PlayStation 3 gets BD-Live upgrade this month

Console will be first player with Web-enabled feature

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 3/20/2008

MARCH 20 | After a long wait, PlayStation 3 will be able to playback Web-enabled BD-Live software this month.

This upgrade, coming in late March through a firmware update, will turn PS3 into the industry’s first Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Disc player, which represents the most advanced capabilities for hardware in the format. Profile 2.0 players can download programming from the Web through their Ethernet port connections, as well as handle picture-in-picture playback, which is a key feature in the less advanced Profile 1.1 specification.

The PS3 had been expected to be upgraded to BD-Live, the name given to Web-enabled features, during much of last year. An exact March availability date for the system firmware, dubbed version 2.20, has not been given.

As BD-Live hardware, PS3 promises it will be able handle a variety of downloads, including online games, bonus scenes, shorts, trailers subtitles and ringtones.

PS3’s system update also will enable photo and music playlists to be copied from the PS3 to the PlayStation Portable. There also will be a new ‘resume play’ feature that will allow the PS3 to start playing a Blu-ray disc and DVD at the point it was stopped, even if the disc has been removed. This action does not support titles encoded in BD-Java, however.

Users also will be to reduce noise interference, and use the PSP as a remote control to play music on the PS3.

The Profile 2.0 timing can’t come soon enough as several BD-Live titles have been released but have yet to be fully enjoyed due to the lack of compatible hardware. Such already streeted BD-Live releases include Lionsgate’s January titles War and Saw IV, holding an online fighter game and Web movie blog, respectively.

To usher in the BD Live PS3, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will bow its first Web-enabled Blu-ray titles on April 8: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both include exclusive downloadable theatrical and home video previews, and an informational guide about BD-Live functionality.

Additionally, Walk Hard will feature three mini-featurettes that will be available through BD-Live download.

“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, VP of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America. “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.”

Lexine Wong, Sony Home Entertainment senior executive VP worldwide marketing added, "Sony Pictures is truly excited about our intial foraty into BD-Live interactivity. These releases offer entertainment enthusiasts just a glimpse of some of the remarkable new features that will soon be available on high-definition Blu-ray Disc."

Sony will also be delivering some of the first BD-Live set-top players this summer and fall.