Firmware Upgrade Makes PS3 Blu-ray player of choice


PS3 as a BR Player  

87 members have voted

  1. 1. Now that the PS3 is profile 2.0 compliant, will you get one?

    • Yes
      9
    • No
      12
    • Already have one.
      50
    • Waiting on more games, but yes, I will eventually.
      15
    • I'm happy with SD.
      1


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Sony's PlayStation 3 games console will receive an interactive feature boost with a firmware upgrade scheduled for late March, according to Sony Computer Entertainment America (SECA).

The firmware v2.20 upgrade will see PS3 updated to Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (also known as BD-Live), making it among the first Blu-ray-capable devices to be so enabled. BD-Live provides access to Internet content such as additional video, movie-based multiplayer games and ringtones which can be sent direct to mobile phones. These features are accessed via BD-Live-enabled discs, which Sony is also introducing to the market.

Other additions to v2.20 include an improved web browser with faster rendering and the ability to stream linked video. Photo and music playlists can now also be copied between the PS3 and the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Sony believes its continual upgrade path will help the PS3 evolve into a genuine entertainment hub and provide it with a ten-year lifecycle.

Comment: The addition of BD-Live and the other upgrade features in firmware v2.20 further mark out the PS3 as the hi-definition movie player of choice for the discerning film buff. But it's the combination of features the PS3 boasts that really marks it out.

Notwithstanding the PS3's relatively high list price (around $400 for the 40GB version in the US), its greater overall functionality (including its primary use case as a games console and network capability) gives it a considerable advantage over most standalone Blu-ray players.

With movie studios now free to commit to the format following the consignment of the rival HD-DVD format to history, the Blu-ray content catalogue is entering a phase of rapid expansion. With it, what has until now been largely a secondary capability of the PS3 will see increasing use.

This will put major pricing pressure on manufacturers of standalone Blu-ray players (including Sony itself) as consumers turn to the PS3 to meet their movie as well as gaming requirements. As such its viability as an entertainment hub is greatly increased.

Nonetheless, it's hard to agree with Sony's belief in a ten-year lifecycle plan for the PS3. While it's easy to imagine many PS3s still being in use by the end of this period (providing their circuitry holds out on older consoles) it is less clear to what extent the platform will be able to evolve to meet the future requirements of the connected home.

Firmware upgrades clearly provide scope for incremental improvements on top of this and Sony is to be applauded for delivering these at no cost to the end user. But can a console the basic spec of which was laid down in the mid-2000s really keep up with and support innovations arising in other parts of the consumer electronics and PC industries?

Only time will tell but what is clear is that the PS3 of today will have very little in common with a PS3 in 2015.

Source: http://www.ovum.com/news/euronews.asp?id=6800

Everyone always said the PS3 would be profile 2.0 compliant, but now it 100% is (Y)

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They keep making the PS3 better and better every time. I wish they'd just get out the in-game XMB and the Home open beta. I'll be a really happy PS3 gamer when these come out. At least their updates are better than Microsoft's updates. One every 6 months.

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Voted "Waiting on more games, but yes, I will eventually."

I'll be picking one up soon, just going to wait on the DualShock to be included and maybe a few more games (MGS4, etc) until I do, however. And hopefully by then there is a price-cut. :)

They keep making the PS3 better and better every time. I wish they'd just get out the in-game XMB and the Home open beta. I'll be a really happy PS3 gamer when these come out. At least their updates are better than Microsoft's updates. One every 6 months.

To be fair, Microsoft's updates are significant updates every 6 months and usually encompass what the community asks for. I'm not sure what the problem is in this case? What is the 360 missing that you'd like to see in an update? You've seen PS3 updates very frequently from the beginning of launch and ramping down because it was essentially released as unfinished on the software side of things.

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To be fair, Microsoft's updates are significant updates every 6 months and usually encompass what the community asks for. I'm not sure what the problem is in this case? What is the 360 missing that you'd like to see in an update? You've seen PS3 updates very frequently from the beginning of launch and ramping down because it was essentially released as unfinished on the software side of things.

Yeah the PS3 has seen quite frantic updating over the past year mainly because there was a lot missing from launch.

It's not like Sony have come up with all these ideas AFTER launch, they probably had most if not all of this stuff planned FOR launch.

Putting aside any quick-fix stability firmwares, I think this is the last significant update we'll see till in-game XMB/Home.

So i'd say 2-3 months before we see another large update.

Unless they plan on adding Blu Ray - PSP encoding which was rumoured for 2.2, but Sony confirmed is NOT added as of yet.

On that note though, firmware 2.4 was what was rumoured a while ago for in-game XMB/ect, so maybe we've still to see 2.3.

2.3 could be the redesigned store? - Although I think the store might be able to be updated without the need for a firmware update? Who knows...

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The ps3 still dont compare to the dedicated blueray players at the moment, although im sure that can be improved.

what???? how so??

please read the first post.

The ps3 still dont compare to the dedicated blueray players at the moment, although im sure that can be improved.

what???? how so??

please read the first post.

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The ps3 still dont compare to the dedicated blueray players at the moment, although im sure that can be improved.

How so? The only thing it's really missing is one audio codec, i think.

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How so? The only thing it's really missing is one audio codec, i think.

Plus if you have a good receiver you don't have to worry about that anyway.

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