back to article Sony talks up PS3 update

A Sony executive has left PS3 fans all a-quiver after promising to release a firmware update "soon" that will improve the console’s support for Blu-ray Disc interactivity features. Don Eklund, VP of advanced technologies at Sony, reportedly made the promise at the recent HDTV DisplaySearch conference in California. …

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  1. Stu
    Alien

    All a-quiver!?

    Yes,

    I have a PS3, and my legs turned to jelly after hearing about that one!

    Keh!?

    I'm really waiting for them to release PS Home, and even then my legs are not a-quiver over that either!

  2. Ian Sneyd
    Thumb Down

    why oh why oh why

    Does everything have to be "interactive"?

    I just wanted the PS3 to watch content that made the most of my telly, I don't even bother with most of the "extras" on normal DVDs what is this fetish with extra gimmicks just give me the bloody film in high def and the same price as a DVD with "extras" that I don't want anyway!

    # end rant

  3. Iain

    BluRay 1.1 from November - still a bit weird

    Actually, it's fine to sell PS3s from November without a firmware update. Companies are allowed to still sell players that only meet the 1.0 version of the spec, just as long as they initially released them before.

    Which is why there was a massive rush of new players announced a while back all with release dates of the last week in October - they're still using up all the old chips that can't handle 1.1 in standalone players.

    Since there really aren't many discs that use 1.1 yet (why would there be, until the PS3 can do it?) it's not something to get immediately overjoyed about.

    What is worth getting excited about for PS3 owners, however, is that Warners are currently sitting on a whole pile of movies that are currently HD-DVD exclusive, because they can't get the extras to work without 1.1 - Batman Begins, Harry Potter and The Matrix being the big ones that spring to mind.

  4. Alex
    Paris Hilton

    Now I'm confused..

    So does this mean that the PS3 will be able to be updated to 1.1? But the players won't be because they won't be able to handle un update?

    heh..

    Right, well confused now...

    Am also getting narked by all this "Exclusive to BR, Exclusive to HD-DVD" crap.. Am STILL waiting for a decent disk to come out that warrants the price tag... or should that be an echo of Sneyd's comments about extra features. maybe bin the crap off it and bring the price in line with DVDs...

    nice picture? yes. nice sound? yes. Extra money? no.. You're going to need more to tempt me to turn to HD/BR discs..

  5. vincent himpe
    Pirate

    Blue-ray and hd-dvd are gold plated turds..

    both these systems were rushed onto the market. one trying to win from the other.

    given the number of 'updates' and the fact that we now already have new system specs is proof.

    soon we will be in a situation where you will need to have multple players because you will have:

    one blue ray disc that only plays on your old 1.0 (because they revoked the keys on later firmware since this disc was bootlegged too much. you can;t upgrade that player since you wouldn't be able to watch that disc anyore.

    Another disc that only plays on your newer 1.37abcd because it needs the java VM.

    And another disc that only plays version zz plural z , and then only when you tilt your TV at a 45 degree angle forward and while you standing on your head whistling dixie.

  6. Iain

    @vincent

    No, key revocation is to make some players not work with old firmware but new discs, rather than vice versa.

    So far, the only keys to be revoked are for PC-based players, and the owners of them need to go get the latest version that fixes the "bug" making it too easy to steal the key from memory; a new key comes with the patch.

    There isn't a single disc/player combo that I'm aware of where they've introduced new bugs that break things. Yet. Doing so is beyond the capabilities of both major graphics driver teams on PC, Microsoft and Apple, so regression bugs are bound to happen eventually; we'll just have to hope they get fixed again.

    @Alex - Yes, this is the news that the PS3 will probably have a driver update for version 1.1 of the format. Goodness knows why it wouldn't; Sony keep telling everyone how much more powerful the PS3 is than the XBox 360, and that is perfectly capable of playing back HD-DVD; a standard that does everything BD 1.1 is supposed to handle.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Blu-ray the techno turkey

    How many more of these updates are going to come along before Blu-Ray actually has a decent specification? We've had a series of incremental updates that have caused no end of trouble for people with early players - first no network support, then inadequate Java provision, now more features being crammed in.

    Blu-Ray was always a spoiler designed by Sony and Pioneer to give themselves more influence over the high definition market. HD-DVD was an agreed standard long before they dreamt up this new, customer-hostile format.

    If there was any justice, HD-DVD would be the winner in this war, but as it stands, they're both going to lose out - first to DVD, then to direct downloads.

  8. nobby

    beta or vhs?

    but sony lost that one....

  9. Alex
    Paris Hilton

    @Anonymous Coward

    Actually mate, after reading about the two, you are very much correct.. I always thought they were neck and neck, but the only real 'added bonus' HD-DVD has over Blu-Ray is the gimmicky extras that will be in Blu-Rays spec come Profile 2.0.. And I ask why? I just want to watch the film with a couple of documentaries in the best quality possible

    Does sound very Beta - VHS though. Although saying that Sony and Philips sorted out DVD along with Toshiba (really that should be the otherway round). IMHO, rather than cost being the riding factor (as per the Beta - VHS 'war'), I would want quality rather than just cheap gear.

    @Mike. I feel for you mate, as I know a couple of people that bought a BR player too. But as I've asked my mates: "Why buy a 600 notes player, when you could of had a next-gen games machine as well for approximately 150 nicker less?" The answer they gave, I just didn't understand I'm afraid. I really can't see a difference in quality of picture, although the only upside of a player that I can see (again this is my honest opinion) is the lack of noise from the machines fans. After all this though, you've still paid for the player... Gutted

  10. Iain

    @Anonymous

    "bear in mind most releases are encoded to the lowest common denominator"

    How do you figure this? Warner are now the only major studio publishing on both formats, apart from if you're counting their subsidiary New Line seperately. Every other BluRay publisher is making their discs without any HD-DVD release in mind; even in cases like Resident Evil, Underworld and Fantastic Four where shared rights mean some regions get a BluRay and others a HD-DVD they have different transfers - often even using different codecs.

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