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We've all gotten a bit spoiled by DVD: We pop a disc into a player, and it works.

The same isn't always the case for Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, though, as early adopters are finding out. In this connected world, no product is ever final when it's shipped out the factory door. Instead, manufacturers are relying on firmware updates to keep high-definition players current. The idea that the hardware you bought six months ago may actually get new life every now and then has some appeal--no one wants to own the most expensive doorstop on the block. But firmware updates can lead to frustrations too, especially if you need them regularly.

Of course, DVD wasn't always perfect; ten years ago, in the format's early years, incompatibilities occurred. When The Matrix debuted on DVD, its complex menus brought many a DVD player to its knees. And it wasn't the first, or the last, title to do so. Many experts I've spoken to in the industry indicate that such incompatibilities are to be expected with a new format--and that, all things considered, Blu-ray and HD DVD are not faring so badly.

Such historical perspective offers context--but not comfort--for consumers caught in the middle.

Updates Transform Players

No question about it: Firmware updates can enhance your gear. Firmware updates to Toshiba's first-generation HD DVD players, the HD-A1 and HD-XA1, speeded up disc load times, for example. Pioneer and Sony have improved their products' performance via firmware updates, too. Sometimes a firmware update will add features--Panasonic's update to its DMP-BD10 in April introduced support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio, as well as for Panasonic's EZ Sync cross-component operation.

Read the release notes for a typical firmware update, and you'll find generic language indicating that the manufacturer is fixing a range of issues, from bugs and glitches to performance to disc compatibility.

For consumers, the last point is key. Note the typical disclaimer that comes with many HD DVD discs: "This HD DVD disc is manufactured to the highest quality available. It is possible this HD DVD disc was manufactured after your HD DVD disc player. To ensure the best possible viewing experience, your HD DVD disc player may need a firmware or software update. Please consult your hardware manufacturer's website for the latest firmware or software version and, if an upgrade is available, we suggest that you follow its installation instructions. For additional info, please go to www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com."

Many Blu-ray titles carry similar inserts. Look closely at your player's manual, and chances are you'll see a proviso indicating that not all discs may work on that player. Samsung's new BD-P1200, its second-generation Blu-ray player, goes so far as to place a disclaimer right on top of the unit that reads: "Please note: a) that Samsung does not warrant (i) disc compatibility with new and existing format discs or (ii) error-free playback in full compliance with specifications of the compatible disc formats and (b) that Samsung shall not be liable for any data loss recorded in your discs."

Huh.

Now that's a mouthful of legalese. And it makes a consumer wonder: "What's going on here? Didn't I just buy a player designed to play discs?"

The short answer is yes, you did. But in the blue-laser universe, disc playback is a whole lot more complex than it once was.

Firmware Realities

A given player can adhere to the technical specification currently in place, and so too can a given disc. Yet put the two together, and sometimes you can end up with unexpected outcomes.

"It can be complicated. I'm surprised it's going as well as it is," admits Chris Walker, Pioneer's senior manager of optical disc planning and marketing.

The HD DVD versions of King Kong and Miami Vice, for example, caused error messages on Toshiba HD DVD players. A firmware update corrected the problem.

More recently, Blu-ray's compatibility woes have made news. Disney released the first and second installments in its Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy on Blu-ray. Those discs, along with an earlier Disney title, Chicken Little, did a number on several first-generation Blu-ray Disc players (particularly with regard to the special features).

Adhering to the technical specifications alone doesn't guarantee interoperability. Notes Disney's Annie Chang, who shepherded the Disney titles to Blu-ray: "There are different levels of what the player manufacturers have to do, and what is optional."

Pioneer's Walker says it comes down to "interpretations in how everybody writes their own software code. Every once in a while you have a glitch. How the disc is expecting [code] to be executed [versus] how the spec is implemented."

For Blu-ray Discs, the issue has often been tied to Blu-ray's Java programming language, referred to as BD-J. All Blu-ray Disc players, including the first-to-market Samsung BD-P1000, support BD-J. The real trouble lies with the fact that players were created in a void, with no real-world content to test.

"We're pushing the format," says Chang. "[Pirates has] really cutting-edge programming." Once disc designers know what they're doing creatively, the trick is to make sure the discs will work on players. "It's a matter of working with the manufacturers to get their firmware to play back these discs. It's the chicken-and-egg syndrome. If the manufacturers don't have content, they don't have anything to benchmark their players on."

As such, she adds, "there are early players that have issues with the complexity of BD-J." For developers, that knowledge presents some problems. "We want people to be able to play [the movie] on as many players as possible. When you develop content, you don't want to go for the lowest common denominator; you want to do something that pushes the envelope and is compelling."

Enter the aforementioned disclaimers. For example, Disney's filmmaker Q&A bonus feature on the Blu-ray version of Chicken Little includes an insert mentioning that some features will work only on a Sony PlayStation 3--arguably the most advanced Blu-ray player currently available, given the game-play horsepower inside. "You can try it on your set-top player, but you'll get varying results," says Chang. In some cases the Q&A won't work at all.

Content companies such as Disney are getting heavily involved in quality testing now, because developing a Blu-ray Disc today is more similar to game development than to creating a standard DVD.

And when a playback problem comes up, studios alert the player manufacturers. In Disney's case, says Chang, "we have a testing house internally. When we find problems on certain players, we'll contact the manufacturers of players, and we'll give them discs so they can test out the problem. Then the manufacturer will respond and tell us they can fix it in a firmware update, or there's an authoring workaround [we could use]. If there's time, we'll go back and incorporate those into the disc."