Mockup and info from kotaku (http://kotaku.com/363135/sonys-playstation-3-video-store-sounds-ready-to-go):

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2008/03/video_store_mockup.jpg

The current PlayStation Store is a bit of a clunker. It's functionally sound, but a bit rough around the edges from a usability standpoint. Compared to the rest of the PlayStation 3's visual design, it's certainly lacking—but that's reportedly going to change come Springtime, as the Store is said to get a new coat of paint. One aspect of the Store that's been hinted about by reliable publications, like the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, is Sony's download service, one that president Howard Stringer may be talking about when he refers to the "expansion" of the PlayStation Network.

It may be Sony's best bet in fending off Apple's iTunes for movie and television distribution. And it may be closer than we thought.

Sure, it's been a long time coming, with first reports of the digital download venture hitting in December of 2006, but Sony's been awfully quiet about when it's coming.

According to sources who attended the retailer and publisher focused Destination PlayStation conference last week in Scottsdale, Arizona, Sony showed off a portion of its video store. It reportedly uses the same SingStore-like interface we talked about in our PlayStation Store revamp post, something we hoped to capture in the mock-up of the video store above.

No specifics on launch date, pricing, digital rights management or integration with the redesigned PlayStation Store were provided, but we did hear that North America may be getting the service before anyone else. The only offerings we were told about were Sony Pictures owned. Word on who else might be licensing their content to the the store wasn't provided.

Sony's been very coy about discussing any aspect of the PlayStation video store with the press, but if its showing the service to publishers and retailers, we're hoping that means it's on the cusp of going prime time.

=======================

*** BONUS STORY ***

So how might PS3 owners store a large library of hi-def movies in the future? Check out this news article (http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/03/sony.5x.hdd.storage.boost/). Sony has new notebook hard drive tech that allows users to store 150 hours+ of HD video (1.6TB) using the same design as the current largest drives of 320GB.

As you know, a PS3 works with any notebook hard drive, so this is great news. If they get the price right, it could be a huge hit (especially if PS3s eventually come with 1.6TB drives built in).

Bring it on!!

Can't see myself using it really, but it would be sweet if somehow they added some kind of managed copy feature to use with blu ray. Say for instance someone who owns a copy of movie X on BD can authenticate it and download a portable copy for play in PSPs and the like.

I wonder how their downloads will compare to blu-ray?

Why not just use netflix or BB. :rolleyes:

Downloads are comprable to rentals and nowhere near the BW of discs.

To each his/her own.

I'll give it a shot but I'm not optimistic. Live downloads are overpriced and under perform and I expect the same of the PSN movies.

Finally a reason to keep my PS3. Although if they don't offer the movies soon I'll still be dumping my PS3. Since getting my BD30 the PS3 is worthless to me.

Why not just use netflix or BB. :rolleyes:

Downloads are comprable to rentals and nowhere near the BW of discs.

To each his/her own.

the only thing I can think of that would make me use it would be some kind of subscription that allows me to predownload new movies that I wouldn't otherwise be interested in purchasing and watch them on their release date. waiting a month for a new release in HD from netflix of BB gets old :(

well, that and the aforementioned hypothetical "managed copy" thing I proposed a few posts up.

Can't see myself using it really, but it would be sweet if somehow they added some kind of managed copy feature to use with blu ray. Say for instance someone who owns a copy of movie X on BD can authenticate it and download a portable copy for play in PSPs and the like.

you mean like this? (http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Dvd-News-Reviews/Hands-Digital-Copy/800031806)

you mean like this? (http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Dvd-News-Reviews/Hands-Digital-Copy/800031806)

Very much like that, only better, because it would be available for every BD title available.

well, every title would be ideal, but it's up to the studios to get that end of things together. hopefully others will follow fox's lead.

Even if they did manage to have a decent selection of movies (questionable given the track record of the rest of their store) and some kind of content protection policy that wasn't lame like everyone else (i.e. doesn't self destruct in 24 hours etc.) I can't imagien this working on their current network which is the slowest consumer-oriented site ever. Have you ever tried downloading a game from them? Even from our office connection which is 150Mbits, it is SLOOOOOW. To download an HD movie from their current network would take all night.

I've always found the PSN to be fast. I usually max out my 30mbs connection and can easily download a 1GB demo in a very short time. An enitre BD sized movie would only take several hours. Of course the dowloads won't be that big so the movies should easily take less than an hour like the Xbox Live titles.

Hey fellas, I'm going to add this bonus story (http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/03/sony.5x.hdd.storage.boost/) to the top post... Sony has new notebook hard drive tech that allows users to store 150 hours+ of HD video (1.6TB) using the same design as the current largest 320GB drives.

Even if they did manage to have a decent selection of movies (questionable given the track record of the rest of their store) and some kind of content protection policy that wasn't lame like everyone else (i.e. doesn't self destruct in 24 hours etc.) I can't imagien this working on their current network which is the slowest consumer-oriented site ever. Have you ever tried downloading a game from them? Even from our office connection which is 150Mbits, it is SLOOOOOW. To download an HD movie from their current network would take all night.

are you on wifi? Whats your signal strength? PSN seems decently quick to me.

are you on wifi? Whats your signal strength? PSN seems decently quick to me.

Sounds more like an OC3 port than Wifi ...

Sony's new Play TV (http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/02/26/playtv-recordings-will-have-no-restrictions-drm-or-encryptions/) looks pretty promising as well.

Sony's new Play TV (http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/02/26/playtv-recordings-will-have-no-restrictions-drm-or-encryptions/) looks pretty promising as well.That DRM-less kit will be a killer, but I doubt it can fly to the rest of the world outside of Europe.

Hey fellas, I'm going to add this bonus story (http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/03/sony.5x.hdd.storage.boost/) to the top post... Sony has new notebook hard drive tech that allows users to store 150 hours+ of HD video (1.6TB) using the same design as the current largest 320GB drives.


Storage wouldn't be an issue anyway since you could plug in any USB drive as well. I'd give it try for titles not available on HDM assuming they were much superior to DVD rentals.

ps3 downloads would be nice for people that like the ps3 for other reasons.

in my case, i am more interested in what happens with appletv because of the established music download business and ipod.

in the long run, i will want a slick interface that allows downloads to portable device.

apple has this as a major business strategy for them vs. sony who is doing it as an afterthought.

it will be easier to take ps3 downloads seriously when the service has some ability to integrate and play well with other technologies.

Is there any doubt downloads will be a factor in this format war? Sony, the main pusher of Blu-Ray is offering downloads on their blu-ray player.

I hope they offer a full selection of movies in Canada. Apple and Microsoft have infuriated Canadians by only offering a token selection of content in Canada compared to what they offer in the US. The first player to offer a full selection of content will pretty much own the Canadian download market.

some posts deleted: some of you folks may need to chill a bit

Is there any doubt downloads will be a factor in this format war? Sony, the main pusher of Blu-Ray is offering downloads on their blu-ray player.

not sure what format war you are referring to.

imo download and bd are symbiotic. profile 2.0 will add download abilities to bd.

it is just a matter of where your personal preference lies. some people might go all download, partial download or no download.

i would like a good download service for renting but would stick to bd for big titles.

This would be great if we get to keep the movies and not just a rental type thing...

It is not so new news. PS/3 is already used as set-top box for IPTV/VOD service in Korea since last year. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2007/10/123_11593.html

If you choose 3 year service plan for KoreaeTelecom (largest phone/Internet carrier/service provider in Korea) IPTV service, you can get PS/3 as IPTV service set top box and pay $5 a month as down-payment for 36 months. It is quite comparable to monthly lease fee for dedicated IPTV set-top box. So there is virtually no surcharge over current offerings. Mega TV service is providing various free VOD movie, TV drama, VOD of yesterday's OTA TV channel, documentary and educational contents and PPV VOD movies, just like cable TV service. http://mymegatv.com/channel/list_plus.asp?sc=4500

It is no wonder if Sony will start similar service in North America, soon.

If it's the same picture quality as Blu-Ray and has at least the highest bitrate of Dolby
Digital or DTS then maybe I'll consider it. Until then, nothing beats Blu-Ray in terms of
picture quality and sound quality. I don't want downloadable movie to dominate Blu-Ray
also. This is just a great alternative along with PlayTV and future DVR add-on.

are you on wifi? Whats your signal strength? PSN seems decently quick to me.

Nope. Ethernet on a 150MBit connection to the Internet (dedicated fiber line). We get the rest of the Internet ridiculously fast. It's slow at home too, where it is ethernet to a cable modem and decently fast for everything else, though it can't compete with the office. And there's no firewall issues or anything either -- it's the It department that set this up. In fact, it is setup in the data center right next to the Verizon rack. It doesn't get any faster.

Besides, there have been numerous other threads before about how slow the PSN is -- this is not a new or original issue. I am shocked to read anyone say they find the PSN fast.

I wonder how their downloads will compare to blu-ray?

Lower quality, fewer features, and you won't own them. Which is all perfectly fine for a rental operation.

Preview of the PlayTV PS3 solution:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=93867

The PS3's processing grunt has been put to good use: the load time for interactive features like news multiscreen is noticeably faster than with a standard tuner, and there's a fancy depth-of-field blur applied when you bring up menus over the picture. In contrast to PlayTV's physical presence, its on-screen interface oozes quality and class, even by Sony's own high standards. Sony's Bravia teams have had a lot of input in PlayTV, and it shows.

I hope the PS3-Online makeover is substantial. I truly believe that the PS3 is overall the best gaming system, that said the xbox live has alot of options and the downloads on xbox are considerably faster than the psn downloads. On a side note I wish that PS would offer a subscriber based rental service for movies ... kinda like netflix or blockbuster where I could pay 15 or 20$ a month and receive unlimited rental's. Microsoft is nice but their prices are ridiculous if PSN's prices are the same i will only use it for demos which are already available.

I really feel like this should have been a feature from day 1.

My guess is it wasn't due to the Bluray agenda, but Sony had the opportunity to convince other studios of how it could be done, since like Microsoft with the Xbox and Apple with the iPod, Sony has a direct connection a closed system, the PS3.

If the download service had a good implementation, Sony would also be well positioned in the VOD market. That being said, if the store has a good implementation of managed copy with Sony titles, a PSP might become a worthy purchase for both its gaming and multimedia capabilities.

That would be sweet.

I can pay up to $3 per download with no DRM BS.

I can pay up to $3 per download with no DRM BS.

I expect you won't be getting any downloads, then.

It is not so new news. PS/3 is already used as set-top box for IPTV/VOD service in Korea since last year. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2007/10/123_11593.html

If you choose 3 year service plan for KoreaeTelecom (largest phone/Internet carrier/service provider in Korea) IPTV service, you can get PS/3 as IPTV service set top box and pay $5 a month as down-payment for 36 months. It is quite comparable to monthly lease fee for dedicated IPTV set-top box. So there is virtually no surcharge over current offerings. Mega TV service is providing various free VOD movie, TV drama, VOD of yesterday's OTA TV channel, documentary and educational contents and PPV VOD movies, just like cable TV service. http://mymegatv.com/channel/list_plus.asp?sc=4500

It is no wonder if Sony will start similar service in North America, soon.


We are in South Korea, and have played around with MegaTV. To be honest, it's freakin' annoying as heck, so we don't use it. Why? They keep looping and looping the same annoying TV commercial in the background while you wait for your movie to load. When part of it loads, you watch for a few minutes, and it stops again and loads some more. We're still trying to figure it out, but my wife doesn't want to bother. She wants to know why we'd care to use it when we can get movies instantly from our cable's PPV service for between $1 and$ $2.50. We don't have the fastest internet, but are only getting about 1.5mps download via wifi to the PS3 (the router's max).

By the way, there is a fair amount of banding in the HD material, and it is quite blurry compared to regular HD, despite having 720p or so resolution.

Nope. Ethernet on a 150MBit connection to the Internet (dedicated fiber line). We get the rest of the Internet ridiculously fast. It's slow at home too, where it is ethernet to a cable modem and decently fast for everything else, though it can't compete with the office. And there's no firewall issues or anything either -- it's the It department that set this up. In fact, it is setup in the data center right next to the Verizon rack. It doesn't get any faster.

Besides, there have been numerous other threads before about how slow the PSN is -- this is not a new or original issue. I am shocked to read anyone say they find the PSN fast.

Try running a speedtest through the ps3's browser. I've found the speedtest to be comparable to what my computer shows. If the speedtest through the ps3 is much lower, you may have an issue with your network settings to the ps3.

I have a normal broadband connection, and I'd estimate that I get downloads at 300- 500KBps during non-peak times. Dont know if that's considered fast to you, but I really haven't gotten faster downloading from my pc.

I really feel like this should have been a feature from day 1.

My guess is it wasn't due to the Bluray agenda, but Sony had the opportunity to convince other studios of how it could be done, since like Microsoft with the Xbox and Apple with the iPod, Sony has a direct connection a closed system, the PS3.

If the download service had a good implementation, Sony would also be well positioned in the VOD market. That being said, if the store has a good implementation of managed copy with Sony titles, a PSP might become a worthy purchase for both its gaming and multimedia capabilities.

That would be sweet.

Sony may have trouble getting other studios on board (i.e. NBC/Universal) since they are a direct competitor, unlike Apple and Microsoft.

How will this fly when the PS3 HD is interchangeable meaning you could DL movies to HD and take it out and then distribute on net??

How will this fly when the PS3 HD is interchangeable meaning you could DL movies to HD and take it out and then distribute on net??

You can take take a hard drive out of anything and dump the files onto a PC with the right stuff, be it a TIVO, Xbox, you name it. It will obviously has similar DRM as any other movie download service has now.

Sony may have trouble getting other studios on board (i.e. NBC/Universal) since they are a direct competitor, unlike Apple and Microsoft.Studios didn't seem to mind going blu-ray. I wonder why? :confused:

Sony may have trouble getting other studios on board (i.e. NBC/Universal) since they are a direct competitor, unlike Apple and Microsoft.

Puh-lease... as long as it's DRM'd to hell, Fox and Disney will jump onboard.

The download service is for Europe and ONLY FOR NOW(S.Korea already has something in place but it's meant ONLY for SK).Sony has said multiple times that they have NO PLANS on bringing it to North American ANYTIME soon.The reason being that there is already a TON of competition here with cable VOD,Sattelite,online VOD services,Netflix,Amazon Unbox,iTnes and XBL Video Store.Sony currently also has content and movies it owns up on ALL of those services and is making quite a bit of money for doing nothiNG but making it's media available.Sony is currently redesignign the PS Store to make it look less like a store and more like a front-end.They are also trying to gear-up for the launch of "Home" which is going to...well, let's just say "disappointment" is going to be a word commonly used to describe it, and that's being kind.

If anyone is expecting Sony to come up with a video service like XBL,Unbox,or even Itv, you're going to end up disappointing yourselves.At most they might sell digital copies of their movies for the PSP but they want to sell BlueRay movies my friends.That's the whole reason there's a BlueRay drive in the PS3 to begin with.

The download service is for Europe and ONLY FOR NOW(S.Korea already has something in place but it's meant ONLY for SK).Sony has said multiple times that they have NO PLANS on bringing it to North American ANYTIME soon.The reason being that there is already a TON of competition here with cable VOD,Sattelite,online VOD services,Netflix,Amazon Unbox,iTnes and XBL Video Store.Sony currently also has content and movies it owns up on ALL of those services and is making quite a bit of money for doing nothign but making it's media available.

Sony likely won't bring a video store to the PS3, especially when the network is barely a shell that deals with games,add-ons,and themes for the PS3 VIDEO GAME CONSOLE.


So it isn't going to be for NA? I guess I will need to sell my PS3. Movie downloads is the only thing I could use it for now since getting a Panasonic BD30 BD player. And if Sony isn't going to offer movie downloads in NA, I see no reason to keep my PS3 for just trailer downloads. I can get those from my 360 or online and watch them through my 360's.

Studios didn't seem to mind going blu-ray. I wonder why? :confused:

blu-ray is different, even Warner is using a non-Sony replicator. Also blu-ray isn't 100% Sony.

Puh-lease... as long as it's DRM'd to hell, Fox and Disney will jump onboard.

And Steve Jobs holds 51% of Disney voting shares and runs Apple.

I hope the PS3-Online makeover is substantial. I truly believe that the PS3 is overall the best gaming system, that said the xbox live has alot of options and the downloads on xbox are considerably faster than the psn downloads. On a side note I wish that PS would offer a subscriber based rental service for movies ... kinda like netflix or blockbuster where I could pay 15 or 20$ a month and receive unlimited rental's. Microsoft is nice but their prices are ridiculous if PSN's prices are the same i will only use it for demos which are already available.

right now the PS3 online network system is the best there is for online game play and on top of that its FREE!!! In a few months you will see movies for download on the PS3 some will be free some will be 3.00 dollars to compete with apple tv with full 1080P movies.....

The only HD movies that might be $3 are Sony movies. For other content providers, if they are $3 on PSN then other VOD services will have them for $3. Right now prices are consistent for all VOD services alomg with rental windows.

The download service is for Europe and ONLY FOR NOW(S.Korea already has something in place but it's meant ONLY for SK).Sony has said multiple times that they have NO PLANS on bringing it to North American ANYTIME soon.The reason being that there is already a TON of competition here with cable VOD,Sattelite,online VOD services,Netflix,Amazon Unbox,iTnes and XBL Video Store.Sony currently also has content and movies it owns up on ALL of those services and is making quite a bit of money for doing nothiNG but making it's media available.Sony is currently redesignign the PS Store to make it look less like a store and more like a front-end.They are also trying to gear-up for the launch of "Home" which is going to...well, let's just say "disappointment" is going to be a word commonly used to describe it, and that's being kind.

If anyone is expecting Sony to come up with a video service like XBL,Unbox,or even Itv, you're going to end up disappointing yourselves.At most they might sell digital copies of their movies for the PSP but they want to sell BlueRay movies my friends.That's the whole reason there's a BlueRay drive in the PS3 to begin with.

Actually, the only thing that probably won't make it to the US is the Replay TV.

Pretty much everything else in your post is complete hogwash, too. Where do you get this stuff?

blu-ray is different, even Warner is using a non-Sony replicator. Also blu-ray isn't 100% Sony.



And Steve Jobs holds 51% of Disney voting shares and runs Apple.

You got your numbers way wrong buddy! Steve Jobs owned more than 50% of Pixar (more like 70%). However, after Disney bought out Pixar, he owns enough shares of Disney to make him the largest single share holder but percentage wise that is about 5%. He is in Disney's board too.

right now the PS3 online network system is the best there is for online game play and on top of that its FREE!!! In a few months you will see movies for download on the PS3 some will be free some will be 3.00 dollars to compete with apple tv with full 1080P movies.....

Where did you read this? $3 would be nice but I think it is a fantasy.

So it isn't going to be for NA? I guess I will need to sell my PS3. Movie downloads is the only thing I could use it for now since getting a Panasonic BD30 BD player. And if Sony isn't going to offer movie downloads in NA, I see no reason to keep my PS3 for just trailer downloads. I can get those from my 360 or online and watch them through my 360's.

I live in Springfield, if you really dont like your PS3. I have a DMP-BD10AK that I just bought at CC. I will trade it to you.

Besides the Blu-ray player, Sony also dotted the PS3 with HDs, upgradeable. Although some games might benefit from the HD, and also downloading games certainly require it, the best reason for having a big HD, or even allowing for unlimited upgrading(just got mine up to 320GB), is to enable a download service of VIDEO. Anyone saying Sony doesn't have that as a major target is missing the point. Sony does not see this download service as competition to BD, for two reasons: It cannot match the quality of a BD, and it does not hurt Sony to sell either.(In fact, since they control de PSstore, they get more money from downloads than from BD disc sales...)

Allan

Right now prices are consistent for all VOD services alomg with rental windows.From everything I have read Vudu charges up to a dollar more than Apple? I have seen the pricing listed below via numerous sources...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how_to/4253197.html

I think, owning ur own disc is better