Sony Confirms Imminent BD-Live FW Upgrade for PS3

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

BD-Live (AKA Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0) titles were released earlier this year, despite the fact that there were no players yet capable of supporting BD-Live.

Once again, the PS3 shows why it should be the Blu-ray player of choice for even non-gamers, as Firmware v2.20, which Sony says is “coming up in the next few days,” will add support for BD-Live, making the PS3 the first BD-Live capable player available.

BD-Live requires two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection. It will allow you to connect to the internet and receive downloadable content to add to the title.

You’ll recall that there is more than one Blu-ray support profile defined:

• 1.0 - the launch profile, and secondary audio and video decoders are optional, as is local storage and network connectivity. The majority of standalone players fit into this category.

• 1.1 - newer profile; players need a secondary audio and video decoder to handle picture-in-picture, as well as at least 256MB of local storage for content.

• 2.0 - latest, requiring the two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection.

Obviously the additional hardware requirements mean that not every Blu-ray player can be upgraded with a firmware change. In fact, the first standalone BD-Live player will not arrive until April (the Panasonic DMP-BD50). The only other announced BD-Live player is the and the Sony BDP-S550 (coming this autumn). Both of these are expected to cost at least $100 more than an entry-level PS3.

Additional changes in FW v2.20, according to Sony:

• The ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system. We introduced the ability to create Music and Photo playlists on the PS3 in firmware update v2.0. Now you can easily export your playlists to your PSP.

• You can now play DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB. In addition, you can now display subtitles when viewing DivX files.

• Resume Play - begin playing a DVD or BD disc from the point where you previously stopped it, even if you eject the disc and insert a different movie or game.

• Use your PSP as a remote control to play back your music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV.

• The Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. In addition [Save Target] has been added as an option under file. This option lets you save a file that is linked to a web page to your PS3 hard drive or storage media.

We Say: Having a PS3 next to your TV may not be as “home decor-friendly” as a standalone player, and thus harder to get past your wife or partner, but it sure seems to be the best way to stay at the bleeding-edge of Blu-ray. And of course, the console gaming portion of it is more than an after-thought …