Movies and TV shows coming to PS3?

[Silvia2112]

Movies and TV shows coming to PS3?

Could the PS3 be getting Netflix support soon?
(Credit: CNET)
The PlayStation 3's newest v2.30 firmware just came out yesterday, but Sony isn't show any signs of slowing down its updates for the PS3. In a blog yesterday, Senior Vice President Peter Dille wrote this enticing tidbit:



Many of you have been hearing rumblings about a video service that will allow you to download full-length TV shows and movies via PLAYSTATION Network for North America. While I don't have any new announcements here for the PlayStation Nation, it's already been confirmed that we'll be offering a video service for PS3 in a way that separates the service from others you've seen or used. Ultimately the goal of the PLAYSTATION Network service will be to break through the overwhelming clutter of digital media to give you the TV, movies, and gaming content you want. More on this very soon...

That sounds pretty promising for PS3 fans, but until we get more information, all we can do is speculate. Just a few months ago, there were plenty of rumors about Netflix coming to the PS3. That would certainly be a great score for the PS3, as many people already have Netflix subscriptions and consumers seem more open to subscription plans for movies than they do for music. Another solid option would be support for Hulu, which offers a bunch of TV shows from Fox and NBC--plus some Universal movies--broken up only by short 15-second ads. This might seem even better to some PS3 owners, mainly because it's 100 percent free. The most likely option is that Sony rolls out its own video service, and that has the biggest potential to be a bust. Sony always seems to be a little quirky with digital media downloads (see: Sony Connect and ATRAC3), and we're betting that a proprietary "Sony Video Store" would be much more expensive than Hulu or Netflix--probably more in line with iTunes pricing.

[meStevo]

Awesome if it's Netflix.

Boo if it's their own a la XBVM.

[mikew]

I'm really uncertain of what price point I'd go for, but a-la-carte on XBox is extremely over-priced. Not to mention the fact that 100 points = $1.25, trying to figure out what 240 points will actually cost to watch an old NCIS episode in HD is too much work for me.

Now that the calculator is in front of me...
There are 22 of 24 episodes for season 2 available.
240 points = $3.00 per episode
$66.00 for the entire season

I can buy the season on DVD for $50.

It would seem that a video download rental, that expires in 24 hours, would be much cheaper than buying the media.

If Sony follows this pricing logic, I am not going to participate.

[Zookster]

I was bummed that I wasn't able to access Netflix's streaming video through the internet browser on the PS3. That was one of the reasons I broke down and bought one... to get streaming media via the internet directly on my TV, rather than getting an HTPC.

With that said, hopefully competition will bring down prices for both, since obviously a lot of these TV shows are "free" over the internet any way... or part of a subscription like Netflix. I really don't mind watching 3-4 30 second commercials per episode to pay for this service.

[meStevo]

I'm really uncertain of what price point I'd go for, but a-la-carte on XBox is extremely over-priced. Not to mention the fact that 100 points = $1.25, trying to figure out what 240 points will actually cost to watch an old NCIS episode in HD is too much work for me.

Now that the calculator is in front of me...
There are 22 of 24 episodes for season 2 available.
240 points = $3.00 per episode
$66.00 for the entire season

I can buy the season on DVD for $50.

It would seem that a video download rental, that expires in 24 hours, would be much cheaper than buying the media.

If Sony follows this pricing logic, I am not going to participate.

Ya, wife and I have watched our DVD copies of The West Wing several times at this point... its going to take a buffet style service to bring more people around to video downloads... studios and online providers need to make the necessary hard gulps to make it happen.

[Silvia2112]

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I would only be for this if the movies were not compressed. What is the point of downloading a compressed blu-ray movie? If they charge me a few bucks extra on my Netflix account - I would do it. See which path this takes......