Two layer Blu-ray titles an issue for hardware manufacturers?

August 30, 2006

ghetocowboy used our news submit to tell us: "What a joke, they sue us left and right for breaking the protection. Who is going to sue them for making product that doesn"t work at all? The problem can be fixed via firmware, but when are they going to see the new firmware??? I am a big fan of PlayStation but I am losing hope."

Bill Hunt has written in his "two cents" article that the new Blu-ray players on the market, such as the Samsung BD-P1000, as currently configured, will be unable to play back movies on upcoming, two layer, 50GB discs. In all fairness, from what I have been able to read concerning the contents of the users manual, (on the Internet) they do not say a word about support for dual layer Blu-ray discs. However, with the buzz of 50GB releases, a lot of folks are assuming these players can be upgraded. I hope for their sake and the sake of their marriages, that they are. But, on to the news.

Mr. Hunt goes on to say that it isn't the discs, at least according to his sources, it's the hardware. On his site, he relays comments from various unnamed industry sources who are saying that Samsung, Sony and Pioneer are all having trouble with playback on two layer, 50GB movie discs. These type discs were not available at launch so it is not too surprising. However, if you are an early adopter and you already shelled out for a 1000 dollar player, you might be anxious for the firmware to come around!

But to specifically address my comments about 50 GB Blu-ray Discs on Friday, my information comes from multiple sources - some in key positions at some of the Blu-ray Disc supporting companies, some in other industry positions involved with either the testing or production discs in both high-def formats - speaking to me off the record.

The problem is not with the discs per se, it's with the hardware. Samsung didn't have final product 50 GB movie discs to test their firmware with before they launched, so they're having problems getting the players working with these discs now. Sony and Pioneer are also working hard to resolve compatibility issues on their forthcoming hardware. I'm sure that all of these issues are fixable with firmware upgrades, and I have no doubt that the issues WILL be fixed. But up until a couple weeks ago, I was told that Samsung at least was STILL having problems.

Those wishing to read the article at it's source, in it's entirety, are invited to visit Digital Bits.

Source: Digital Bits