Last night was the European launch of the PlayStation®Network Video Delivery Service, and a good little party it was too!!
With a performance from Little Boots and a DJ set from Annie Mac, it was like most other Sony things, a slick affair. Food was good, booze was free flowing and very strong and generally the atmosphere was great. The venue its self was mad, with one room even having a bed in it (!?)
The Video Delivery Service is essentially a system that lets you download movies to your PS3 and PSP in either Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD). You can chose to rent or buy the videos, with prices depending on the film its self. From what I saw you can expect to pay about £12 for a new HD release purchase or £3.50 for rental.
There will be more than 800 movies available from launch, with the general prices ranging from £6.99 to buy and from £2.49 to rent.
The service is well laid out, with movies being categorised in many different ways, from genre to movies inspired by games!
The delivery service lets you stream the movie, so as long as you have a decent broadband connection you will be able to start watching the film as soon as you have purchased it. Also download a SD movie it can be copied to your PSP to watch on the go (HD movies cannot be copied).
Time will tell if this service can take on the big boys. They will need to start getting some exclusive early releases going (as the movies are currently going to be released at the same time as the DVD releases). With luck this will not have the same issue as many of Sony’s products, Lots of style and little content! But for me it looks good so far.
Big thanks to David Farrer for the invite as well!
The real blurb from Sony!
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) further expanded its PlayStation® entertainment experience today with the launch of the PlayStation®Network video delivery service for Europe. Now available 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 (PS3™) and PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable).
More than 800 movies are available to rent (from £2.49) or to buy (from £6.99), many in High Definition* (HD) as well as Standard Definition (SD), from major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company 1, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Starz Media, Universal, and Warner Bros.
Titles available within the launch window include Angels and Demons; Bruno; Disney/Pixar’s Cars; Walt Disney Pictures’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Crank 2; The Dark Knight; Dead Space: Downfall; Drag Me to Hell; Gran Torino; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; National Treasure; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Public Enemies; Star Trek; Terminator Salvation; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen; Valkyrie; and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Additional content will be added on a weekly basis.
Content from local UK studios, Optimum Releasing, ContentFilm International and E1 Entertainment UK, will be available on the English Video Store, including the movies In the Loop and Knowing.
“The launch of the PlayStation Network video delivery service extends our entertainment offering and provides consumers with another way to access their favourite movies, whether at home or on the go,” said Andrew House, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “With the choice of content constantly expanding, including full games, bite-size downloadable “minis” games, demos and now movies too, the PlayStation Network is the gateway to a world of entertainment.”
At launch, there will be a special offer for existing PSN members, allowing them to receive a complimentary copy of The Da Vinci Code if they buy Angels and Demons. There will also be a special promotion to encourage new members. Anyone who registers for a PlayStation®Network account using their new PS3s between 19th & 30th November 2009 will receive a voucher to download a complimentary copy of Transformers 2 to own.
Located on the PlayStation®Store under the “Video Store” section, the PlayStation Network video delivery service provides consumers with an exceptional entertainment experience, adding HD and SD movies for rental or purchase, to the already comprehensive line-up of games, demos, trailers and other content.
The video delivery service will be 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 st
art 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.
The PlayStation Network video delivery service takes prime position in a line-up of PlayStation entertainment features, alongside streaming music video with VidZone®, Catch Up TV services and free digital TV viewing with PlayTV™. With games, music, Internet, photos, communications and more, it’s yet another reason to make PS3 and PSP the heart of your entertainment world. To find out more, visit videostore.uk.playstation.com/offer_listings.html
* Initially HD content will only be available to rent
1 Content only available to rent or to buy in the UK and to rent in Germany at launch
2 The promotional code will be sent to eligible customers in December 2009.