PlayStation 3 Firmware Update 2.20 Brings BD-Live Interactive Blu-ray

Sony Computer Entertainment announced today the next firmware update for the PlayStation 3 being v2.20.The new update, to be releasead late this month, contains Blu-Ray Disc Profile 2.0 or BD-LIVE, letting users experience interactive features such as downloadable video content, ringtones, games, and more.

BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of local storage. The following features have all been demonstrated as possibilities with BD-Live and will vary by movie title.

• A variety of downloadable content can be offered, including bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles, ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones, images, and more.
• Interactive movie-based games can pit players who are sitting in the same room, or are across the world and online, against each other.

The other new features that this update will bring is are listed below.

• "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.

Expect to see this update hit your PlayStation 3's at the end of the month. Now, we just need the PlayStation Network revamp, then in-game XMB, and we can say Sony did a pretty good job.