Rumors Xbox3 won't support Blu-Ray.
The source of the rumour:
http://www.thenextxbox.com/2013/01/...gainst-blu-ray-movie-playback-with-xbox-next/
It's not really a rumour though, just speculation.
Jesus Christ.
This just follows Microsoft OS choices also. No codecs for DVD or blu-ray in MS Operating Systems as they cost money for each. There also was a judgement that they can't include Java with the OS (you have to install it yourself). Java and h.264 are necessary for a blu-ray player.
In any case Mpeg2, h.264 and soon h.265 will be needed for IPTV streaming so if you support the former you can support DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Blu-Ray.
Both Microsoft and Sony want their next game console to be an indispensable part of the living room. So DVD, Blu-ray, 4K blu-ray, IPTV streaming, Skype, Voice and Gesture recognition with a common standard, common set of apps that also interface with Skype (Contact list, Calendar, Journal), apps, XTV standard common to the industry which means RVU support at a minimum and likely both will support HDMI pass-through. Both will comply with international standards for power modes for all they support.
This means
a large chunk of the PS4 and Xbox 3 will be identical hardware with some identical software, WebGL and OpenGL support not DirectX or Direct Compute being the biggest obvious change. XTV apps were XHTML = Java + HTML 4.01 with OpenVG supporting XML. This will change to HTML5 (WebGL & WebCL), no Java required.
XTV will also be supported by ATSC 2.0 which uses the blu-ray codec. After March 2013 there will be digital channels that only the latest smart TVs can access or a PS3, PS4 or Xbox3. These digital channels will support 1080P and 3-D as well as extended features via a web browser. So in the short term you will need a Google TV box, a smart TV or a game console to access the new content. This along with the must have new features in game consoles will make having one a must and I expect a price point that allows impulse buying.
A large chunk of the PS4 and Xbox 3 will be identical hardware = 1 Jaguar CPU package turned on and the 8280 2 CU GPU on but the second GPU turned off. This makes XTV always on and IPTV streaming a 10W or less feature. This part of the PS4 may be called Thebe and hidden in Kryptos. Thebe should also contain the WideIO memory and Transposer common to both game consoles. This is why Thebe needed to be completed first and Oban is named for a large blank Japanese gold coin with bumps and needed to be made and tested before Thebe. You can not support a low power mode with GDDR5 memory that needs 40 watts running a game and 10+ watts even at a slower clock speed in addition to the less than 10 watts (5 watts are burned by the second GPU even when off) the rest of Thebe needs. Stacked DDR4 memory in low power mode will burn less than a watt.
There is speculation in the above but it's informed speculation taking into account the big picture which is sadly lacking in professional articles.