Sony has launched its PlayStationNetwork video delivery service in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with other countries to follow in 2010. The service allows film fans to download hundreds of movies, including the latest releases, straight to their PlayStation 3 and PSP.
More than 2,000 movies are available across stores to rent (from €1.99) or to buy (from €7.99), many in HD as well as SD from major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Starz Media, Universal, and Warner Bros.
The service also provides a broad selection of content from local market studios including ContentFilm International, E1 Entertainment UK and Optimum Releasing (UK), and Constantin Film, Kinowelt and Universum Film (Germany), MK2, EuropaCorp, Pathé, SND and Wild Side Video (France) and Vértice Cine (Spain).
Located on the PlayStation Store under the “Video Store” section, the video delivery service is fully integrated within the PlayStation Network, using the same log-in, wallet system and user-interface. Visitors can search for movies by name, or can browse categories such as “new releases”, “genres” and ”most popular downloads”. PS3’s progressive downloading allows viewers to start watching a film shortly after the download begins. They can also access certain games or other content on their PS3 while the download is taking place.
Consumers who choose to rent have up to 14 days to watch their movie, and, once playback is started, they have 48 hours to watch the content. Purchased movies are stored on the PS3 hard disk drive and can be accessed at home via PS3 or transferred to PSP for content on the go.
