PlayStation Network gets HD films from six major studios

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Sony has bagged a deal with six major studios to deliver HD movies on the PlayStation Network -- reportedly the first and only service to do so. In addition to its own Sony Pictures Entertainment, the company has signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros.

Sony's arrangement adds to the PlayStation 3's advantage as an all-around home entertainment system. The console ships with many benefits over the Xbox 360, including built-in Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray drive. New content is available today in the US, while the UK, France, Germany, and Spain will get access in the future. Among the new titles is Inglourious Basterds, Public Enemies, and District 9.

It should be interesting to see how, or if competing products and services respond -- especially those who mostly profit from renting movies, like BlockBuster. Studios have been somewhat hesitant to allow HD movie rentals, as it cuts into Blu-ray sales.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/38175-playstation-network-gets-hd-films-from-six-major-studios.html

 

[Vrmithrax]

Should be interesting to see how they price out, in relation to other competitive services and just buying outright.

I wouldn't mind having cheap access to movies on my PSP while on the road... Hmmmmmmm

 

[Guest]

This is exactly why the PS3 will win in the long run. Sorry 360, I love you, but quality over quantity will ALWAYS prevail.

 

[Guest]

You mean like how Betamax overcame VHS?

 

[rufio]

HD movies? is it safe to assume that it's going to take a reaaal long time to stream a movie? hey just like installing a game on the ps3 lol

 

[ToastOz]

Why would people pay to demolish there download bandwidth and internet data caps. A normal DVD is 4gig minimum I'd like to see how much a hd stream is.

 

[pipopaz]

I can see it work on the ps3 but there is not much details about if its rental or you will own the movie, kinda like the xbox 360?

 

[elroacho72]

I have said it before Sony made the PS3 to last a long time, it's future proof for like ten years? I read that somewhere, most likely TECHSPOT. I don't even use a computer for that long.

 

[Recipe7]

An HD enthusiast is going to need a pretty good connection to avail of the new feature.

 

[rskapadia2294]

SONY is surely surpassing XBOX and Wii in terms of games! and now this feature will even make it better! MS & Nintendo should work on their features to remain in this race!

 

[ansarimikail]

I wonder if this is sugar coating to offset the patch blunder on the PS3s.

 

[alexandrionel]

I doubt this is because of the patch blunder. It takes a lot longer to close such deals with studios.
Maybe they just wanted to get some attention on the PS3, maybe they think that negative attention is better than no attention, maybe the patch blunder was something intentional .

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

like i said in a former post, Playstation 3 in the title = flame or console war, LOL!

it's about a new service, whether it be good or bad, it's added value & optional as usual. I would really love to have such services in my part of the world, but with my slow connection won't be great.

so if it works for you & you are not of those stealing movies off torrents, why not ... go for HD content streaming, i'm sure you have the proper connection for that.

I really like the fact that so many services are being available on PC & consoles, it makes it easier for some & as the DVD is slowly but surely fading away & that blu-ray can be ordered online, some lower bandwidth 'HD' movies can still prove OK, if you don't want to buy but rent.

Once the zone boundary will disappear, it will be one of the best service around, yet will hardly ever replace a real disc based solution with added contents, higher quality & bonus contents.

Thank you SONY, but do take in consideration the other countries option.

cheers!

 

[fref]

Very cool, but I'm guessing it'll take a lot of bandwidth to watch a movie in HD. So in the end, I'll end up paying extra for busting my internet download limits. I think I'll continue renting local...

 

[ToastOz]

If you can't make enough games to keep your clients happy you might as well sell em movies while they wait lol.
They must figure the ps3 community still has plenty of cash that needs to be shaken out of there pockets

 

[Neojt]

Hope they are not too expansive since Downloading HD movies will eat up your monthly dowload quota for us canadians anyways

 

[gunabut]

The internet infrastructure is no where near being able to deliver this sort of service in any country . Sony have clearly lost the plot, basically more money than sense syndrome. isp's are not going to fork out masses of $ just so sony can provide this 'service' Most of the isp's can not even provide a decent low quality tv connnection for catch up purposes.
None of the governments in Europe or usa canada want to invest in their countries communication systems if they did we would all have optical connections to the house.
It is not only the bandwidth available it is also if the fat cisco switches are bloody expensive and you may have a 20meg connection but if that leads to 1 overworked cisco switch then actual speeds will be significantly lower

 

[Docnoq]

ToastOz said:
If you can't make enough games to keep your clients happy you might as well sell em movies while they wait lol.
They must figure the ps3 community still has plenty of cash that needs to be shaken out of there pockets

What world are you living in? The PS3 has plenty of premium games. That argument might have worked in its debut year, but not so much anymore.

Back to the story at hand. As others have stated, I do not see this feature gaining huge popularity off the bat. Most people (including myself) do not have the bandwidth to handle streaming HD. Hell, I had to let Netflix buffer for a few minutes if I wanted to watch it uninterrupted. I still hope Sony adds some of the long-awaited PSN features soon.. like parties and cross-game chat -.-

 

[Guest]

Internet download limits??? what kind of service are you guys getting? what happen to unlimited downloads? This is great for SONY and most PS3 users especially if you have an HDTV.

 

[slh28]

Depends on where you live and what your internet connection is like I guess - in smaller countries like here in the UK I get constant 1MB/s download speed with unlimited downloads for £6 a month. It's even better in places which have fibre optic connections in place.

 

[Guest]

IN Jamaica West Indies.... we have speeds up to 15mb unlimited. And we are so-called "third world".

 

[Guest]

The issues I have with Sony PSN service is this:
1) Download only to one machine.
2) Unable to deactivate PSN Video Link to a dead system unless it's serviced by an "authorized" Sony services. Aka dead system, just replace new = no movies

 

[natefalk]

Another reason why PS3 is better than Xbox. Although, I can imagine Microsoft working on the same deal with the studios (it's not like they don't have the money)

 

[compdata]

This service sounds like a great idea. The price will determine whether i would do this over just going to my local redbox and picking up a DVD there Blockbuster is doomed in any case.

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

maybe for now it's a bit hard for a lot, yet many have access to decent bandwidth for HD streaming, on a Max 2 Mega connexion can stream 720p video if you let it buffer for a minute or so, not practical.

soon this will be history with changes on the Internet architecture, material & mew services. Google is going fibre, CISCO got a new router (CRS-3) that is said to "Forever Change the Internet" with

It enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.

I'm sure than in less than 5 years with new technology & HD being the new Standard, things will get better, for now on, those that can will enjoy!

oh yea, btw i work for a big telco, LOL!

cheers!