PS3 Firmware 2.30 Adds ‘Studio-Quality’ Movie Audio April 11, 2008

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The latest PS3 firmware update is cementing the fact that the PS3 is the most capable Blu-ray player on the market.

Firmware 2.30 is due out next week - in Japan first - and adds support for DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, bringing what DTS calls ‘studio-quality’ audio to your HD movies. This is joyous news indeed for home cinema buffs.

DTS-HD Master Audio delivers audio at a very high variable rate of 24.5Mbits per second (Mbps), which is a lot higher than found on DVDs. DTS-HD Master Audio also brings 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths and there are over 100 Blu-ray movies and concert videos that feature DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks.

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio is a step down in terms of audio quality from DTS-HD Master Audio but still significantly better than what you get on regular DVDs. It streams audio at a high constant bit rate of 6Mbps on Blu-ray discs, and is also capable of up to 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depth resolution.

Of course, for both of these you will need a capable home cinema receiver and surround sound set-up to hear the results.

The 2.30 firmware update will also bring access to the new revamped PlayStation Store.-Martin Lynch

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