Sony announced on Thursday that the next firmware update for its Playstation 3, scheduled for release in late March, will add Blu-ray Disc (BD) Profile 2.0 or "BD-Live." The Profile 2.0 level will allow Blu-ray discs to become interactive an include downloadable video content, ringtones, games, and more.

"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers,� said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie. With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year lifecycle of PS3 possible."

In addition to BD-Live, the new system update will allow users to copy music and photos to their PSP, resume the play of a Blu-ray disc where it was stopped even if the disc is removed, support DivX and WMV videos larger than 2 GB and adds mosquito noise reduction.

One skeptic of the BD-Live features, Profile 2.0, Phillip Swann of TVPredictions believes that movie lovers aren’t interested in interactive features, such as picture-in-picture commentaries co-resident with the movie itself and other merchandising options enabled by the interactive features. In fact, the hype over Profile 2.0 is just causing consumer confusion as news stories advise customers to hold off on the current generation of Blu-ray players which play 1080p/24/60 movies very nicely. That hype over Profile 2.0 only shoots the Blu-ray industry in the foot, according to Mr. Swann.