Sony rumored to give PS3 owners Blu-ray Profile 1.1 for Christmas
Sony is said to have yet another PlayStation 3 firmware update ready for download before Christmas, with the gift for movie-loving gamers being Profile 1.1 compatibility for Blu-ray Discs. Competing format HD DVD has had support for Profile 1.1 features such as picture-in-picture, secondary audio, and local storage since its inception, while in the Blu-ray spec they were optional. There aren't any Profile 1.1 Blu-ray titles on the market yet, and only a single 1.1-compatible player for sale from Panasonic, so this is really about having one more bullet point on a box for fanboys to argue about. The only major HD DVD feature that becomes required in Profile 2.0 is Internet connectivity, so downloadable content will still be optional for some 1.1-compatible BD players -- but not the PS3 with its built-in Ethernet jack. Considering the PS3 is still one of the cheapest and most widely-owned Blu-ray players, and Sony continues to improve its capabilities via firmware updates, PS3 fans and Blu-ray Disc aficionados have that much more ammo to use in the never-ending format war.
[Thanks, ag23]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
med1320 @ Dec 7th 2007 9:42AM
That's so stupid, why would Sony do such a thing. They should charge people for that firmware update. So typical of Sony.
Anthony Kristler @ Dec 7th 2007 9:56AM
huh?? are you smokn crack med1320, Sony has always given firmware updates for free and will continue to do so. So glad I bought a great system and not a HD-DVD playing system like the 360 (just like the names says: MS sells it, you buy it, it dies, you send back to ms, and ms sends it back) and the cycle continues :)
wysiwyg @ Dec 7th 2007 9:57AM
If the PS3 is the best player out there that has profile 1.1 and 2.0, why would anyone in their right mind pay more to get one of those incompleted-spec standalones? If that's the case, I wonder how many more the other 5 or so blu-ray player manufacturers can sell before they declare they can't sell enough to sustain the manufacturing plant of these players.
Galley @ Dec 7th 2007 10:49AM
Since "dedicated" players don't have to support gaming and multimedia functions, then there's no reason why they can't sell theirs for as little as $200.
Pekingman @ Dec 7th 2007 11:41AM
Because they would lose a ton of money, just like Sony is with every PS3. The other manufactures are quite happy to see Sony lose all the money to push the BD format, and Sony is willing. So why sell them cheaper and lose money, when you can sell fewer, but at profits?
Paul Fernandez @ Dec 7th 2007 11:55AM
@ Anthony
Umm, med1320 was just being sarcastic. Just have some chamomile tea and you'll be fine.
med1320 @ Dec 7th 2007 2:05PM
I just love to pull peoples chain. I enjoy saying stupid questions and see how people react over it. Thanks the chamomile tea does help alot.
Greg @ Dec 7th 2007 11:56AM
Actually this update will make the PS3 the most advanced HD player on the market (and de-facto profile 2.0), bar none. Unless someone can point at a HD player (Blu Ray or HD DVD) with -integrated- Wi Fi connection to avoid pesky cables in the living room? :)
Awesome !
elvisizer @ Dec 7th 2007 12:03PM
this better include DTS HDMA decoding. i'm not worried about bitstream output, just decoding.
Superdynamite @ Dec 9th 2007 12:15AM
R.I.P
HD-DVD
2006 - Jan 7TH 2008