PS3 to get latest Blu-Ray features

Sony Corp. announced on Thursday that it is planning to update the Blu-ray technology in PlayStation 3 by adding interactive features to the movies played in the high-definition format.

The news was revealed by Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations in his latest blog entry which preceded the company’s press announcement.

The firmware is scheduled for release, in late March and will update the PS3 to Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0, also referred to as, BD Live. PS3 will be the first Blu-ray Disc player to support this latest advancement in the Blu-ray format. Even Sony’s own forthcoming BD Live-capable players aren't due out until this summer and fall.

BD-Live requires an Internet connection and at least 1 GB of local storage. The technology enables Internet-connected activities such as multiplayer gaming, e-commerce and social networking. It will also allow movie studios to offer a variety of downloadable content with Blu-ray DVDs, including bonus scenes, trailers, subtitles, and interactive movie-based games.

The first titles to take advantage of BD Live are due out on April 8 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: “The 6th Day” and “Walk Hard-The Dewey Cox Story”. The extent of the BD Live features on these titles remains unknown.

BD-Live is not the only addition. It is included as part of an overall PS3 system update, to version 2.20, which among other capabilities enables photo and music play lists on PS3 to be copied to PlayStation Portable, Sony's handheld video game player. The PSP can now also be used as a remote control for music played through PS3.

Another new feature added is "resume play," which enables PS3 systems to start playing a Blu-ray DVD at the point it was stopped, even if the disc was removed. However, this feature will only work with Blu-ray discs formatted for the capability.

Also, the Web browser of the PS3 has been enhanced to enable streaming of video files directly linked from a Web page. The console will now also be able to play DivX and WMV format videos larger than 2 GB.

Scott A. Steinberg, VP of product marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) said, "With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year life cycle of PS3 possible." SCEA is the division of Sony responsible for the PS3 in the United States.

Steinberg added that "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."

The PS3 has played a vital role in defeating HD-DVD in the high definition format wars. Research and disc sales have shown that consumers are using the PS3 as a Blu-ray player rather than a gaming console which, it actually is. The PS3 was responsible for growing the volume of Blu-ray disc sales, which in turn prompted Warner Brothers to back Blu-ray Disc exclusively at the start of the year.