We know that a future PlayStation 3 firmware update will enable Portable Copy, a feature that will allow users to copy a downsampled version of certain Blu-ray titles over to their PSP for portable viewing. But in a recent interview with Japanese site Impress Watch, Sony engineers revealed that an upcoming firmware update will also bring support for Managed Copy.

With Managed Copy, PS3 owners will be able to pop-in a Blu-ray disc and legally rip it straight to their PS3′s hard drive. Additionally, future updates are expected to bring 1080 deinterlacing and DTS-HD MA support to the console. A release window for the new features was not given.

On the subject of firmware 2.20, one of the engineers said that the forthcoming update will greatly reduce system memory usage. Without a doubt, this is great news for developers and likely means that Sony is paving the way for in-game XMB.

AV Watch [Impress Watch via Beyond3D]

Follow this author on Twitter.

Read more: PS3 Firmware 2.20 To Feature Portable Copy Functionality,  Upcoming PS3 Firmware To Add Blu-Ray Profile 1.1 Support,  PS3 Firmware 3.50 Adds 3D Blu-ray Support, Due Out September 21,  87 Percent Of PS3 Owners Watch Blu-ray Movies On PS3,  Ballmer: We’ll Support Blu-ray