Sony is once again taking the lead with their Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console with a planned firmware upgrade that will give the console the ability to play Blu-ray 3D™ discs.
Sony announced that the firmware upgrade will be available in September. While the PlayStation already comes complete with a Blu-ray player, an upgrade is necessary to enable it to play Blu-ray movie discs with 3D enhancements. The upgrade is presumably free, as other major firmware upgrades have been in the past. Sony provided a PS3 firmware upgrade that enabled 3D gaming several month ago.
There are an estimated 35 million or more PS3s in homes today, which means this could give the sales for the upcoming launch of a range of 3D movies a boost. But the firmware upgrade alone will not allow a user to view Blu-ray 3D movies in 3D unless the HDTV is 3D-ready, which means that it has to contain the special processor that enables 3D viewing. Users will also have to purchase 3D glasses, which presumably will be liquid crystal shutter glasses, in order to view 3D movies.
If you do not already have a 3D-ready HDTV, the conversion to 3D will still incur a significant monetary pain. Plus, with shutter glasses costing about $150 per unit, it could be expensive to purchase enough shutter glasses for a large family. Oh well–no pain, no gain.