Sony is at it again. In the company’s continuing bid to prove that the PlayStation 3 is, well, future-proof, it announced this morning that the video-game system’s next update will add high-definition audio.

Specifically, the PS3 will be able to play DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio. That means the best possible sound will now be available when watching movies on Blu-ray Disc. As Sony explained:

DTS-HD Master Audio brings Blu-ray movies on PS3 to life, delivering everything from explosive sound effects to intricate orchestral scores with pure, high-quality audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the original studio master. DTS-HD Master Audio has the capacity to deliver audio at the incredibly high variable rate of 24.5 mega-bits per second (Mbps) on Blu-ray disc, a rate significantly higher than standard DVDs. DTS-HD Master Audio also offers 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths. More than 100 Blu-ray movies and concert videos featuring premium DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks are available.

Additionally, the DTS-HD High Resolution Audio codec allows content creators to deliver uncompromised, high-definition audio on Blu-ray, while requiring less disc space than DTS-HD Master Audio. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio streams audio at a high constant bit rate of 6.0 Mbps on Blu-ray discs, and is also capable of up to 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depth resolution, thereby producing outstanding sound quality.

Sony said the firmware update, which is planned for next week, will also make improvements to the way the PlayStation Store works, from an online storefront to an easier-to-access application that actually resides on the PS3. This update follows a recent one that added BD-Live capability (Profile 2.0) to the PS3, allowing Blu-ray viewers to access Web-enabled features on discs. As always, the update is a simple thing to install using the PS3’s built-in wireless capabilities.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 7:31 am and is filed under DVDs, Video games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.