PS4 Firmware Update 1.75 Brings Blu-Ray and More, Now TV App Already Here and Sony’s $15 Million Settlement

PlayStation 4 Controller is Displayed at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Known as E3, in Los Angeles — A PlayStation 4 controller is displayed at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, California, June 11, 2014. Reuters

Just recently, the PS4 Firmware Update 1.74 was released, bringing in mostly stability improvements.

But within just a week of each other, the PS4 Firmware Update 1.75 may already see a release, bringing more features, the most requested of which is 3-D Blu-Ray support.

PlayStation has announced via its official Twitter the confirmation about the 3-D Blu-Ray support, as well as the release date:

Coming next week: PS4 system software update 1.75 adds 3D Blu-ray film support. Woo-hoo!
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 24, 2014

This was a modification of an earlier tweet spotted from PlayStation Europe, which only said "coming soon."

It's interesting to explore if the immediate release of the 3-D Blu-ray support is in any way connected to the fact that the Xbox One will also be releasing 3-D Blu-ray support for its August System Update. 3-D Blu-ray support seems to be a much-requested feature for both consoles.

Now TV App Coming to PS4

PS4 players will be getting the Now TV app from Sky. This will come a bit earlier than the Xbox One version, which has also been confirmed to debut on Microsoft's next-gen console.

The Now TV app, according to The Inquirer, will let customers pay for movies, shows and sports shows depending on their subscriptions.

"With the addition of the brilliant Now TV to the PlayStation entertainment proposition, PS4 keeps getting better," said Fergal Gara, SCE UK VP and MD in a statement quoted by The Inquirer.

The $15 Million Settlement for Hacking Lawsuit

Way back in 2011, Sony had had to deal with a data breach with the PlayStation Network, where 77 million user accounts had been involved in the theft of details and credit card data. Even with an immediate response of free games, there are still users who filed a lawsuit against the company.

Now, Polygon reports that the trial seems to have reached a settlement, where Sony will have to settle for $15 million as preliminary for the class action lawsuit.

This will translate to PSN members getting benefits including free PS3 and PSP games, PS3 themes, subscriptions to PS Plus and Music Unlimited, and SOE Station crash.

The offered freebies are currently available only to the U.S. residents, because as IGN reports, other territories have already issued other ways to deal with it with Sony. As far as the $15 million settlement goes, involved parties will need to make sure that they have an active PS Plus membership to qualify for the free items.