Sony signs all six major movie studios for PSN HD films


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PlayStation?3 Computer Entertainment System First to Have High Definition Movies for Purchase from All Major Studios

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution will offer high definition (HD) movies for purchase and rental on the PlayStation?Network video delivery service in the United States. PlayStation Network is the first to offer high definition movies for purchase from all of the major movie studios, further establishing PlayStation?3 (PS3?) as the preeminent home entertainment platform for this year's most popular and critically acclaimed high definition movies.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.c...0701/SFM066LOGO)

"Securing high definition content from these studios is another significant milestone further validating PlayStation Network as a complete entertainment network in the home. PlayStation Network is the first and only service to deliver high definition home entertainment from all six major studios, directly to consumers for download," saidPeter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "PlayStation Network continues to offer the most comprehensive catalogue of HD movies to PlayStation Network members that realize the wide-ranging entertainment power of the PS3 system."

The PS3 system is the most complete home entertainment solution on the market today, enabling consumers to enjoy high-definition games and movies, as well as listen to music, view photos, browse the Internet and more. Today's announcement joins one of the industry's strongest home entertainment brands with the major media companies that produce and distribute a substantial number of films. At launch, the content will be available in the U.S. only, with plans to launch soon in the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain.

New titles available today on PlayStation Network include:

  • 20th Century Fox ? "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", "Jennifer's Body" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (onMarch 23)
  • Walt Disney Pictures ? Disney Pixar's "Up", Jerry Bruckheimer's "G-Force" and Disney's "Earth"
  • Paramount Pictures ? "Star Trek", "Paranormal Activity" and "Zoolander"
  • Sony Pictures ? "This Is It", "2012", "District 9" and "Zombieland"
  • Universal ? "Inglourious Basterds", "Couples Retreat" and "Public Enemies"
  • Warner Bros. Digital Distribution - "The Hangover", "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and "The Wizard of Oz"

Source: http://www.prnewswir...s-87117557.html

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Let's hope they are quicker with bringing this out to Norway than they were VidZone (which we got what, 2 months ago? :p)

I'm very interested in renting HD movies if

a) It's pay-per-view (preferably with no scene re-watch limitations, though...) and as such, cheap

b) The download speeds are good enough to match that which I get from the salty seas.

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psn2.jpg

itwbennett writes

"Sony on Tuesday 'rolled out the ability to buy HD movies from the PlayStation Network,' writes blogger Peter Smith. Sony claims they're the first service to offer HD titles to own from all six major movie studios. Smith runs the numbers on 'standard' pricing for titles ($19.99 for new releases; $17.99 for older movies), file sizes (ranging from 4 GB for Zombieland to 7.5 GB for 2012), and resolution (720P as far as he can tell)."

"Securing high definition content from these studios is another significant milestone further validating PlayStation Network as a complete entertainment network in the home. PlayStation Network is the first and only service to deliver high definition home entertainment from all six major studios, directly to consumers for download," said Peter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "PlayStation Network continues to offer the most comprehensive catalogue of HD movies to PlayStation Network members that realize the wide-ranging entertainment power of the PS3 system."

The upgraded service is available today in the United States and will roll out in the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain soon (sorry Canada, it looks like you're once again out of luck).

So what's this going to cost? Here's what seems to be 'standard' pricing for titles, based on browsing the online store for a few moments:

New Releases Older Titles

HD Rental $5.99 US HD Rental $4.50 US

HD Own $19.99 US HD Own $17.99 US

SD Rental $3.99 US SD Rental $2.99 US

SD Own $14.99 US SD Own $9.99 US

Those of us with older PS3s might want to keep an eye on file sizes too. The HD file size for 2012 was about 7.5 GB, though other titles I checked (Zombieland, Where the Wild Things Are) were as small as 4 GB. A 60-80 GB drive is going to fill up pretty fast if you try to build a significant movie collection (particularly if you've already got a bunch of music and games on your PS3). You PS3 Slim owners probably don't have to be as worried about file size.

As far as I can tell, these are 720P movies; personally I think I'd rather spend a few more bucks and get a 1080P version on Blu-ray that won't soak up drive space and that I can lend to friends. Granted there's the convenience of downloading a copy of the movie without leaving home, and that's worth something.

What do you think? Is $20 for a 720P digital copy of a movie a fair price?

source: slashdot

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