Sony’s victory in its battle with Toshiba and its (now obsolete) HD DVD format rival. can be attributed in part to the runaway popularity of the Blu-ray-equipped PlayStation 3 videogame console.
The system is going to become even more popular now that the console’s next system update will see Sony’s entertainment powerhouse equipped with a wealth of new features, including Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 — or BD-Live as it is also known.
This will enable the PlayStation 3 to be the very first Blu-ray player to offer BD-Live, enabling users to access the Web through their consoles in order to download extra Blu-ray content and widen their HD experience.
Downloadable media is expected to include content such as bonus movie scenes not included within the confines of the actual physical disc, trailers for upcoming movie releases and even interactive movie-based games.
A technical addition related to playback is the ‘resume play’ feature, which will allow the PlayStation 3’s Blu-ray player to keep track of where, in any given movie, the user stopped watching prior to the disc being stopped or removed.
The “free” system update should be available before the close of this month, reported the Associated Press.
Other system additions to be introduced through the PS3’s soon-to-be-released system update include the ability to copy photos and music playlists from the home console to a separate handheld PlayStation Portable device.
Also, the PSP will double as a remote control unit for music playback on the PlayStation 3 along with streamed Web videos.