View Single Post
Old 10-09-2007, 04:44 PM   #10
Draug
First Line Centre
 
Draug's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehead View Post
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...e-devices.html

So in order to play these on some players you will need to do a firmware upgrade (if available - on some of these players it is not yet possible).

This is exactly the type of thing that will kill the format if it starts to occur with any regularity.
It happens with both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, infortunately. It is one of the reasons I am happy with my PS3 as a Blu-Ray player. The PS3 alerts when a new update is ready, and has an interface for downloading it. I assume the HD-DVD add-on to the xbox is similar. Of course, the option to hook into one's internet connection is mandatory and some people might have technical issues with that. My PC and A/V equipment are all interconnected, so it wasnt an issue for me. Longterm, I wonder what effect this will have on the standalone A/V equipment market - if a person needs to connect all the A/V equipment to the internet anyway, why not just build high end Home Theater PC's?

Firmware updates are inconvienent, but honestly, I doubt they will dissapear. Look at the gaming industry, for example. Once the industry was able to patch PC games, it became common place. So much so that some people dont even buy a new game until the first patch is released that fixes the biggest release date issues.
Draug is offline   Reply With Quote