' button.

Yes. We ship to almost every country.

Licenses need to be transferred by the original PSIO Cartridge owner. The owner needs to login to their account here and then proceed to the 'Account Details' options in order to change their email address. Once they change it to yours, you can send a request to reset your password by attempting to login to the account. Once done, you will then be able to login using your email address and use it for firmware downloads.

If you have purchased from a wholesaler (EG: Stone Age Gamer), there is no way to change the email address. It is locked to the wholesaler.

As of 24/JULY/2024, out of all official 2,435 software titles PSIO is so far 99.79% compatible. For more detailed information, please see our Compatibility database on JIRA.

If you'd like to know how we got this 99.79% compatible calculation, take the games listed in JIRA that do not work at all (it does not include fully working titles with minor issues), and minus it by the total amount of PSX games (IE: 2,435). Then, divide those two numbers and get the percentage (example).

Please note that as we tweak and work to improve the code accuracy of PSIO, some firmware updates may break games that were previously working. Do not worry however, we always manage to fix them in a later update. It is critical that you use the latest firmware and report any problems to us so we know about them.

When an SD Card with the correct file is inserted into PSIO, a custom built Menu System boots up each and every time you turn on your PlayStation. This is called the "PSIO Menu System". This Menu System runs on the PlayStation hardware directly, and allows you to select and boot software from the SD Card using the controller. Demonstration images of the Menu System running can be found under the 'Features' tab.

Currently the maximum limit is 1,000 games.

There are just over 60,000 lines, all hand written from scratch for the Menu System, Fastboot logic and System Loader. The FPGA and ARM logic consists of triple that amount.

Shipping costs will be automatically calculated for you on checkout. Simply select your desired shipping option when prompted (generally, the more expensive the shipping the quicker it will arrive to you once we ship it).

"Sigh-Oh" or "Psy-Oh". It's abbreviated for "PS1O" (the "I" is actually a roman numeral).

The PS3 and PS4 emulate the entire PlayStation hardware using a software processing technique instead of direct hardware. It is inaccurate and glitchy with high latency response times, and the PlayStation titles were never designed to be played like that. Many users have problems when playing them.

If you don't want to touch your original console for nostalgic reasons, we suggest buying a second hand console and using it instead to have the Switch Board installed into. That way your original console stays the same and you have a used second hand unit to modify and play on.

No.

Please login to your account by hovering over the 'Support' tab and clicking on 'My Account'. Alternatively, please click here.

Yes, your software title should work with PSIO. If your software does not work, please let us know, and we will flag it in the Compatibility section for others to know about. We will then start to look into it to try and resolve the issue as soon as we can so it will be working in the next firmware update.

Please login to your account by hovering over the 'Support' tab and clicking on 'My Account'. Alternatively, please click here. Once logged in, simply edit your 'Shipping Address'. Note that it will change to your new address once we manually update your order (which will be when we process it for shipment).

PSIO does not emulate PlayStation software. PSIO is an emulator of the CD-ROM co-processor (SUB-CPU). That being said, it is a hardware emulator, which, is almost identical to the original Sony CD-ROM MCU.

Yes. The data streams at the original data rate of a CD-ROM, but because there are no seek times, data rate failures or seek/spin-up times, this is where the huge increase in speed is.

Yes. PSIO is essentially a Flash Cart.

No.

No. Take note though that if you use a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TV which the PlayStation was designed for, there will be almost zero latency. However, if you use a modern day LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV, most if not all have high-latency which will effect your gameplay, especially in games which require precision input, such as Tekken 3, Gran Turismo or Bust a Groove. This has nothing to do with PSIO however since PSIO runs games at the original full speed they were intended to be played as.

No. We don't allow it for legal reasons. We could enable such a feature however since we know how to get around it obviously, but we wont.

Some users are replacing their genuine Sony power supplies with aftermarket/third-party 12V power supplies. We must stress that these are poorly made and do not adhere to the Sony standards found in the original power supply. In particular, we have found they do not handle the reset signal correctly nor even handle it at all.

There is nothing we can do about this since it is not an issue with our product.
PSIO specifically was designed to operate from the original and genuine Sony power supply.

We do not recommend ever replacing the original power supply for your own protection as the original Sony power supply is fused, has sacrificial flame retardant passives and is made from a very thick FR-4 (fire retardant) board specifically designed to dissipate heat and extinguish if a fire does occur. Aftermarket/third-party power supplies to not adhere to these standards.

Sorry, no. It is your responsibility to inform us within 4 weeks of the shipment date if the tracking has not updated. If your package has been missing for 4 months, you will have to contact your local post office as the tracking number has long since expired and there is nothing we can do about it since it is long expired as we have zero proof or evidence knowing whether it was actually delivered or not.

Yes, however you will need to play over RGB video output. Otherwise, you will need to do a modification to the PlayStation mainboard in order to generate the correct colour frequency for your TV to accept and display an output correctly.

This typically happens when you use a fake or non-genuine SD Card which claims to be (for example) 256 GB but in reality is more like 32 GB. What happens is that the data overlaps when you get to the end of the actual physical maximum size and it corrupts all the data in the file allocation table.

When the PCB was measured externally with our Flir infrared camera (without a case), we saw the 3V3 and 1V2 voltage regulators reach a peak of 46.7 degrees Celsius at an ambient temperature of ~23 degrees Celsius. The average temperature that PSIO will reach internally (with a case) is approximately 55 degrees Celsius. All measured temperatures are safe, normal and exceed datasheet specifications. Additional cooling is not required.

The PSone and SCPH-900x series will not support PSIO since they do not have a Parallel I/O port. However, we have had a lot of people ask if we offer such an option, so we may develop a special version that will not include the PIO header connector on the PCB. It will essentially just be a circuit board with an SD Card slot that you can solder to your PSone or SCPH-900x series PlayStation. However, you will be required to solder 40 wires from this special version of PSIO to the PSone or SCPH-900x mainboard manually. When we have news in regards to this, we will announce it, so please don't ask us when we will be making it.

Please see here.

We recommend that your CD-ROM discs are ripped 1:1, without any errors whatsoever, as a *.BIN and *.CUE format. Other formats you may use however are *.ISO and *.IMG.

PSIO is simply a flash cartridge and development cartridge that plugs into your PlayStation’s Parallel I/O Port. It allows you to instantly see your games and developed programs running from an SD Card on real hardware which makes it the ultimate developers tool as well as making it invaluable for debugging. It is only for PlayStation 1 consoles that bare the Parallel Port I/O connection.

The PlayStation CD-ROM drive when brand new was decent quality. However, since the systems launch in 1994, the laser assembly has deteriorated, and it is impossible to find a brand new one since they are no longer made. The 'new' ones available online are fake, low quality replicas. Since then, software now freezes, music skips and sometimes games will not load anything at all due to this fact. PSIO removes all of these problems, and also decreases the load times dramatically since there are no more moving parts, and we have faster available bandwidth on the parallel port. With PSIO, you can literally shake the PlayStation console whilst playing a game and it will not skip nor freeze.

78 millimetres or 3.07 inches.

Australia does not use an IBAN to receive funds. If you’re in doubt, please ask your bank for assistance on how to send money to an Australian Bank Account.

The only payment methods available are Credit Card (via Visa and Mastercard), Bank Transfer and Bitcoin.

It will work in all regions. This includes PAL, NTSC-U/C and NTSC-J.

We highly recommend using 'SanDisk' SD Cards. In particular, we recommend 'SanDisk Ultra' SD Cards. They typically have a silver label and are U1 Class 10 cards rated at 80 MB/s. We have also had success with 'SanDisk Extreme Pro' cards which are U3 Class 10 cards rated at 170 MB/s.

We don't recommend using Micro SD Cards in a standard form factor adapter as we have had problems reported when using these. It is best to use the full size standard form factor SD Cards.

The PlayStation classic is a software emulator which contains pre-loaded games which can not be changed, nor can you load any of your own games on it (unless you hack it). Using it for development is also not a possibility. You can't also use your original Memory Cards to save games and other peripherals such as light guns and racing wheels will not work.

With PSIO however, you are free to backup your discs and play them as originally intended on the original hardware. You can also use your genuine Sony peripherals which you may own from the original console released in 1994. Overall, PSIO offers a whole lot more whilst giving you the true classic PlayStation experience the way it was meant to be.

PSIO began as a concept on August 15th, 2010. The first prototype was then made in 2012. What we have created is a 'one of a kind' device, and nothing else exists like it. A lot of work has gone into PSIO (especially the polishing aspect), so we hope you will enjoy it.

Check that your system can communicate with the Google servers for ReCaptcha. If they cannot (due to a firewall problem, etc) then it will not work. If you need more help, please contact Google Support.

You may find a list of changes here

In order to download the Menu System, you must first login to your account and go to the "Registrations" tab. You then need to register your cartridge with us at which point, you will then be issued the download button to get the Menu System for that newly registered cartridge.

PSIO was developed and designed in both Australia and Belarus by Cybdyn Systems. Whilst PSIO is assembled in Australia, the parts required to assemble the cartridges are manufactured in China.

The "CE" and/or the "FCC" certifications do not apply to us since we are an Australian registered company selling in Australia. It is your responsibility as the consumer to check the laws of importing an electronic device without the said certification(s). Note however that these licenses are mostly there to check the product that is being sold to the the consumer is safe and will not cause harm to you or other electronic devices (mostly to do with radio frequency and high levels of electromagnetic interference).

PSIO was designed with the highest quality components and with safety as the top priority. It is extremely low powered and the electromagnetic and radio frequency activity is also extremely low. Here is a spectrum analysis output of the noise levels from PSIO. At a distance of 1 centimeter from the top front side of the circuit board, the noise levels are 30 decibels (peak). On the reverse side, it's 15 decibels (peak). You can also see some spikes in the image below, and this is when the system clock line is pulsed. They are about every 50 megahertz with the weaker ones every 25 megahertz. The peak is around 300 megahertz which seems to be emitted from the ARM microcontroller.

High quality custom designed and developed products aren’t cheap to manufacture, market and sell. Also, in comparison to other Flash Carts on the market, ours is at a very good price point.

Yes. All official licensed Sony (1st party) peripherals will work normally with PSIO.

Again yes, so long as the Switch Board has been installed correctly, you may unplug PSIO and plug in your other game cartridge where it will then function perfectly normal.

Yes. The PlayStation Parallel Port can handle up to 3 megabytes per second on the system bus. The original CD-ROM (at 2x speed) could read at a maximum of 352 kilobytes per second, so there is plenty of bandwidth available.

If you are using a genuine Sony power supply, no.

If (hypothetically) your cartridge even somehow developed a short circuit, the internal fuses on the PlayStation's voltage rails would go open circuit before any hazard or fault is even perceived.

Sure do! They copyrighted the word "PSIO" (all English letters), but our logo actually contains the number 1 (one). The "I" in our wording/logo for "PSIO" is actually a roman numeral, which for us, makes "PS1O". As for the term "PlayStation Input Output", this has nothing to do with the abbreviation of the word "PSIO" and is just a string of coincidental characters.