I watched 2012 the other night using my Sony BDP-S550 without any problems (purchased in November 2008). When I put it in my PS3 (purchased in November 2009, a year later) I got a message to update my software from 2.85 to 3.01 to enable the disc to play.
Question 1: Why would my Blu-ray player that is a year older than the PS3 not have issues, whereas the PS3 does? Both being from the same manufacturer, I would think newer players would have fewer issues. (I have since found Zombieland, Nine, and one other movie to require the upgrade in the PS3.)
Question 2: I have read some horror stories about connecting the PS3 to the Internet for updates, and then there being other new problems after the update, as if the update caused more problems than it fixed. Should I have any reservations about updating to newer software revs?
Thanks!
Kevin White
Sony is a huge company and it’s likely that the group that developed your BDP-S550 Blu-ray player isn’t the same one that made the PlayStation 3. As a result, it’s possible that the BDP-S550 might have updates that the PS3 doesn’t have, even though it’s older, and the group(s) responsible for the PS3 just got around to putting them in this revision. That’s just a guess from my knowledge of how big companies often work, but the scenario is similar to some incompatibility issues I have had with Sony’s products in the past.
That said, I own a PS3 and love it. I connect to the Internet wirelessly and the only time I had a problem was when the PS3 was tucked away in a corner that was too far from the router. When the PS3 was placed there, Internet access was intermittent and it often failed trying to download updates. I moved it 10 feet from that position to get it closer and it's worked fine ever since.
I, too, watched Nine recently, and when I first put the disc into the PS3, it asked me to upgrade to the latest software revision. I performed the upgrade, the movie played fine, and I’ve had no problems since. I hope this information helps guide you. . . . Doug Schneider
