Sony and Blu-Ray pull a fast one -- free content!

According to an article over at T3, a leaked Sony document details a few secrets about the PS3 and its internal Blu-Ray player. The Playstation 3 will be one of Sony's first pieces of hardware to use the "BD Live" technology, which allows Blu-Ray players (not limited to the PS3 -- most Blu-Ray players will incorporate this technology given a year or two) to go online and download new content whenever a disc is inserted.

[shotty]

If it's called BD Live expect a huge lawsuit from Microsoft for trademark infrigment. Microsoft is a huge company made up of lawyers, the last thing sony needs is Microsofts putting them in court. Especially trademark infrigment, Sony would lose for sure. "Live" is a microsoft term for online/connected, (xbox live, windows live, live marketplace, live anywhere, live arcade). Sony get your own catch phrase. If they do use live I hope microsoft sues the hell out of them and makes Krazy Ken live on the street along with the rest of the dishonest sony execs. It's one thing to copy technology and it's another to copy their name expecially if it's the same product. Imagine if I made my own drink and called it Pepsi, I doubt Pepsi Corp. would take it kindly. You don't see other companies putting "i" infront of their products to copy apple.

[jedicurt]

iRiver put the i infront of it, and apple already lost that law suit

[The_Firestarter]

in which a stupid chair was called the iJoy, it's so, grrr

[LiamFly]

It's OK to say that this looks like a lawsuit in the making, but you should wait and see before you start getting upset. If Microsoft decides to sue, so be it. But none of us are lawyers here so Sony may be in the clear.

Also, these products are not the same. There is no "stolen technology" here. Microsoft did not invent the Internet and they did not invent Blu-Ray. Nor did they invent video games. But like the article says, this is much more about Blu-Ray than it is about PS3. BD Live is a general feature of Blu-Ray and all Blu-Ray players will be compatible.

THIRDLY, I'm unsure, after reading the article again, whether BD LIVE is the actual name of this technology or whether it's a name used by the article writter of this site. Notice that the name appears in quotes.

And lastly, why are Xbox owners defending HD DVD and bashing Blu-Ray? The Xbox 360 uses first generation DVDs! This is about home video entertainment, not video games.

[Aflac]

Microsoft should sue the hell outta them for this outrage! SONY, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORIGINALITY?!

[ghostface]

Good news.

[HyperBear]

You know, I thought PS3 was gonna be sweet, i mean even with the 659 price, i wasnt that upset, cause its almost like getting a gaming computer, for half the price of a blu-ray player. But over the past serveral months, ever since E3 2006 Press Con., all theres been for PS3 is bad, bad, more bad, terribly bad, and just plain dumb bad news. This, if true and were to happen with the PS3, would be plain retarded dumb thing Sony ever did for PS3. If sony doesnt start originating with their own ideas, instead of copying everyone else, then why should we buy a over-priced product, that just uses the same things in Xbox 360 and Wii, when we can get 2 consoles for the price of one. Sony, I thought the PS3 was gonna revolutionize gaming to the likes of which we have never seen before. but if all you do is take the ideas and names of your rivals consoles, then your not being creative or original. SONY, GIVE US SOME GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE. You should really go back to the drawing board, and try to make it original as possible, different from the 360 and Wii, and maybe you'll get more fan support, other than companys suing you and making you lose more money, and take more loans. STOP WITH THE BAD, RESTART WITH THE GOOD. TRY AND GET RESPECTED AGAIN.

[Legionaire2005]

The PS3 should of revolutionizes gaming with original ideas that stand out, instead of that we got a system that's a copy of everything plus a added internal Blue-ray to boost up the price tag. Before I even think about buying a PS3 first people need to see if it's worth every penny.

[achira]

what bs. only if they us the word BD live they dont brake the laws. live is not a word invented by ms ! and especially not BD live. iPod is someting different! when they would use BD iPod then i would agree. its only factilious alarm from you.

[Aflac]

...your beloved idol of a company is liable to be sued for copyright infringement now, they've lost their sense of originality altogether. cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it.

[shotty]

Trust it not something stupied like "i". Microsoft uses "live" for all it's new products. The product that sony is selling is also the same as microsofts product. Some basically sony is trying to pass off their products as Microsofts. We all know that Microsoft and Nintendo aren't too happy with all this copying lately. I am figuring both Microsoft and Nintendo as ready huge lawsuits that would be filed Nov 17,2007. It's exactly like me making a search engine and calling it google. Sony get your own pharse you cheap basta**s

[bernie]

So to get any extras on a bluray movie disk, you have to become a member of their online service, which means you also have to have a broadband connection (not every consumer has). This sounds like a step back from regular DVD's !

[jedicurt]

it didn't say for all special feature content, just some. i expect this is much the same way that some dvd's offer dvd-rom features on their disc, i would look at it as this is just replacing that feature

[andy capps]

You're looking at this through a gamer's eyes only. To access these features you would not have to go through Sony, unless it was a Sony Blu-ray disc movie. You would download the content from whomever distributed the movie. This is not regular extra content, this is content made available after the release, or content that you need access to the internet for. And by the way, if you can afford a PS3 or a Blu-ray player then you should be able to afford a broadband connection. If you don't have a broadband connection, you'll still be able to play everything on the disc, you'll probably only be missing out on a "secret website" or a 2 minute behind the scenes video or some such nonsense.

[richie007bond]

Sony are rip off merchants BD live lmao,sony are going downhill fast

[shoota33]

Get the hell out of here.Your jealousy is unbelievable.No one Wants to here your bs.Blu ray is better than hd dvd face it, ITS BETTER!! dont like it TOO BAD!!

[johnrichardandrew]

You know that's really funny because HDDVD had this as a feature long before when it appeared in Bluray specs. It doesn't have some cheesy name though.

Take it from me, the two formats are pretty much even, HDDVD has quite a few benefits technologically but Disney are on Blurays side so that levels it out slightly.

Sony fans can sing Bluray's praises all they like, Microsoft makes money from the PS3 due to Bluray so any Microsoft fan can also be happy.

From a technology enthusiasts point of view however HDDVD is a far superior format- that has never meant a format gains victory though. Most likely due to opinions like this person above Bluray could do very well, despite it's large flaws.

Any Bluray fan has to ask themselves this: Why would Microsoft back a format that is inferior when they played equal parts in developing each format?

[andy capps]

How does MS get money from PS3 because of the Blu Ray drive? They were not a developer of the Blu-Ray specs, are not a supporter of it at this time, and they are not making any of the Blu-Ray drives. You're misinformed thinking that HD-DVD has any technical advantage over Blu-Ray. If you want to educate yourself on it, you can go here: http://www.blu-raydisc.com/... or http://www.blu-ray.com/
By the way, BD Live is not something that is exclusive to Sony. It is something sponsored by the Blu-ray Disc Association and will be implemented in other players. http://www.blu-raydisc.com/... By the same token, Even speaking about ripoffs of names, iPod is a ripoff of the iRiver, because the iRiver was released prior to the iPod.

[jedicurt]

I wasn't implying that the iPod was a ripoff of the iRiver, but there was a lawsuit involving it, going both ways, and both cases were lost.

and no, MS does not recieve any money from the sale of Blu-ray technology
and recieves little to no money for HD-dvd because toshiba fronted (if not all) almost all money and resources.

[johnrichardandrew]

re:8.2

So wait a second, Microsoft provides the VC1 codec that has to be decoded by every single Bluray and HDDVD player on the market yet makes no money from royalties? How does the MPEG group make money then?

Why would somebody looking for a valid opinion go to bluray websites?

BTW:

http://www.betanews.com/art...

There's a nice article stating that MS will receive royalties.

So what grounds do you have to educate me on the subject, or are you a Sony fan?

Think for more than 10 seconds and eply with something valid.

[jedicurt]

the article only mentions Warner as studios who have announced their intention of using the format. so while they will recieve royalties from Warner HD-dvd and Blu-ray productions, it does not mean that it is the only format that will be used by either format

[johnrichardandrew]

It's part of the Bluray spec, the decoder HAS to be present in every player on the market, including PS3.

Microsoft will not allow them to have a decoder in their hardware for nothing. Hence MS does make money from every PS3 sold, and indeed every Bluray player. I don't understand your need to rebute this point, it's simple a reason for MS fans to get off Bluray's back. They have plenty of other reasons to dislike the format just because they're consumers, anybody would if they knew the whole story- Bluray is so consumer unfriendly it's unbelievable.

[richie007bond]

Here at Kotaku we get constant sh!t for posting articles about Sony screwing up. But honestly, these things write themselves. It's gotten to the point now where it's not even funny anymore, it's just sad and confusing.

With that doleful preface firmly in place, I present to you, my darling readers, the newest Blu-Ray booboo: the disks are apparently "hard to make." They also have an additional layer of copy protection, which just makes things needlessly complicated. Gamasutra has an article addressing the most recent podcast from Microsoft's Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb, interviewing Amir Majidimehr, whose group at Microsoft oversees audio/video compression technologies, as well as high-definition optical formats.

According to [Majidimehr], Blu-ray moves the recording surface very close to the top layer of the disc, protected by just a very thin coating, and that this makes maintaining "high reliability" of discs during the actual manufacturing process much more difficult.
This factor, according to Majidimehr, is the key difference between the two formats, as HD-DVD, like traditional DVD, protects its data between two layers of protective plastic - above and below - thus making manufacturing of the discs much more reliable.

And that extra layer of copy protection I mentioned, it's called BD+. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray both already have the AACS copy protection (developed jointly by Sony and MS), so the BD+ is redundant.

Thanks for the tip, Jason. Bad news and more bad news. Can I please just have a PS3? No? Fine... Eliza gauger

Read more here [Gamasutra, via FlickerGaming]

[richie007bond]

COME on gametime its us ur talking to, beta ray better than hd dvd lmao look what happened to sonys umd format ur beta rays going the same way..

[shoota33]

Thats not the same you stupid moron.Why dont go give old billy his daily masauge.

[Cyclonus]

HD-DVD does the exact same thing, thats why it has a network adapter on the back of a ALL HD-DVD players; for Blu-ray, its only an OPTIONAL feature.

[shotty]

Ya, all HD-DVD have to support the ethernet jack, this includes the xbox 360 as well which has it on the actual system. This feature is not madatory for blu-ray as you can see by the samsung blu-ray player.

[mikeeno7]

To Gametime. LEARN TO SPELL.

[shoota33]

To mikeeno7. GET A LIFE

[Jak4ever]

You guys are soooo overstressed, i swear. Who the hell cares what its called and if its original or not or who is better or not.. my god its an article. Sony has made some mistakes but dont u think that they have people who are sure of Legal issues involved??? Sony's people are much smarter than most of us.. Chillll out and just wait for the final product.. Dam.

[johnrichardandrew]

I agree, and this isn't even a mistake, it's a good name and doesn't overstep any boundaries that MS has- they'd have bigger fish to fry than a name.

[Schmitty07]

Can Sony ever think of anything on its own? Or do they just copy ideas?

[THELANDSOFSAND]

mmm. Oh, god that makes me want to pay a lot more to watch a movie!

*cough*umd2.0*cough*

[OutpostCommand]

Ach shut up you MS executive.
Why dont you go and play on your 360 which has the GPU of a ATI 520.
Please...my PC has a ATI x1900
My other PC have both Nvidia 7950GTX
My PC has a damn better GPU than your 360.
The good news: I may upgrade my GPU anytime
The bad news: Youre stuck with a ATI 520 (Lmao) for another 4 years
MS did not come up with the name 'Live'
'Live' is a phrase that any company is entitled to use.
Be it damn Nintendo

EDIT: My cmment is aimed at 15

[HyperBear]

I see you didnt mention why PS3 is sooo good. You just talk about how you have no life and borrow money from your mommy to buy all your GPU Sh!t for your PC's. And never once did you mention about how PS3's GPU, is sh!ttier than Xbox 360's. I cant wait for these sony fanfukers to get there PS3's on lanuch day, which is looking like somewhere around March 07', and turn their precious systems on, and they dont work. I WILL LMAO.

[HyperBear]

To tell ya thet truth, I will be getting one on launch day, its just im not like gametime, and whoever is a sony ass-kisser, I am an all-around gamer who likes all kinds of stuff from both Sony and Microsoft. But I just cant believe how you sonyboys can live with yourselves saying that PS3 still rocks and is the best thing that is coming to the world. Havent you guys heard the bad news flowing in every week. Actually heres a question, has there been any good news for the PS3 in the last month?, Im sure you know the answer to that. But C'mon guys, you have got to admit, right now Xbox 360 is on top of the world, and PS3 is trailing way behind and copying ideas off of the leader.

[Shin_Akakage]

downloadable content makes blu-ray sweet..hardly. A similiar feature can be found on current DVDs. Some discs have game demos on them. Others have exclusive features and website access via DVD-rom. This is good news, this is innovation? No this is a standard that was set with DVD. My only question about this is..Why does Blu-Ray need downloadable content for movies? Blu-Ray is supposed to have so much more storage capacity than DVD and HD-DVD why can't it all fit on that Blu-ray disc? Why should there be a need for Downloadable Blu-Ray content??...hmm..I wonder

[omansteveo]

LISTEN TO MAJOR NELSONS PODCAST DAMN!

[johnrichardandrew]

Well both formats (HDDVD and BD) have the function- only HDDVD has it as standard in every player.

The cool thing about this for BOTH parties is that when you're forced to watch adverts they may actually be relevant to the time you see them, e.g. If you're watching Superman Returns on HDDVD the trailer for the new movie could be downloaded for you to watch... obviously this would be impossible to put onto a disc before the trailer has been made.

It's to add flexibility and relevance, which can only improve the experience (hopefully). Think about it like Google-Smart-Ads, the adverts will be relevant to the example perhaps movies will have tags like IDV3 for MP3 or Blog entries (e.g. Action, Comedy, Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck etc etc)

[richie007bond]

look lets take a good hard look at the beta ray and hd dvd,1 beta rays high costs will bring it down you mark my words,hd dvd is far easyier to manafacture the disks will be cheaper,they will be more durible,yes but beta ray holds more,no hd dvd will add a exstra layer and it still be cheaper than beta ray,hd dvds compreshion is better than beta ray hence better quality,at the end of the day price and the hd dvd name will win through in the end i guarente it...

[johnrichardandrew]

I personally am I great believer in HDDVD but calling it Betaray is poor, come on, show a little more intelligence than a 12 year old please!

Anyway, you underestimate that Disney backing Bluray is a HUGE thing, Disney are one of the four biggest giants in Hollywood (Disney, Universal, WB and Sony)

Disney owns all sorts including Miramax (Pulp Fiction -> Bridget Jones) and really should never be underestimated.

HDDVD has a chance to succeed but only if the public don't eat up the Bluray supporters hyperbole. If the public compares quality of both formats, cost, and especially their rights then they should make the easy choice and go with HDDVD but, at the moment, Bluray has a lot of momentum behind it.

Neck and Neck. HDDVD is superior BUT so was Betamax (minus cost) and a few other failures we've seen in the past.

[OutpostCommand]

Jhonrichardandrew,
while I do appreciate your mature view on the subject, unlike others, I struggle to see how HDDVD is superior.

[Marty8370]

PS3/Bluray are the future.

[Cyclonus]

PS3Fan is redundant.

[HyperBear]

PS3 would be the total complete package and future of gaming if they would just get rid of blu-ray. Games dont need blu-ray or HD DVD for now. Look at Oblivion, the largest console game ever made, and they made it fit on a 9GB Disc. Maybe by 2011-2012, games will need blu-ray and HD DVD, because ppl's concepts for games may get a little longer and better, so they'll need the extra GB's, but for now, Games simply put, do not need Blu-ray. Sony should take blu-Ray out, and put the most powerful DVD player with HD ready technology into the PS3, instead of blu-ray. Not only will the PS3 work better, ex. Cell and RSX will work better with a HD ready DVD player over blu-ray, making the PS3 a better console and a working console with no tech. issues. SONY GET RID OF BLU-RAY.

[Alexander]

Bit late now isnt it?

Or is it? They still dont seem too final on there hardware...