Audio Video News

Here's bad news for Blu-ray early adopters: Your first-generation player may not handle interactive features on future discs.

Why? The Blu-ray Disc Association has decreed that all players sold after October 31 support BD Java for commentary tracks and interactive features. The change won't stop any Blu-ray player from running movies (so put down that machete).

Owners of players with upgradable firmware may be able to update them to support BD Java. HD DVD has the advantage here, with already-standardized HDi interactivity based on Microsoft XML, and Ethernet ports mandated as standard equipment.

Another new requirement for Blu-ray, also starting October 31, is onboard memory: a minimum of 256MB, and 1GB for players with network connections.