Future models of the PS3 may contain only HDMI for high-definition video output.
Details are somewhat sketchy and conflicting right now, but what is definitely true is that there are new requirements for all Blu-ray Disc movie players.
As of December 2010, a new standard for digital rights management called Advanced Access Control System officially went into effect. And as part of that standard’s requirements, all future Blu-ray players that want to have AACS certification can only playback BD movies through HDMI. Component output is dead.
Since the PS3 is AACS-certified, the next PS3 product line will have to comply with this requirement, but the murky area is whether component output will be available for other features, like games.
Ars Technica quoted a Sony spokesperson as saying that new PS3 units coming out in the next few months won’t be able to play BD movies in HD if they’re using component cables, but “PS3 continues to support component output for HD gaming and streaming content.”
However, Kotaku says it received an internal memo from Gamestop claiming that new PS3 models will not support any sort of component video output, movies or otherwise.
Either way, it’ll be a blow to anyone who uses component cables and may not have an HDMI-equipped TV. However, that audience is definitely not very big, and there will always be millions of PS3s from 2006-2010 that will still function perfectly through component output.
