Dealing with instant obsolescence

I hate to break it to you, but that spiffy new video-game system or high-definition DVD player you just got as a gift is already out of date — right out of the box.
Fortunately, you don’t have to return your Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Portable video-game system, or your Blu-ray Disc  or HD DVD  high-def player. You just need to do some updating.
Blame it on the complexity of today’s home-entertainment devices.
“Before, it was just a simple hardware and software setup, and the technology wasn’t really changing that much,” said Jeff Haynes, editor of the game website IGN PlayStation (psx.ign.com ). “Now, the visual capabilities of games are changing on a daily basis.”
The same goes for high-def discs, said Joshua Zyber, a columnist for HighDefDigest.com .
“As the movie studios continue to experiment and innovate with the authoring of their discs and the features they wish to offer viewers, the players may at time require updating to resolve compatibility issues or add new functions,” he said.
What you’re actually doing when updating these devices is installing new firmware, which is the resident software that controls everything the system does. The manufacturers — Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Toshiba and others — call it a firmware update or a system update.

Updating can take time
The frequency and ease of the updating process varies depending on the device and its maker.
For example, I occasionally have inserted a new HD DVD into my Toshiba HD-XA2 player, a second-generation model, only to find that the movie can’t be viewed because of freezing and other playback issues. It’s a sure sign that I need the latest firmware update, of which at least seven have been released since the player was introduced a year ago.
There are three ways I could update the player:
1. Call Toshiba’s customer service for an installation disc with the new firmware.
2. Download the firmware from Toshiba’s support website and make an installation disc.
3. Connect the player to the Internet and download the update directly to the device.
Who wants to wait for Option 1? Connecting my player to the Web requires running a 50-foot cable to another level of my house where the router is, which is inconvenient and impractical. I usually go for the second option.
So I download the update and burn the disc on my computer, insert the disc into the player and wait about 15 minutes for the device to install the update automatically. I also have to be careful not to turn off the player during the update, because that could be disastrous. Once installed, everything plays fine.
This process is pretty much the same for other HD DVD players and stand-alone Blu-ray players.

Not such a pain with games
Video-game systems make the task much easier. The PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Wii have built-in wireless capabilities, so they connect easily to the Net for automatic updates. In addition, many PSP games come with the latest firmware update on them. The Xbox 360 makes its updates available through its Xbox Live online service for its many users who connect the system to the Net.
Besides addressing compatibility issues, updates can also fix known problems, such as a PS3 update that took care of graphical glitches when some older games were played on the system. Some offer seemingly invisible upgrades, Haynes pointed out, such as a PSP update that shuts down the device’s disc drive when it’s not being used to conserve battery power.
But the best updates add nifty new features. For example, a recent Wii update added the ability to send other users a downloadable game from Nintendo’s online store as a gift, and the Xbox 360 recently added a family timer so parents can control how long their kids play.

A hassle or a help?

A colleague sees the need to update his Blu-ray player continually as one big hassle. Like me, he burns an installation disc and says he can’t imagine how less-savvy consumers deal with the issue. And he’s still waiting for an update that will allow him to play his just-released “Live Free or Die Hard” disc.
But industry observers such as Zyber don’t see the problem.
“Firmware updates demonstrate a willingness on the part of hardware manufacturers to respond directly to consumers having functional problems with their products,” he said. “In the past, if a DVD player wasn’t working properly, the owner was often required to take it to a repair center or ship it back to the manufacturer, and then wait several weeks to see if the problem could be resolved.”
I look at firmware updates as a necessary evil of our high-tech times. The inconvenience is annoying, but I’d rather suffer through it than have to buy a new device for every little feature or new disc that comes along.
To find out about the latest update for your Blu-ray or HD DVD player, check the support section of the manufacturer’s website or call the customer-service number listed in the manual. For video-game systems, check under the setup menu for update options.
Once you install the newest firmware, you can rest assured that you have the latest and greatest features your device has to offer — until the next update comes along.

Randy A. Salas • 612-673-4542