why do I need to update my firmware?
a quick update can make a huge difference

Think of your Blu-ray player as an incredibly sophisticated computer—a purpose-built, super-user-friendly computer, mind you, but a computer nonetheless.  If your Blu-ray player had a clear cover, you could peek inside and see all manner of processors and capacitors and diodes and memory—intricate bits you wouldn’t want to have to keep track of.  Luckily, your firmware keeps track of them for you.

With a format as complex and new as Blu-ray, though, things change.  The format evolves.  And sometimes the cart gets ahead of the horse when content providers cook up nifty new features that hardware manufacturers have to release new firmware to accommodate.  Keeping your firmware up to date will ensure that your player is compatible with as many of the latest cutting-edge releases.

There are limits, of course.  Some updates to the format are more revolution than evolution, requiring hardware upgrades that simply cannot be done after your player has rolled off the production line.  While you won’t be able to access the on-line only extras for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, even with the latest firmware on a first-generation Blu-ray player, you’ll still be able to watch the movie in all of its Full HD glory and access most of the extras with nary a hiccup.