Blu-Ray Player Updates Equals Fail

Recently, I helped my mom setup a home entertainment system. She made a comment that she would never have been able to set it up herself. I realize there are companies out there she could’ve hired to do the work, but that’s not what got me thinking about writing this article.

What did was the fact that this happened right around the same time time Avatar was released, specifically the Blu-ray (BD) version.

What’s the connection?  Shortly after getting Avatar from Best Buy, I received an email from them stating a firmware upgrade to my Blu-ray player may be necessary to watch the movie.

Sure enough, my Sharp BD-HP21 was one of many players needing an update.  Articles here, here, and here summarize.

Luckily I found a forum thread which included a link to an available firmware upgrade from Sharp Canada, which went smoothly and all was well.

So back to my mom. I realize this seems relatively easy for some of us, but not someone like her.  She wouldn’t search for an update, throw it on a flash drive, and upgrade her player.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the advantage of new features, and I actually appreciate that my Blu Ray player didn’t just become obsolete.  And the picture quality is no doubt, outstanding.

But are these firmware updates too much for regular consumers?  Could this be a reason that the Blu Ray format could fail?  Or will internet-connected devices solve some of these issues?  Or is physical media already dead, regardless?

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