On Monday, October 18th Netflix on the Sony PlayStation 3 will get a big update. It will remove the requirement of having the Netflix disc inserted. The interface gets updated, higher resolutions will be supported for select titles, and Dolby 5.1 surround sound will be supported.
It seems the exclusivity deal Microsoft and Netflix had has expired so Netflix on the PS3 is able to go disc-less. To read an interview with Netflix not exactly answering why the disc was required in the first place, check out this Joystiq article from a year ago when the service launched on the PS3.
The interface is also getting an overhaul as the service becomes an installed application. It’s hard to judge from videos at this point but it looks like the interface will be faster and allow some new features. Being native PS3 code, the analog stick now works as well to allow faster scrolling through the catalog.
Image courtesy of PlayStation Blog.
Other features with this update include being able to watch select titles in 1080i high def resolution. You can also listen to Dolby 5.1 surround sound. A number of the titles will also be able to play subtitles.
For more info, you can watch this video posted on the PlayStation Blog or read the press release from Netflix.