Sony just released a rambling update to it corporate strategy through fiscal year 2010. An interesting read for fans and competitors alike as Sony lays bare initiatives intent on moving Sony from recovery to the "leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment." Most notable in the near-term however, is word from Kazuo Hirai, chieftain of Sony Computer Entertainment, that Sony will make a movie download service available to US PlayStation 3 owners this summer -- Japan and Europe at later dates with details coming "next month," presumably at E3. Moreover, Sony expects its gaming business to achieve profitability by March 2009, the end of the current fiscal year. Of course, we already knew that Sony was prepped to deliver full-length TV shows and movies sometime in 2008 via its North American PLAYSTATION Network. But summer, eh? Judging by the increased molecular agitation of sidewalk effluence, we'd say that Sony's season of movie downloads is already upon us.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/26/sony-launching-movie-downloads-in-us-this-summer/

Movie rentals would certainly dig them out of the hole faster. I am really looking forward to MS and Sony competing in this arena. Right now Apple and MS are just a tad too expensive. More competition should change that.

If it's better quality and/or cheaper than pay-per-view from the cable company it should be a hit. Otherwise, there's not much point.

Well pay per view is only a list of certain movies at certain times. This system will allow you to pick from a long list of movies. This could be a huge revenue stream.

The HD movies probably won't be able to compete with blu-ray though. That's just not possible right now, not enough broadband. It will be some kind of reduced quality still passed off as HD like what Apple is doing. I hope I'm wrong.

Even though this move makes sense to directly compete with Live Marketplace, it seems almost like they're undermining their Blu-Ray strategy with this service. It will be reduced quality for sure, but more than good enough for most people not to notice.

I'll be sticking with my BDs, thanks...if for no other reason than I expect the download times to be fairly horrific, given that the PS Network seems kinda slow in general.

HD or SD movies.

SD movies would be "who cares"..kinda like they are on LIVE...but HD movies..well this could be interesting..what codec are they going to use?? How will they compress to make them reasonable downloads...720p or 1080p?

HD or SD movies.

SD movies would be "who cares"..kinda like they are on LIVE...but HD movies..well this could be interesting..what codec are they going to use?? How will they compress to make them reasonable downloads...720p or 1080p?

Renting 720p movies wouldn't be that bad. It wouldn't be on-demand, but you can pick something out in the evening before you go to bed and watch it the next day, or have it download while you're at work for the evening.

Of course, the server had better be speedy.

Well this should put to rest all the insinuations that the PS3 is incapable of reading/writing files beyond 2GB.


http://http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/089/89293/c20080626_20_sony_03_cs1w1_700x525.jpg

So i guess we can assume that the movie downloads will be about the size of a DVD movie 6-9GB and hence whithout the visual or audio quality of a Blu-ray movie (just in case anyone thought it came close).

I am sure that the PS3 will do a good job of upconverting the picture quality though.

I cannot imagine that this would undermine the Blu-ray sales, especially since (i guess) these would be movie rentals and using some DRM would lock to one PSN account and possibly stop working after either a few playbacks or a few days after downloading the movie.
Most people will always like the ability to own there own Media, especially if it is a movie worth watching more than once.
:)

I can't even imagine how long it would take to download each movie and then how much space it would take up on the hard drive.

I can't even imagine how long it would take to download each movie and then how much space it would take up on the hard drive.

Well, since verizon just finished digging up my sidewalk to put in fiber i will be getting FIOS soon (so that takes care of DL time).

Once they release the service i will upgrade my HD to 350GB so that should allow me to have enough space for renting movies and buying music (i hope they have a music service ).

-Kurt

Well I guess that leaves us users with 3 options:

1. Good quality - Buy/rent DVD's
2. Better quality/sound - use Download services like the PS3 store
3. Best quality - buy Blu-Ray

For me, when it is a "chick-flick", I could care less if I watch it on DVD, download service or Blu-ray.

However, when it comes to drama, sci-fi, kid movies, then I will most likely buy or rent the Blu-Ray edition, so I think the Service can work. Will give us more choice I guess.

I can't even imagine how long it would take to download each movie and then how much space it would take up on the hard drive.

HD movies on XBLVM are about 6 gigs, so delete that Haze install. And XBLVM lets you more or less stream a movie, so you don't need to wait for the whole thing to download. I am sure Sony will do the same thing.

6 gigs seems kind of large for a download, or more than I was expecting. Hour-long TV episodes are about 1.5gig and the quality is fine. Not immaculate, but fine. I suppose these downloads also include 5.1 or better audio though.

Well I guess that leaves us users with 3 options:

1. Good quality - Buy/rent DVD's
2. Better quality/sound - use Download services like the PS3 store
3. Best quality - buy Blu-Ray

For me, when it is a "chick-flick", I could care less if I watch it on DVD, download service or Blu-ray.

However, when it comes to drama, sci-fi, kid movies, then I will most likely buy or rent the Blu-Ray edition, so I think the Service can work. Will give us more choice I guess.

That would be my reasoning.

A la Netflix streaming. That would be sweet, too, for many things. And these PR types do not seem to understand the difference.

Anyway, streaming TV shows (which I do not need or really want in HD with very few exceptions) would be awesome. And maybe a flat fee per month; or partner with Netflix/Blockbuster.

On the whole, I am just glad that Sony is going to begin these services on the PS3, and not try to have a separate box that you have to buy. They have tried that kind of thing before.

I can see this working extremely well if they give the "play while downloading" option that their trailers have. I am usually able to let those videos load until 10% or so then play them til the end with no pauses or anything.

Those are 720p HD trailers... so if this is compressed HD, then I can see it working quite well! Man I love technology. Bye bye blockbuster (hopefully!)

Bye bye blockbuster (hopefully!)

Ugh. I said bye bye to them years ago.

If ISPs like TWC Road Runner implement bandwidth caps, none of this is going to matter. I'm not going to use my bandwidth up watching movies from Sony. Of course, I don't have TWC for content either (satellite), so nobody wins.

Of course, the server had better be speedy.

yeah, if it's psn speeds then I won't bother. If it's decent though it should be a good compliment to the live marketplace for hd rentals, and hopefully more competition will lead to better pricing for us.

Well this should put to rest all the insinuations that the PS3 is incapable of reading/writing files beyond 2GB.


http://http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/089/89293/c20080626_20_sony_03_cs1w1_700x525.jpg

So i guess we can assume that the movie downloads will be about the size of a DVD movie 6-9GB and hence whithout the visual or audio quality of a Blu-ray movie (just in case anyone thought it came close).



True, indeed. However, PS3's hard drive is formatted FAT32, which has a 4gb file size limit. How will these downloaded videos over 4gb work? The PS3 literally cannot recognize any file over that size. Maybe a future firmware update will alow NTFS formatted hard drives, which would be freakin' sweet.

True, indeed. However, PS3's hard drive is formatted FAT32, which has a 4gb file size limit. How will these downloaded videos over 4gb work? The PS3 literally cannot recognize any file over that size. Maybe a future firmware update will alow NTFS formatted hard drives, which would be freakin' sweet.

The movie is probably split into separate files. Maybe the audio track is separate, or the movie is just split in one or two places and the transition is seamless.

And yeah, an update for that would be awesome.

The movie is probably split into separate files. Maybe the audio track is separate, or the movie is just split in one or two places and the transition is seamless.

And yeah, an update for that would be awesome.
In all honesty, the seamless transition should be something that Sony implemented from day 1. I wish that I could select two files at a time, and have them play like a playlist. I have many movies that I have ripped to the hard drive that are split in two files, and it would be nice if they could seamlessly play so that it's as if it is one large file. That would be sweet.

You know, I forgot about the added benefit of this service: you will be able to access these downloaded movies on your PS3 from any wi-fi hot spot in the world with your PSP. That's a cool bonus over strictly sticking with DVD/Blu-ray.

Good point; that is cool.

True, indeed. However, PS3's hard drive is formatted FAT32, which has a 4gb file size limit.The internal hard drive is not FAT32 and does not have a 4gb limit.

This movie service will cause me to do 2 things right off the bat. Hard wire my PS3 to my FIOS router. Put in the 320GB Hard Drive. Depending on the quality and movie selection it might even force me to upgrade my 30 LCD to something in the 47-52" Range.

I think another cool feature that needs to be added is queing up a movie while @ work from a web interface.

Im kind of cunfused here...this is from CNN.com

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/26/news/international/sony_strategy.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008062604



In the autumn, Sony will start delivering in the U.S. feature films and TV shows as streaming video directly to Bravia TVs, without using satellite or cable distribution systems, but through the Internet, an industry first, he said.

That service will start with "Hancock" from Sony Pictures, which is becoming available before it comes out in DVDs, Stringer said.


So if I dont have a sony Bravia...I cant stream movies? It says its different than the PS3 movie downloads....that would suck

It sounds like they might be using Bravia owners to test a movie streaming service in prep for a PS3 equivalent.

It'd take me at least eight hours to download a 6 gb movie, longer if the network is slow. Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather go to the video store to rent.

The internal hard drive is not FAT32 and does not have a 4gb limit.

this is true. I have 4+ gb movies that play just fine, streamed or direct on the HDD.

I have tried multiple times to place files larger than 4gb on the ps3, and it has never worked. What am I doing wrong?

I don't see how this would be anything but a last resort for me.

1st Choice -- Rent it on Blu-Ray (through Blockbuster I always have two movies through the mail and can trade those in for another Blu-Ray at the store.

2nd Choice -- PPV on D* -- even if I have to wait a half hour for my movie to start, I can't see the PS3 download being faster than that.

3rd Choice -- watch anything off my DVR -- I am always behind on shows anyway.

Total Desperation for something to watch -- download a movie on the PS3 and wait hours to see it -- finding out halfway through that my 20GB has no room for it anyway.

I doubt I would ever download any movies to my PS3.

So if I dont have a sony Bravia...I cant stream movies? It says its different than the PS3 movie downloads....that would suck

It sounds like they might be using Bravia owners to test a movie streaming service in prep for a PS3 equivalent.

According to a post on kotaku, it seems like they are planning on pushing the movie service to ps3/psp late summer, then home consumer electronics like the bravia, and eventually mobile.

http://kotaku.com/5019807/first-shots-of-ps3-video-download-service-due-in-summer-2008

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/06/vidservice.jpg

Most here seem to think quality is the big deciding factor whether this becomes successful for Sony. For me I'm leaning more toward quantity. I subscribe to Netflix and even though people heap praise on the "Instant Watching" service, to me its not worth it when all the content doesn't include any new release material from any of the big studios. I have a queue of about 100 movies any not one of them is "instant watch" ready. If Sony doesn't have the quantity of new releases from studios besides itself, then this is just as doomed as the ATRAC format was for their walkmans.

You know, I forgot about the added benefit of this service: you will be able to access these downloaded movies on your PS3 from any wi-fi hot spot in the world with your PSP. That's a cool bonus over strictly sticking with DVD/Blu-ray.

Remote play barely plays any video I have as is. I cant imagine watching a movie with it pausing and skipping all the time.

Lots of people will use this. We here at AVS are a special breed and expect the best. Most people still don't have a HD TV and will use this feature regardless of the resolution.

So i guess we can assume that the movie downloads will be about the size of a DVD movie 6-9GB and hence whithout the visual or audio quality of a Blu-ray movie (just in case anyone thought it came close).

While Blu-Rays are better (especially on the audio side), you can get a pretty good picture with H.264 at DVD9 size for a full length film. The main difference is that with a good encoding, the picture will tend to be softer, but not as bad as a DVD.

And for me, a DVD9 is an hour and a half or two hour download, so I'd love to see this. Anything would be better than the **** Unbox is shoveling on TiVo. Unbox is OK for old TV shows that weren't shot on film anyway (or haven't been re-telecined in HD yet), but for anything else it makes me want to gag.

I have a Bravia. It has a port. I think it is going to be done with this:

http://www.live.sonyus.webcollage.net/server/boscovs/sonyus-product-content/si?ws-action=http://www.live.sonyus.webcollage.net/_wc/product-content/demo-tab2/DMXNV1.html?channel-product-id%3d38725%26showtabs%3dtrue%26wcpc%3dDMXNV1%26format%3dpopu p~MarkupType!document!PresentationFormat!html,http://content.webcollage.net/boscovs/product-content-page?channel-product-id%3d38725%26wcpid%3dsonyus-DMXNV1%26report-event%3dproduct-button-click%26usemap%3d0

I had heard the quality wasn't going to be much better than 480p. :confused: