PS3 firmware 2.20 bringing BD-Live interactive Blu-ray this month
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 20th 2008 5:01AM
posted March 20th 2008 5:01AM
The Blu-ray 2.0 spec (or BD-Live) is just days from launch. Sony just announced that the next PlayStation3 firmware updated -- v2.20 -- will add the new interactive features to your PS3. As such, PS3 owners should expect downloadable video content, ringtones, interactive movie-based games, and the always intriguing "more" when the software is released in "late March." In other words, in the next 11 days. The update will also allow you to copy photos and music playlists over USB from your PS3 to your PSP. The rest of the new features after the break. -- "Resume play" will enable PS3 system to start playing a Blu-ray disc
and DVD at the point it was stopped, even if the disc had been
removed.(*1)
-- "Audio Output Device" will be a new Remote Play setting, enabling PSP
to serve as a remote control for music played through PS3.
-- PS3 system's Internet browser will be enhanced: Video files directly
linked from a Web page will be able to be streamed, and the browser's
view speed will be improved.
-- DivX and WMV format videos that are larger than 2GB will be playable.
-- "Mosquito Noise Reduction" will be added as an AV setting in the
control panel of the DVD/BD player for improved movie playback.(*2)
*1 BD-J format disc is not supported.
*2 BD discs recorded with BDMV format are not supported.
Sounds great, can't wait for BD Live!
speaking of which... anyone know any titles that support BD live or anywhere i can get a list
The first BD Live titles (War and Saw IV) were released by Lionsgate in January 2008, despite the fact that no players existed to play the web-enhanced content.
I hope that BD live is better than the live content with HD DVD. That stuff wasn't all that intersting. Maybe now they will start putting in some really compelling content.
I doubt it Mutant. It's just wallpapers and ringtones and trailers for a movie you just bought and watched on Blu-Ray! A few will have some very basic games etc.. It's nothing special imo but still a nice addition and time-waster..
God I want in-game XMB.
So does everybody else, but saying that over and over does not speed up them releasing it. They've already announced it, so you just have to wait til summer for it.
not everyone wants it, I know lots of people who couldn't give a rats bottom about it myself included =)
Sure. In-game XMB would be nice. I don't know what would be the use of it, but it would look nice.
@Franssu
It would be REALLY useful for:
- sending/reading/responding to messages you receive while you're playing a game.
- playing music while playing a game.
- changing your PSN status message while playing a game.
- changing system settings (like headset mic level) while playing a game.
- checking the status of or initiating a PS Store download while playing a game.
All of those things right now require that you quit the game you're playing, with the exception of playing music, which can't be done while playing a game period unless it's supported by the game.
@madgunde:
If you NEED these features right away go pick up an Xbox 360.
Also, in general; doesn't the PS3 have built-in WiFi? Why can't the PSP connect to the PS3 via WiFi instead of through a USB cable?
I don't own either, just speculating..
Yeah notice how they're adding all these great features that we would love, but they are still missing the most important and demanded one of all.
I WANT AN IN-GAME XMB MENU ASAP!
i need it. it is very good
if it can be sold to me
I thougt these new BR wouldn't be available on "old" devices?
You're right, new BD profiles are not available in old devices...
Except the PS3.
Its all about artificially inflating PS3 sales numbers to beat the 360 and Wii. I own a PS3 and know other that do as well but don't own a single game. For me its a future proof Blu-ray player at a reasonable price compared to other players. Its also a great media device.
A sale is a sale...
Besides, if that is happening, PS3's attach rate for core gamers (being those who have bought the system for gaming vice BD watching) must be through the roof!
Either way, you can't spin it in an anti-Sony way. At the end of the day, a sale is a sale.
Exactly. Sony makes plenty of money from blu-ray sales, PS3s are much cheaper to produce now, and Sony's also building future markets for Home, downloadable shows and movies and music, etc. So the most PS3s out there the better, even if they are bought by people who insist on not taking advantage of any of the awesome PS3 games. Not even the cheap downloadable ones? That's a shame, but ok.
mastroka!
Matroska! actually.
yeah. for some reason, everytime i pronounce it in my head, it just comes out that way. i can't help it. crap on a stick.
Just sweet. the PSP is getting more and more important/usefull with the PS3
Now if only they could get remote play working for everyone!
You know what, I think I'll wait for the next iteration of the PS3. Cheaper, more games to play, more "stable" (I mean, not so much in need of firmware upgrades), slimmer and maybe with a better design (that is one that I like more, to avoid starting flames).
What are you talking about?
You realize that those thin PS3 mockups are bunk, right? The key to knowing that a console prototype is legit is to look at the back where all the connections go.
Also, firmware updates are the way of the future. It's not a bug, but a feature that current PS3s can be improved. I think you will be waiting a very long time before you get one that won't ever need such an update.
To state that the PS3 is unstable or unreliable is ridiculous. It's, by far, the most reliable console of the Wii, PS2, or 360. It doesn't break its own laser like the Nintendo, doesn't burn itself up like the 360, and isn't cheap and shoddy like the original PS2s (nor does it cook itself like the initial thin PS2s).
More games to play is certainly something PS3 owners have to wait for, but it's got a decent library that is highly underrated. It's got one of the finest motion controlled games yet made in High Velocity, a few awesome FPSs including one with Mouse and WASD support, it's got Eyecreate, which is simply a ton of creative fun that goes beyond couch potato, and it's got a few half assed motion control games. Not to mention some of the best 360 games like Portal, Call of Duty, and Oblivion.
Is the PS3 library the best? Not at all, the 360 is clearly better right now. But it's plenty of fun for those who are not stubbornly insisting on finding fault.
Should you wait to buy a PS3? Hell yes you should, because there is that MGS4 bundle coming. But some of your reasons are not great, my friend.
This blu-ray update is really bullshit marketing. Every blu-ray player made can play every blu-ray movie, and those who need the ringtones and dumb extra menu crap are a severe minority. Most folks just want their movies (granted, the PSP download feature is ridiculously awesome).
Whoa, whoa, calm down.
I didn't say the PS3 is **it. In fact, I actually said I will wait for the next version and probably buy it. So why the heated reaction?
And what are YOU talking about? Which mockups?
If you haven't noticed, the "latest" trend is first version fat, second version slim: the PS2, the PSP, the Nintendo DS. To me, the PS3 is still too bulky and it has a design I don't like (doesn't mean everyone must like what I like and vice-versa).
No one said the PS3 was unreliable, and I perfectly understand what a firmware update is. Fact is, Blu-ray is still evolving, and the PS3 is, too. There will be firmware updates in the future, but not so many as there are now; that's what I meant by "stable", and the reason why it was enclosed in double quotes.
You know, this really wasn't a comment that needed a reply. I simply stated what I intend to do. If you think the PS3 game library is enough or underrated, fine. I'm eagerly waiting for LittleBigPlanet, that may be a deciding factor. But you wanting to tell me when to buy a PS3, because of this and that - this IS ridiculous.
More games to play is certainly something PS3 owners have to wait for, but it's got a decent library that is highly underrated. It's got one of the finest motion controlled games yet made in High Velocity, a few awesome FPSs including one with Mouse and WASD support, it's got Eyecreate, which is simply a ton of creative fun that goes beyond couch potato, and it's got a few half assed motion control games. Not to mention some of the best 360 games like Portal, Call of Duty, and Oblivion.
Is the PS3 library the best? Not at all, the 360 is clearly better right now. But it's plenty of fun for those who are not stubbornly insisting on finding fault.
Should you wait to buy a PS3? Hell yes you should, because there is that MGS4 bundle coming. But some of your reasons are not great, my friend.
This blu-ray update is really bullshit marketing. Every blu-ray player made can play every blu-ray movie, and those who need the ringtones and dumb extra menu crap are a severe minority. Most folks just want their movies (granted, the PSP download feature is ridiculously awesome).
Oh well. Part of your comment crept in. Don't know how that happened. Must be because I'm using a mockup PS3 to reply.
Just kidding, you know.
"There will be firmware updates in the future, but not so many as there are now; that's what I meant by "stable", and the reason why it was enclosed in double quotes."
But what's so hard about installing a firmware update with more features? I turn on the playstation, it says system update ready, downloads, and installs in about 10 minutes.
Oh and the update last week (for online issues) was the first in almost 3 months (to my knowledge) since the last one. These aren't weekly updates, but full updates that add features that make me feel like my purchase is worth the price, not only with games, but ways to expand it beyond a gaming system.
Go easy on giuliop! What he said makes perfect sense and I'm inclined to agree. The PS3 is too big and uses too much power, so I'll wait. And I also don't want to wait 10 minutes while my games console tells ME what IT wants to do!
The fact that they keep releasing new versions of the BR specification itself is hardly a mark of stability, so yes, I'll wait too until they have decided what Blu Ray actually is (remember the early adopters who got shafted when the spec changed?).
And while we're on the topic... has anyone else thought that maybe all this network based stuff that could just as easily be on the disc is not for the benefit of the customer, but to give some interesting market research to the studios, as well as being a new way to make money out of you? Like the text in competitions you find on sweets are just so the company knows when you're eating them. And another thing, how in gods name is ringtone downloads a selling point?
Wow, that feels better.
I agree with giuliop as well. I want to purchase a PS3 and feel the $399 price point is perfectly reasonable for what it is. I just don't have the room for it. And s/he (all due respect, not reading close enough to identify gender) is right, the trend IS to make the second generation smaller. A PS3 the size of the first gen of the PS2 would sit much better with me and my av rack.
Brillant but wheres dts-hd decoding?????
Not ready yet?? Seriously, why do Americans always want everything now, what is it with them.
I like my products fully baked, when they are ready, not the half finished stuff other manufacturers seem to release.. (you KNOW who I mean...)
Frikkin HOME already? what the hell... how long is this thing going to be in development. Also why dont these people at Sony add internet radio to the ps3? I mean they added it to the psp and thats all nice and dandy for those with a psp and the portable aspect of it but Internet radio would be wicked! They have the potential to bury the Xbox yet they sit and twiddle their thumbs trying to plug holes that hackers find but seriously sony step up the awe factor already... How about a youtube application like the iphone that will hook you up to youtube directly instead of us using that slow (frikkin slooooooooow) ass internet browser. And seriously how much faster can that get? why dont u port firefox to your system so we can use some serious functionality hell I know people who would buy a ps3 just for that...grrr
Are there any Bly-Ray discs with BD-Live out yet?
From playstation blog.
"On April 8th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release The 6th Day and Walk Hard on Blu-ray; these titles will be among the first to take advantage of BD-Live. With this update, the PLAYSTATION 3 becomes the first Blu-ray player on the market with BD-Live functionality."
wow this is big news!
2GB Limit removed! that is just awesome
No more worrying about playing divx/HD videos over 2GB
kudos to Sony, this is the year of teh Sony! Been great since the holidays, keep em comin
Mosquito Noise Reduction - Lol. Look out for malaria guys!!
While you're at it (Sony), why not add the subtitle support for Divx movies?? Playback of DTS Audio would also be much appriciated... Other than that, keep them updates coming :-)
Just make the DivX movies actually PLAY. The compatibility level is pretty low, over half of what I have cannot be played on PS3 at all. Xbox360 is a lot better compatibility wise.
i could go for more wmv support.
all of the videos i have that are wmv play perfectly except for the complete lack of audio.
have you tried many XviD videos?
BD-Live 2.0 is cool, but where is the ability to decode or send DTS Master? If the Ps3 was really capable of it why isn't it included in this update? I'm mean it can't be that hard to fix if it's done by the cell.
Killer, great audio support is something the PS3 just isn't going to have. Sony has this one thing to differentiate the expensive stand alone players as a theater centerpiece. The PS3 must be accompanied by a toslink accepting audio system to get the great sound you want decoded. While the PS3 might be technically capable (and I have my doubts that they all are), Sony has clearly made a decision that may have been behind doors with LG, Samsung, and others.
And if you aren't playing your PS3 games with surround sound on a nice audio system, you should seriously consider the upgrade. Games are so much better in surround sound.
It's been confirmed by a Blu-ray insider. Its coming, not in the next update but possibly the one after that.
The reason being they have to wait until other standalones are able to do the same things as the PS3. They dont want to piss off the other CE manufacturers.
Especially since they are selling this device at a loss and undercutting their "competition" i.e. thier customers.
Support for .MOV, MPEG4-SP, and the non-PSP compliant version of the MP4 container please!
Mark, this is EXACTLY why he is complaining... without DTS-HD decoding, the product as a Blu-ray player IS half-baked. You see? We all like our products fully functional when we PURCHASE them, and if not... then we expect the rectification sooner rather than later.
is anyone else in love with the girl from the american apparel advert at the top of this article?
no. its just you. the girl does not show up for me.
bummer.
she's hot.
adblock FTW