PS3 2.20 this month with BD-LIVE

PlayStation 3's upcoming 2.20 firmware will include Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (known as "BD-LIVE") Internet features and allow you to copy music and photos directly from PS3 to PSP.

BD-LIVE adds interactive features to films, like downloadable bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles, ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones, and images, as well as interactive movie-based games with online features.

A Sony spokesperson said the new firmware would be out "in late March, exact date TBC".

Other features set to go live in firmware 2.20:

• Photos and music playlists can be copied directly from PS3 to PSP so you can listen to and view stuff on the go.
• A new "Resume play" option will enable PS3 to start Blu-rays or DVDs at the point they were stopped, even if the disc was removed.
• "Audio Output Device" will be a new Remote Play setting, so you can use the PSP as a remote control for music playing on PS3.
• "Mosquito Noise Reduction" as an AV setting.
• The Internet browser will allow for streaming video and view webpages more quickly, so hopefully no more sitting around waiting for those pictures of Heidi Montag to download from The Superficial.
• Support for DivX and WMV videos larger than 2GB. All above board, we're sure.

The most recent firmware release, 2.17, went live late last week and didn't obviously do all that much, although Sony subsequently told us that it enabled multiplayer support in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - not a bad game, as we recall.