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PlayStation 3 to learn Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 in upcoming software update

Despite the existence and standalone players on the market since 2006, the PlayStation 3 remains one of the most capable and easily upgradable of all Blu-ray Disc hardware. That point will ring true once again, as the PS3 will soon be upgraded to support Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0, or BD-LIVE.

Coming as a part of firmware version 2.20, BD-LIVE adds the latest revisions in the Blu-ray Disc specification. Profile 2.0 adds the requirements for Ethernet connectivity and persistent storage, allowing for high-definition movies to access downloadable content and other extras.

"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie. With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year lifecycle of PS3 possible."

In order for the PS3 to be fully upgraded to support BD Profile 2.0, the given console must have an Internet connection and at least 1GB of available local storage. Sony pointed out that its first two titles to support BD-LIVE are Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day, both set for an early April release.

The 2.20 firmware will also bring about several other additions, such as a “resume play” option for users to pick up a Blu-ray Disc or DVD movie at the last stopped point, even if the disc has been ejected. A new “Mosquito noise reduction” option is set to improve movie playback. The PS3’s DivX and WMV playable will also begin supporting files larger than 2GB.

The new software will also improve connectivity between the PS3 and PSP. New copy options will allow users to easily transfer playlists of music and photos from console to handheld. The added “audio output device” will be a new Remote Play setting, enabling PSP to serve as a remote control for music played through PS3.

Finally, the PS3’s Internet browser will get a bit of a performance enhancement in terms of speed and the ability to stream video.

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1GB Question
By Kefner on 3/20/2008 4:34:49 PM , Rating: 2
It states it requires 1 GB of space, is this just to hold the downloaded file temporarily for installation, or is this going to be a constant file on the hard drive? I have the 80GB and really don't care, just curious.




RE: 1GB Question
By bplewis24 on 3/20/2008 4:59:13 PM , Rating: 3
The requirement of 1GB is not for the download of the firmware update for profile 2.0.

It is a standard by which all players striving to be profile 2.0 compliant must reach. So any player that is profile 2.0 compliant must have at minimum xx GB of memory available.

The reason, to answer your real question, is to store some of the data locally which is necessary to run some of the BD Live applications and use some of the BD Live features. The user pretty much dictates how much of this storage space is used up.

Brandon


RE: 1GB Question
By Snuffalufagus on 3/20/2008 5:12:00 PM , Rating: 5
they got to put that rootkit somewhere :)


RE: 1GB Question
By cubby1223 on 3/20/2008 11:00:38 PM , Rating: 2
Like someone else replied, it's for movies to store information or run applications from. On the PS3, the hard drive is the persistent memory. Other players might have a memory card slot, or use a usb flash drive.


PS3's Internet browser = poo
By Enoch2001 on 3/20/2008 4:39:47 PM , Rating: 5
I ranted about this over at Gizmodo and wonder if anyone here shares my sentiments: I wish Sony would fix the PS3's Internet browser, as I constantly get "out of memory" errors and it can't display pages. This seems ridiculous for a machine as beefy as a PS3 (this 'aint no PSP afterall)!

Also, since it plays back Quicktime and WMV, why the hell isn't there plugins for the Internet browser? I could honestly recommend the PS3 as an alternative Internet browsing machine if they would fix these items. And fix the Flash support to support the latest profile. ;-)

Is that too much to ask for?




RE: PS3's Internet browser = poo
By Murst on 3/20/08, Rating: 0
RE: PS3's Internet browser = poo
By ATC on 3/20/2008 11:37:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
constantly get "out of memory" errors

That's strange. I've been using the browser on the PS3 for a little under a year and never seen such errors or pages not loading. Granted I do my heavy browsing on my computer.

Are these errors happening only on specific sites?


RE: PS3's Internet browser = poo
By afkrotch on 3/21/2008 4:28:47 AM , Rating: 2
When does the PS3 playback quicktime files? Never heard that support was added. Neither has it ever worked. I'm on the latest firmware too.


RE: PS3's Internet browser = poo
By walk2k on 3/21/2008 2:12:01 PM , Rating: 2
it doesn't do quicktime but who cares.

the version of flash is a little out of date, some sites complain (but YouTube works).

it is a little slow considering the cell is about 12x faster than any current desktop CPU.

I've gotten "out of memory" when I had 2-3 media-heavy pages open at the same time (solution, close pages) .


dts=ma
By omnicronx on 3/20/2008 6:18:25 PM , Rating: 3
*crosses fingers for DTS-HD MA*




RE: dts=ma
By cubby1223 on 3/20/2008 10:57:16 PM , Rating: 2
Not in this firmware update. It'll come for sure, just don't know when.


RE: dts=ma
By omnicronx on 3/21/2008 2:59:14 AM , Rating: 3
I know, its just i have so many DTS-MA movies, and I feel as though my new receiver is just being wasted. I didnt realize when i bought the PS3 that it could only decode DTS-core..


By feraltoad on 3/21/2008 3:33:04 AM , Rating: 2
Could someone clarify that. Does that mean I have to have the PS3 ethernet hooked up? Or does that mean any player needs to be HAVE ethernet in order to qualify for Profile 2? Also, does "ethernet" mean I'd have to string a CAT5 cable and forgo the included wireless? I hope I am misunderstanding this and a cable is not a necessity.




By afkrotch on 3/21/2008 4:33:27 AM , Rating: 2
I just means the player requires an ethernet connection, not that it needs to be hooked up. If that were the case, then they'd mark on the box "Profile 2.0 compliant, only when given an internet connection."


By cubby1223 on 3/21/2008 6:49:16 PM , Rating: 2
A movie will *never* require an internet connection to play the main feature.


Linksys NAS200 with the PS3
By smanral on 3/24/2008 7:59:34 AM , Rating: 2
I hope the update sorts out some of the media streaming issue I am having with the Linksys NAS200 that I recently picked up.

Though the NAS200 has a built-in media server the PS3 is unable to play AVI (XviD/DivX) and MPEG file formats from the NAS device. Basically pops up an unsupported file type error. I initially thought its something to do with the NAS but the same setup works on the Xbox 360 :-( Anybody else having the same problem?

P.S. The NAS200 uses the standard UPnP MediaServer protocol.




Gaming Console
By electriple9 on 3/25/2008 8:01:06 AM , Rating: 2
The PS3 is a gaming console, that can also play bluray. Sony was nice enough to give a free web browser, that it bette then nothing. So please dont complain it sucks. Its good enough for a gaming console.
Thanks




Makes me wonder...
By daftrok on 3/20/08, Rating: -1
RE: Makes me wonder...
By deeznuts on 3/20/2008 3:38:25 PM , Rating: 3
Because not everyone is you. Some people want a standalone. Some people want features PS3 hasn't implemented yet (or can't). Some people want a regular looking component.


RE: Makes me wonder...
By dubldwn on 3/20/2008 3:44:34 PM , Rating: 2
I think I'm somewhere in between. I only buy components if they look like cooking appliances and I'm an idiot.


RE: Makes me wonder...
By jpeyton on 3/20/2008 4:08:19 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
The PS3’s DivX and WMV playable will also begin supporting files larger than 2GB.


YES! No more worrying about file sizes on my 1080p Blu-Ray-to-DivX encodes.


RE: Makes me wonder...
By Scott66 on 3/20/2008 3:52:25 PM , Rating: 2
What features are you talking about?