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story category Sony Launches PS3 Video Store
Somewhere an ISP exec dreams of per-byte billing
(old news - 10:05AM Wednesday Jul 16 2008)
tags: Video · business · hardware · gaming · content
Tipped by ztmike See Profile
Sony has launched the Playstation 3 video store, bringing yet another broadband video delivery avenue to market. The store offers roughly 300 movies in both standard and high-definition formats for rental, ranging from $2.99 to $5.99. TV shows can be purchased for $1.99 and up, while films can be purchased for between $9.99 and $14.99. One leg up on Microsoft: videos purchased through the store can be transferred to Sony's PSP handheld game unit. Some additional information is available in the Sony press release:
Click for full size
Consumers who rent a movie from the video delivery service have 14 days to watch the content. Once content playback is started, consumers have a full 24 hours to enjoy their rental. Pricing for rental movies at launch ranges from $2.99 to $5.99, and pricing for purchased movies ranges from $9.99 to $14.99. Sony has also adopted Marlin Digital Rights Management technology, an open industry standard for protecting and managing digital content, to provide consumers with flexible access to their content while ensuring digital rights are protected.
"Open" and "flexible" aren't exactly adjectives I normally associate with DRM, but ok. Sony says they're on target to sell 10 million PS3's this year, a fairly decent established base to offer broadband video to. In the hopes of ramping up that total, Sony says they'll be selling a 80GB PS3 for $399.99 later this year.

Related:
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  3. Wii to deliver Video to TVs starting 2009
  4. Netflix Says No PS3 Streaming....Yet
  5. Verizon Working On FiOS Place Shifting
  6. AT&T Offers Free iPhone U-Verse DVR App
  7. What Network Neutrality Is REALLY About
  8. Cable Industry: Shucks, Guess Nobody Wants CableCARDs
Forums » Sony Launches PS3 Video Store
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Post a:

anony101

@comcast.net

NOT for Comcast

I wonder how many Comcast customers using this will get a warning letter?

gate1975mlm
Premium
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA

Re: NOT for Comcast

said by anony101 :

I wonder how many Comcast customers using this will get a warning letter?
Same goes for Xbox 360.
Stu Pidaso

join:2006-10-12
West Islip, NY

Re: NOT for Comcast

said by gate1975mlm See Profile :

said by anony101 :

I wonder how many Comcast customers using this will get a warning letter?
Same goes for Xbox 360.
Xbox 360 customers get a letter from who?

gate1975mlm
Premium
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA

Re: NOT for Comcast

said by Stu Pidaso See Profile :

said by gate1975mlm See Profile :

said by anony101 :

I wonder how many Comcast customers using this will get a warning letter?
Same goes for Xbox 360.
Xbox 360 customers get a letter from who?
Your ISP for using too much Bandwidth.

JSY
Premium
join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Bway.net

Yeah, exactly. With the PS3 and 360 starting these services and Netflix coming up - how are broadband providers going to deal with it with the way they've been sticking it to the customer? If streaming HD movies become a big thing, it's going to dwarf those people the ISPs were so concerned about that were downloading all day.
radougherty

join:1999-07-23
Austin, TX
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: NOT for Comcast

said by JSY See Profile :

With the PS3 and 360 starting these services and Netflix coming up - how are broadband providers going to deal with it with the way they've been sticking it to the customer? If streaming HD movies become a big thing, it's going to dwarf those people the ISPs were so concerned about that were downloading all day.
Don't forget that DirecTV also is using the net for their Video on Demand service to download content.

Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state
·Dish Network
·Verizon Online DSL
·FrontierNet Intern..


1 edit

Re: NOT for Comcast

DISH Network is as well. On their newer DVR receivers, there is an Ethernet port, and if you go into the Menu for either DVR or system menu, you'll see something that says DISHOnline that gets PPV off of the internet, and it works too! My family relatives just hooked it up to their Frontier DSL connection and Dish's version of that is working as well. So add another company

bakalao2k

join:2001-03-20
Chicago, IL
LOL!

Jaime
Premium
join:2001-06-03
Huntington Beach, CA
·Verizon FIOS
·Charter Pipeline

Easy to navigate

I thought it was easy to navigate and the prices seem to be ok with the service. The movie selection at the moment is decent but that is to be expected and the HD versions of movies are typically in the 8 GB range.
--
gaming.broadbandreports.com

Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Jaime See Profile :

I thought it was easy to navigate and the prices seem to be ok with the service. The movie selection at the moment is decent but that is to be expected and the HD versions of movies are typically in the 8 GB range.
8GB? That's about 2GB more than the average XBox Marketplace HD movie. I wonder if they are a higher res, a higher quality codec, or just compressed less?
Cod

join:2000-07-05
Greensboro, NC

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Matt See Profile :

8GB? That's about 2GB more than the average XBox Marketplace HD movie. I wonder if they are a higher res, a higher quality codec, or just compressed less?
I'm hoping a combination of higher res/compressed less. The good thing about the 8gb download is you can start watching the movie immediately & not have to wait for it to finish downloading. Is the 360 the same way?

The PS3 has come along way from when I got mine back in Feb '07. I'm very excited to see what Home has to offer (just wish they'd hurry the hell up).

Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Cod See Profile :

said by Matt See Profile :

8GB? That's about 2GB more than the average XBox Marketplace HD movie. I wonder if they are a higher res, a higher quality codec, or just compressed less?
I'm hoping a combination of higher res/compressed less. The good thing about the 8gb download is you can start watching the movie immediately & not have to wait for it to finish downloading. Is the 360 the same way?

The PS3 has come along way from when I got mine back in Feb '07. I'm very excited to see what Home has to offer (just wish they'd hurry the hell up).
I don't rent movies from the XBM because my XBox doesn't have a HD, but my understanding is you CANNOT watch them as they are downloading. You have to download them 100% before watching. I've only spoken to one person (of dubious technical knowledge at that) who was complaining about it. But based on the behavior of smaller downloads I've done (game previews, movie trailers) I would say he was right, you have to wait until the download is complete.
moonpuppy

join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Matt See Profile :

I don't rent movies from the XBM because my XBox doesn't have a HD, but my understanding is you CANNOT watch them as they are downloading. You have to download them 100% before watching. I've only spoken to one person (of dubious technical knowledge at that) who was complaining about it. But based on the behavior of smaller downloads I've done (game previews, movie trailers) I would say he was right, you have to wait until the download is complete.
If it takes less time to download a movie than it takes to go to the video store then it is worth it. Less gas to waste and not having to get dressed and find parking equals a win situation.
jester121

join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

Re: Easy to navigate

Plus no showers to take!

hulber

join:2004-03-19
New York, NY
·RCN CABLE
·Vonage

Re: Easy to navigate

said by jester121 See Profile :

Plus no showers to take!
You don't even have to get out of bed, if you sleep.

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

said by moonpuppy See Profile :

said by Matt See Profile :

I don't rent movies from the XBM because my XBox doesn't have a HD, but my understanding is you CANNOT watch them as they are downloading. You have to download them 100% before watching. I've only spoken to one person (of dubious technical knowledge at that) who was complaining about it. But based on the behavior of smaller downloads I've done (game previews, movie trailers) I would say he was right, you have to wait until the download is complete.
If it takes less time to download a movie than it takes to go to the video store then it is worth it. Less gas to waste and not having to get dressed and find parking equals a win situation.
well most HD movies on XBLX are 6 GB even with a 10 Mbps connection you're looking at about an hour and 20 minutes.
moonpuppy

join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Easy to navigate

said by BF69 See Profile :

well most HD movies on XBLX are 6 GB even with a 10 Mbps connection you're looking at about an hour and 20 minutes.
O.k. I'll take the example of where I live.

Netflix - wait about a day or 2 to get the movies in the mail.

Blockbuster - I have one about 2 to 3 miles away. Takes me about 10 minutes to get there. Takes about 30 minutes to browse and go through the line (if they have the move I want) and then add another 10 to get home. Get home and prep any food I want to have during the show. That's about an hour. Add to that another 20 minutes for quick drop off. One hour and 10 minutes.

I'll take the download.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
On the 360 you can watch while it downloads.

All 360 HD movies are 720p... maybe the PS3 ones are compressed 1080i/p?
Cod

join:2000-07-05
Greensboro, NC

Re: Easy to navigate

said by tiger72 See Profile :

On the 360 you can watch while it downloads.

All 360 HD movies are 720p... maybe the PS3 ones are compressed 1080i/p?
If they are all 1080 i/p, I'd rent/purchase movies & TV shows in a heartbeat...
MOTO6809

join:2007-11-05
Springfield, MA

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Cod See Profile :

said by tiger72 See Profile :

On the 360 you can watch while it downloads.

All 360 HD movies are 720p... maybe the PS3 ones are compressed 1080i/p?
If they are all 1080 i/p, I'd rent/purchase movies & TV shows in a heartbeat...
I just checked out a couple of trailers in 1080 and they look great.

I like the feature of being able to watch as you download them.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·T-Mobile US
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: Easy to navigate

watch as you d/l is available on 360:
»forums.xbox.com/8324575/ShowPost.aspx
Do I have to wait for my download to complete before watching it?

No. You can start watching some videos before they have finished downloading. After starting a video download, watch for a notification that says the video is ready to play, then press the Xbox Guide button on your controller. If you miss the notification, select your partially downloaded video from your active download list or from the video area on the Media blade. Fast forward, reverse, and skip can’t be used until the video has finished downloading. All playback commands are supported after the content has been completely downloaded.

--
"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? ...If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara

Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..

Re: Easy to navigate

said by tiger72 See Profile :

watch as you d/l is available on 360:
»forums.xbox.com/8324575/ShowPost.aspx
Do I have to wait for my download to complete before watching it?

No. You can start watching some videos before they have finished downloading. After starting a video download, watch for a notification that says the video is ready to play, then press the Xbox Guide button on your controller. If you miss the notification, select your partially downloaded video from your active download list or from the video area on the Media blade. Fast forward, reverse, and skip can’t be used until the video has finished downloading. All playback commands are supported after the content has been completely downloaded.
Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps my buddy downloaded a movie that you couldn't watch as it downloaded.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
·VOIPo
·Metrocast Communic..
·AT&T DSL Service
·ViaTalk

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Matt See Profile :

said by tiger72 See Profile :

watch as you d/l is available on 360:
»forums.xbox.com/8324575/ShowPost.aspx
Do I have to wait for my download to complete before watching it?

No. You can start watching some videos before they have finished downloading. After starting a video download, watch for a notification that says the video is ready to play, then press the Xbox Guide button on your controller. If you miss the notification, select your partially downloaded video from your active download list or from the video area on the Media blade. Fast forward, reverse, and skip can’t be used until the video has finished downloading. All playback commands are supported after the content has been completely downloaded.
Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps my buddy downloaded a movie that you couldn't watch as it downloaded.
You can watch while it downloads, but depending on your connection you could watch the movie and then get the buffering come into play. That happened once with me.
--
"A religious war is like children fighting over who has the strongest imaginary friend."

Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org

Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..

said by Cod See Profile :

said by tiger72 See Profile :

On the 360 you can watch while it downloads.

All 360 HD movies are 720p... maybe the PS3 ones are compressed 1080i/p?
If they are all 1080 i/p, I'd rent/purchase movies & TV shows in a heartbeat...
Why do you care if it's 1080i?
Cod

join:2000-07-05
Greensboro, NC

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Matt See Profile :

said by Cod See Profile :

said by tiger72 See Profile :

On the 360 you can watch while it downloads.

All 360 HD movies are 720p... maybe the PS3 ones are compressed 1080i/p?
If they are all 1080 i/p, I'd rent/purchase movies & TV shows in a heartbeat...
Why do you care if it's 1080i?
Personal preference... More pixels on the screen = higher resolution. I run my games in 1080 too if its an option over 720.

ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

Re: Easy to navigate

Let's not get into that discussion kids. Some TVs are great on 1080i, some are great on 720p. My plasma leans towards 720p and I'm fine with that until (unless) I upgrade.
Cod

join:2000-07-05
Greensboro, NC

Re: Easy to navigate

I said personal preference...there is no discussion.

Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state
If the videos are going to be in high definition, you'd better hope that the download servers and your connection is running fast enough for you to watch it right away. Pulling 9GB if that's the file size for a 2 hour movie is a LOT of speed needed.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·T-Mobile US
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: Easy to navigate

you'd need 10mbps+, to watch the 9GB movie unbuffered in its entirety, i believe.

Here's the thing:
If Sony pushes their video at higher bitrates you may just see ISPs be forced to openly address bandwidth for once.

When people (in this case their target market, and not just power-users like us here) start complaining that the movies that they're renting are taking FOREVER to download, have buffering problems, and that it's their ISP's fault, the ISP will either have to offer better speeds, or they'll have to come clean on data caps.

Either way, I see it as a win. ISPs can afford data caps when the people who are hurt are the unprofitable power-users like most of us here, but ISPs canNOT afford to lose the mainstream customers who just want to rent movies from XBL, netflix streaming, or Sony Video Store.
--
"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? ...If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara

Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state

Re: Easy to navigate

10Mbps plus enough bandwidth left over to handle some light network load if anything, and some overhead included. More like 12Mbps would be needed on the download.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·T-Mobile US
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: Easy to navigate

said by Smith6612 See Profile :

10Mbps plus enough bandwidth left over to handle some light network load if anything, and some overhead included. More like 12Mbps would be needed on the download.
That depends... Powerboost would play quite a positive role in this type of environment. Lower sustained speeds later on in the download, but a nice big chunk at the beginning.
said by MrMoody See Profile :

No kidding, that approaches 10 Mb continuous. Imagine everyone all doing 10 Mb for 2 hours straight during prime time. The bandwidth apocalypse is now.
Not if Cable companies are actually upgrading to Docsis 3 like they say they are...
--
"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? ...If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara

MrMoody
Carbon Based Lifeform

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
No kidding, that approaches 10 Mb continuous. Imagine everyone all doing 10 Mb for 2 hours straight during prime time. The bandwidth apocalypse is now.
--
The public is a poor business manager.
bogey780

join:2004-03-19
Here
I'll give it a go tonight and see for myself.

Kxpuc

join:2004-05-04
Houston, TX

%

one of the problems with Sony's video service is they don't make the other studio's have a fixed price which is why it's so varied but that could be a good thing if a studio chooses to lower their price or attempt to standardize it. Which i'm hoping the adult swim shows do seeing as some of their shows are 15 mins shows but charged as the same price as the 30 min shows

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium
join:2005-06-29
clubs:

how about this then

Instead of capping the internet why doesnt the cable companies just offer the same thing as netflix on vod then? They could do some damage like that. Or would that be to easy for the cable companies to come up with?

Jmartz

join:2000-07-20
Tenafly, NJ

Re: how about this then

said by hayabusa3303 See Profile :

Instead of capping the internet why doesnt the cable companies just offer the same thing as netflix on vod then? They could do some damage like that. Or would that be to easy for the cable companies to come up with?
Doesn't Comcast already offer a huge library of films for free with their deals with certani movie studios?
elister

join:2006-07-17
Seattle, WA

Re: how about this then

its not free, they bundle in digital access fees into box rentals (typically 2-3$ per month). used to work for wavebroadband and they pushed it heavily, want a cable card? that will be 5$ a month plus the 6.95$ digital access fee (which cc's cant access).

Hehe

@ssa.gov

NetFlix has no limits.

With NetFlix you can can watch movies all day, all month.
You just need a NetFlix plan that costs less than $10 per month, I think. I have the plan that allows 3 DVDs at a time and it costs about $19 per month.

It seems stupid to pay so much for a single movie. Sony fail.

See 7 replies to this post

badtrip
East Bay
Premium
join:2004-03-20
Albany, CA
·Unwired Ltd
·Comcast

PS3 is a nice piece of technology

This is good news, I'll check it out tonite. After dumping Comcast for Dish last month the only thing I missed was the on demand HD movie rentals (well as HD as you can get with Comcast).

A few months ago I finally took the plunge and bought a PS3. I gotta say that I enjoy the PS3 alot more than I did my XBOX 360. The PS3 has more of an "adult" feel to it than the Xbox360 does IMO. Plus it's a hell of alot quieter, the DVD upscaling is great and picture quality thru HDMI is fantastic. I havent gotten around to checking out the Bluray functionality yet as I prefer to do on demand rather than go to Blockbuster (see above) but from what I've read, the Bluray player in the PS3 is supposed to be top notch.

Oh yeah, the PS3 plays games too. I have quite a few of the newer games (my wife is friends with someone who works for SCE so I get them free...don't be too jealous, hehe). IMO the Xbox360 has an edge over the PS3 graphically but that may change when developers start getting used to programming on the PS3.

Case in point: MGS4 when the game does it's first real transition from "cut scene" to "gameplay" and you realize the cut scene was rendered in real time using the game engine. I almost crapped my pants...
Cod

join:2000-07-05
Greensboro, NC

Re: PS3 is a nice piece of technology

said by badtrip See Profile :

Case in point: MGS4 when the game does it's first real transition from "cut scene" to "gameplay" and you realize the cut scene was rendered in real time using the game engine. I almost crapped my pants...
...one of the best games I've ever played. In my top 5 for sure.

ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

Re: PS3 is a nice piece of technology

Err?

Sounds like someone didn't play Lost Odyssey, or Dynasty Warriors 6. Both games did the exact same thing. Been there done that.

elijahblake

@ms.us
i have to disagree with you saying the 360 has better graphics than the ps3. I've played both on 1080p tv and the ps3 has much better graphics to me. that's why when i upgraded my xbox i went with the ps3
Stu Pidaso

join:2006-10-12
West Islip, NY

Re: PS3 is a nice piece of technology

Very impressed. 43 post before someone said one sytem is better than the other as far as graphics!!

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

said by elijahblake :

i have to disagree with you saying the 360 has better graphics than the ps3. I've played both on 1080p tv and the ps3 has much better graphics to me. that's why when i upgraded my xbox i went with the ps3
Graphically they're both about the same. If you look a their GPUs both are about the same. One doesn't have much of an advatage over the other. Where the PS3 comes out ahead is they can make games with more depth to them because the blu-ray can disc can hold 50 GB while the XBOX 360 disc tops out at 8.5 GB. Sure you can put a game on multiple discs, but as a consumer I'd rather use just ONE.

Doesn't matter the 360 is already 3 years old. MS dumped the XBOX for the 360 in 4 years, so I'll give the 360 five years( that's 2010 ) then they come out with the XBOX 720 and it won't have any choice but to use blu-ray so Sony will get a cut of that anyways.

aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast


3 edits

I downloaded Ark of Truth in HD last night.

I downloaded Stargate SG1: Ark of Truth in HD last night. It was around 6.5GB in size. Just like with Xbox Live it started playing within 20 seconds for me. Although not instant like VUDU is. My main complaint was that it was only in stereo(the DVD has DD5.1, and I don't remember what the Xbox Live version had). The picture quality was at least as good(if not better)as the same title on Xbox Live.
I normally get 50mbs download speeds from PSN, but last night it was only between 30mbs and 40mbs. Although with the launch of the VOD service there was probably alot more download traffic than normal.

At least now I can use my PS3 for something besides 1080P movie trailer downloads.

troyB

@frb.org

Re: I downloaded Ark of Truth in HD last night.

Are you sure it is only in stereo? I tried Cloverfield, and the default soundtrack was stereo, but found a AAC 5.1 VBR soundtrack through the control panel.

aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast

Re: I downloaded Ark of Truth in HD last night.

said by troyB :

Are you sure it is only in stereo? I tried Cloverfield, and the default soundtrack was stereo, but found a AAC 5.1 VBR soundtrack through the control panel.
If the audio default is stereo then they need to do some work on their download system. It shouldn't default to stereo when I have it set for 7.1 output from the system.
Every other VOD demand service I've used defaults to multichannel audio.
Selenia

join:2006-09-22
Pittsfield, MA

I love it!

Not only great video, but a slap in the face for ISPs that wanted to cap/throttle/block/overcharge torrent users. Now what are they going to do? Looks like they will be forced to upgrade like they should have long ago.

yolarry

join:2007-12-29
Creston, WV

Re: I love it!

I agree slap in the face

Hopefully we all get uncap

onebadmofo
Repost These Nuts In Your Mouth.
Premium
join:2002-03-30
Reading, PA
·Comcast

LONG download times

Well considering it already takes a while (hours upon hours) to download certain demos and other content from PSN that can be just over a Gig or most of the time UNDER that, it's not hard for me to say I won't be using this feature.

Can you imagine how long it will take to down load 4 Gigs of a movie?!
--
Photoshop these nuts in your mouth.

mak_avelli2003

@pacbell.net

Re: LONG download times

said by onebadmofo See Profile :

Well considering it already takes a while (hours upon hours) to download certain demos and other content from PSN that can be just over a Gig or most of the time UNDER that, it's not hard for me to say I won't be using this feature.

Can you imagine how long it will take to down load 4 Gigs of a movie?!
Well I was able to download a 6GB movie in two hours, so I'll say its actually pretty good.

IT Guy
Ow, My Balls
Premium
join:2004-07-29
Las Cruces, NM
clubs:
·Comcast

Audio Quality Issue

I've downloaded a few movies already from PSN, the only problem I came across was with the movie Way of the Gun. The audio was terrible, constant clicks and pops occurred, particularly with spoken parts although present with music tracks, just not as noticeable.

The other three movies I downloaded were just fine. Anyone else have this issue?
--
My time is a piece of wax, falling on a termite, that's choking on a splinter. --Beck
Forums » Sony Launches PS3 Video Store


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