James Delahunty
2 Apr 2007 18:12
If you are an early adopter at heart and are tempted to spend some money now on a Blu-ray stand-alone player, you are probably better off waiting for a few months. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) recently mandated that all Blu-ray hardware released after October 31st must support BD-Java, which is used to provide interactivity features such as picture-in-picture.
"Blu-ray player requirements and BD-Java specifications have been gradually changed over and over again, which has caused a good amount of grief for player manufacturers," said optical storage analyst Wesley Novack. "The new specification and requirements will ensure that all Blu-ray players manufactured past October will be able to support the full range of BD-Java capabilities, including picture in picture and more."
The Blu-ray specification does not require players to include an Ethernet port for updates and downloads like HD DVD players, but the inclusion of one in an early player might make it "upgradeable". Of course, users with older Blu-ray players will be able to play newer releases, but probably not all the interactive features that have been packed into the disc.
Source:
DailyTech