The forthcoming PlayStation 3 game consoles from Sony Computer Entertainment will no longer support playback of Blu-ray disc (BD) movies via component video output of the device. The restriction is imposed due to requirements of copyright protection standards.

"The new CECH-3000 series PS3 requires HDMI only for BD movie output in HD, in compliance with AACS standards. PS3 continues to support component output for HD gaming and streaming content," a Sony representative told Ars Technica web-site.

All new PlayStation 3 video consoles (versions K and higher) will come with an AV cable that will be useful only for gaming as due to image constraint token (ICT) restrictions analogue cables should not be used for AACS/HDCP-protected playback. Virtually all Blu-ray discs are protected, but not all players implement ICT restrictions. For example, all older PS3s (versions A-J) will continue to support BD playback via component cables.

Interestingly, but Sony decided not to bundle HDMI cables with new PlayStation 3 systems despite of their negligible cost.

Rejection of component cables will likely annoy not only owners of older HDTVs without HDMI (which are rare), but also those, who does not have enough HDMI ports on HDTVs or receivers.

Tags: Playstation, Sony, AACS, HDCP, Blu-ray