Does Blu-ray Profile 1.1 make past players obsolete?

Today is the official end of the "grace period" for Blu-ray manufacturers, which means that all Blu-ray players released from now on must comply with Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (also known as Final Standard Profile and BD-Video Profile 1.1). Of course, that doesn't mean that Profile 1.0 Blu-ray players still can't be sold, and if you walk into your local electronics store over the next few months, you're likely to see both Profile 1.0 and Profile 1.1 Blu-ray players on the shelf. So what's the big difference between Profile 1.0 and Profile 1.1?

Profile 1.0 vs. Profile 1.1

There are several different hardware requirements (see the chart below), but it basically boils down to picture-in-picture functionality, also known as BonusView. All Blu-ray players up until this point have been Profile 1.0 and have lacked the secondary video and audio decoders necessary to play a smaller video in the corner while also playing the main high-def movie in the background. With the notable exception of the Sony PlayStation 3, Profile 1.0 players cannot be upgraded via firmware to become Profile 1.1 players.

Because Profile 1.0 players lacked this functionality, movie studios have understandably not included picture-in-picture functionality on any current Blu-ray disc. Fox has announced that it will release its first Profile 1.1-enabled disc, Sunshine, in the first quarter of 2008. And as more Profile 1.1 players become available, we expect more Profile 1.1 discs to be released.

Profile 1.1 vs. Profile 2.0

Despite Profile 1.1 also being known as Final Standard Profile, there's actually still another Blu-ray specification, Profile 2.0, also known as BD-Live. The reason it's called BD-Live is that the major difference between profiles 1.1 and 2.0 is that Profile 2.0 requires that the player has an Internet connection. Although some current Blu-ray players have an Ethernet port, these are strictly for firmware updates and can't be used to access downloadable content.

Again, since Internet connectivity isn't a mandatory feature on current Blu-ray players, movie studios have not included any Internet-enabled functionality on any current Blu-ray discs to date and there are currently no Internet-enabled discs announced for the future. Internet connectivity could be used to download additional movie content, download trailers, or enable purchasing movie-related merchandise. The other requirement of Profile 2.0 is increasing the mandatory local storage capacity to 1GB, which is presumably to accommodate downloaded content.

Technical hardware requirements

Chart compiled using EMediaLive's excellent Authoritative BD FAQ and Wikipedia.

HD DVD's advantage

As Blu-ray continues to get its act together on hardware requirements, there's no denying that HD DVD has had it right from the start. The HD DVD specification has required every player--from the very first HD-A1--to include secondary audio and video decoders, 128MB of local storage, and an Ethernet jack. Because movie studios know that special features will be accessible on every HD DVD player, several movies, such as 300 and Blood Diamond, already have picture-in-picture and Internet-enabled functionality. Of course, HD DVD's superior hardware requirements are just one factor out of many in its fight against Blu-ray--but in this brutal high-def format war, every little bit helps.

Should I wait for Profile 1.1 or 2.0?

Profile 1.1 players certainly don't make older Profile 1.0 players obsolete. While movie enthusiasts lust over special features and commentary tracks, many people are completely uninterested in investing even more time in a movie. If you already have a Profile 1.0 player, it should be able to play all the new Profile 1.1 discs without a problem--you just won't be access to some of the special features. On the other hand, if you don't have a Blu-ray player yet and you have any interest in special features, there's no reason not to look at the newly released Panasonic DMP-BD30 or wait for new Profile 1.1 players from other manufacturers. The same logic applies to Profile 2.0--you don't need to wait unless you want to be able to access the Internet-enabled features on the new discs. If you're still nervous about your Blu-ray player becoming obsolete, the best bet is to go with a PlayStation 3, which already has Internet connectivity and will likely be Profile 1.1 compliant.

For more information on the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD, check out CNET's quick guide to HD DVD vs. Blu-ray.