Sony Upgrades PS3 Blu-ray to Profile 1.1

Following initial online reports of such a pending move in Europe last weekend, chief Blu-ray Disc proponent Sony has released a free software upgrade (Firmware Update v2.10) for the internal Blu-ray drive of its PlayStation 3 game console, boosting the next-gen player to “Profile 1.1.”

Profile 1.1 is designed to enable the Blu-ray drive to play back the format’s HD discs encoded with “true” picture-in-picture functions, among other interactive options, according to High-Def Digest. The earliest Blu-ray content to begin appearing at the retail level (in-store and online) capable of exploiting full Profile 1.1 features is currently set for January.

Some initial titles likely will include “War” and the Western “3:10 to Yuma” from Lionsgate Entertainment, “Resident Evil: Extinction” from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and “Sunshine” from 20th Century Fox. All Profile 1.1 discs are expected to be backwards-compatible with current players for some basic features such as playback and accessing bonus material. Only the new Profile 1.1 enhanced options will not be accessible without an upgraded PS3 player.