Disenchantment over having to do updates to firmware just to PLAY a BD disc

[Lex]

I apologize for not being 100% in the know on the dates for these, I can only tell you what issues I've been having. Spiderman trilogy will not play in my first generation player. Also CARS on BD will not play in my first generation top of the line Sony crap BD player. :evil:

So, now it looks like I have to move my PS3 out of my bedroom to my great room to play these discs for now.

I am very disappointed in Sony, anybody else want to join this sentiment?

Modified this, anyway, any BD discs coming out should have been backward compatible with first generation BD players, just like any DVD that came out later always played in DVD players from day 1. Changing the format is not an enhancement to it. Perhaps it's only a matter of time before their planned obsolescence takes effect and it won't play discs at all.

[Hdale85]

I'm not saying it makes it ok but this is kind of one of those gambles of adopting new technology so early. The same thing has happened with some DVD's in the past. I remember when the Matrix first came out on DVD there was a ton of DVD players that would not play it. I don't know what to say really. This is one of the reasons I just went with the PS3. If I didn't go that route I would have waited for their new Profile 2.0 player the S550.

[Alaric]

Gee , you're screwed. Spend $1000 and you'll be OK-for a few months , anyway......

One of the joys of getting old is I just don't care what the "latest/greatest" crap is. Hell ; My eyes/ears probably couldn't tell anyway.
Yes , I'm a grumpy old f*ck.

[hifiguymi]

Do you have the latest firmware in them and the movies won't play? What firmware versions do you have in them?

Eric

[Blindamood]

I own Sony's first-gen player -- the BDP-S1 -- and I have had no problems playing any discs so far. Sure some are slow to load, etc., but to me the wait is well worth the stellar picture and sound I get. The only thing I don't get at this point is DTS-MA, but that (as stated) is part of investing in first-gen technology. Honestly, I really appreciate Sony's efforts to keep my (no longer produced) player up-to-date with timely firmware updates.

[Lex]

I have not done any firmware updates yet, should I really have to to play a freaking disc? I don't think so. I can put any DVD from first generation in a old Panasonic DVD player out in the garage and it would play it. So, I don't buy this doing updates to get a 1 year old player to play a disc.

So, how do I do the updates? This is news to me frankly. I stay to busy to run around looking for updates for a DVD player that should play a disc without any mods.

Sorry Dougie, I don't buy it's first generation, it's a blue ray disc, it's a blue ray player, it should play each disc regardless of updates later on, ever heard of backward compatibility with the standard THEY established?

[Blindamood]

Lots of updates have been made to this player via firmware updates. (I'm assuming you're referring to the BDP-S1, since you don't name it specifically.) Here is the link to the updates:

Sony BDP-S1 Update

This update must be burned to a DVD, as the Sony does not play CDs.

The primary reason for these updates is to handle the Java-encoding that is being added to each of the newer discs that come out...not necessarily the player's fault. Of course, the ability to internally decode Dolby True-HD was one highly-anticipated (and appreciated) updates as well.

I would also add this this is not really unique to Sony, nor to blu-ray players in general...I've done numrous updates over the years to both my DVD players (Onkyo DV-SP1000 and Oppo DV-980H), as well as my Rotel RSP-1068 processor. I definitely view this as a plus in order to keep my components up-to-date!

[Lex]

Well, I went all through this process this afternoon, and my SONY Brand DVD Writer in my computer, will not interpret the build file as a DVD image, therefore it only wants to write it to CD/R RW. I use NERO which came with my Sony drive. I'm basically spent on this operation this afternoon after buying more blank discs, and a couple of hours attempting, even with Sony on telephone. So, they are sending me the firmware update disc in the mail. I didn't know what else to do, since there appears to be a Nero issue, or somthing. I may look for updates to Nero, who knows, maybe that could work.

I had mixed results with an older Nero, so my confidence is not high for this product. The front end never worked as good as the Explorer type copy editor. But I tried both for this update, and either way, it thinks it's CD-R material.

[hifiguymi]

To add what Brad said, the problem usually lies with Java. Discs have different Java on them and if your player doesn't have the proper (current) firmware that will make some discs unplayable. It sucks, but that is the reality. As a habit now, I check Sony's site (and all of the other BD player manufacturers site's) every 90 days or so for new firmware. That last thing I want is a customer of mine not be able to play a disc they just purchased or rented.

And for what it's worth, I use Roxio to burn discs and it works great.

Eric

[Lex]

ok thanks guys, well it looks like a freen 10 day trial download called Burn Aware allowed me to burn the image of the file properly, and my firmware update was a success. So, I got spiderman menu showing now. I am pleased after this rather arduous process made arduous by Nero. uhhg.

[littlesaint]

This is becoming the new paradigm for consumer electronics. The hardware is more "computer-like" with programmable chips and more and more things done in software rather than hardware. Whether it's Java or encryption keys or new codecs, nothing is ever a finished product. Whether this is bad or good depends on how you look at products. I work in IT, so I see it as a good thing. You can potentially extend the life of consumer electronics by having these programmable features. I can also see how some would regard it as a bad thing having to enter the IT world of never ending updates.

[impala454]

For future reference, ImgBurn is an awesome, free, CD/DVD burning software.

[mjb]

You've got to stay on top of firmware updates these days - its the nature of the beast. But on the flip side, it's good that new features and bug fixes are still released for older hardware, prolonging its life. Glad it worked out for you Lex.

[George Bellefontaine]

Fortunately for me, my Panasonic was a 1:1 player when I bought it and it already had firmware installed ( 1:3 ). There have been several updates since but I have yet to do an update. I have never encountered any problems with discs so I have seen no reason to do an update. But I have to say, this firmware update thing doesn't bode well for future adoption of Blu-ray by the average consumer, many who don't even own a computer, who just want a player that plays ( like most of the dvd players from the last 10 or so years ) and don't have to bother with sending for firmware update discs. Unfortunately, they are buying a computer and with it comes all the pain in the ass things associated with computers. :x

[littlesaint]

Part of the new paradigm is Internet connectivity. If you can get your device(s) to the Internet, updates are for the most part seamless. Now if your player doesn't have an Ethernet port, early adoption stipulations apply.

[mjb]

Part of the new paradigm is Internet connectivity. If you can get your device(s) to the Internet, updates are for the most part seamless. Now if your player doesn't have an Ethernet port, early adoption stipulations apply.

Correct. This makes firmware updating a totally automatic (painless) process, and so much simpler for Joe public. The early BR players were missing an ethernet port, hence the need for some geeky stuff to bring them up to speed.

I am totally for applying firmware updates, even if there are no apparent issues: they always contain bug fixes, and often added functionality for free.

[impala454]

I definitely welcome the internet connectivity and ability to do firmware updates, however I don't like how that ability also seems to allow developers to get by changing things on the fly or come out with products which feel like they're beta test versions.

[bigburner]

Yes , I'm a grumpy old f*ck.

Alaric, you may be a grumpy f*ck but having been born in 1962 you are NOT old!

Nigel.

[FroDaddy]

This is becoming the new paradigm for consumer electronics. The hardware is more "computer-like" with programmable chips and more and more things done in software rather than hardware. Whether it's Java or encryption keys or new codecs, nothing is ever a finished product. Whether this is bad or good depends on how you look at products. I work in IT, so I see it as a good thing. You can potentially extend the life of consumer electronics by having these programmable features. I can also see how some would regard it as a bad thing having to enter the IT world of never ending updates.

Well said, I am also in IT and align with the same sentiment.

A few benefits I can remember with firmware updates:
The HD-A1 HD-DVD player received 5.1 Dolby TrueHD after a firmware update (originally 2.0 TrueHD)
The PS3 received DTS-MA decoding (and on a subsequent firmware fixed some problems with decoding certain discs)
PS3 received 1080P / 24FPS
PS3 received vastly improved upconversion of SD-DVDs
PS3 is now BDLive 2.0, whatever that means

This is just from my perspective, I'm sure the list could be bigger. I get frustrated sometimes, ie. having to REBOOT MY CELL PHONE, but alas I believe it is a good thing to have software driven devices rather than "software on a chip" and having to re-buy CE devices for an improvement.

Not to hijack the thread, but it is possible we could see companies charge for firmware updates in the future. Just some food for thought...