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Article written by Gamoc in Blog, on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 14:15.
As you are no doubt aware, the PSN Video Store finally released this week, bringing with it a ton of movies and a shortcut to it on the Video section of the XMB that I’ve only just noticed. You have to hand it to Sony, when they release something like this, they usually do it well. Wait – usually?
There have been reports of terror in video town. A certain Mr. Michael you may know from, well, TSA (whatever that is), apparently had a 16 hour wait for a 2 hour film to get halfway through downloading, which I’m certain had him beating his head against a wall to spice up his day. Not to mention that the trailers (available to stream by pressing ‘preview’ after selecting a film) didn’t so much play as stutter at you awkwardly as it tried to download quicker than it was playing. So more of a drip release than a stream, then.
This is a shame, because looking at the Video Store itself, it looks to be thoroughly excellent. You click Video, which is next to Game at the top of the screen, and it swooshes over like the cape of a superhero, here to save you from your movie-less boredom. In new releases right now, without even scrolling, there are no less than 14 great films. Granted, Hannah Montana the Movie is also there, but I’m ignoring that and concentrating on The Dark Knight, Star Trek, Angels and Demons and Drag me to Hell.
Going into the categories and selecting Comedy, I discovered that there are roughly a fuck load of movies on the store already at release. Whilst I’d read the actual figures (800 movies, 150 of which are in HD, and 50 added every week), it didn’t hit me just how many movies that was until I went into the Comedy category and scrolled down for 20 minutes looking at what was there. And still didn’t reach the bottom. There are 295 movies in that category. It’s also the biggest category, followed by, predictably, Action/Adventure with 261 movies, which includes Batman. The Adam West Batman.
That takes me to a mini-criticism; many, many of the films are in multiple categories. Many of these don’t even make sense (is Braveheart really a Romantic film?). Some of them, such as 300, are in a fitting category (Action/Adventure in this case), but are also in the ‘Other’ category. Surely the other category is supposed to be for those enigmas that defy proper categorisation? If so, then why are The Dark Knight and the Breakfast Club in there too? Granted, the movie’s categorisation is a minor niggle, but when there isn’t an All Films A-Z section like there is for games on the Games Store, it could be quite annoying. You could always use search, though.
There’s a Collections section in the store that includes, amongst others, a ‘Movies Inspired by Video Games’ section, which is clearly a stroke of genius for a service that is accessed through a gaming console. On the other hand, there are 4 Hellboy films in there, none of which were inspired by video games, as well as X-Men, Transformers and the Hulk. These are not inspired by video games, they’re ‘inspired’ by comics. Of the 13 films in this category, only 6 are actually inspired by video games, including Doom and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, neither of which I really recommend watching, but that part’s not Sony’s fault.
Inexplicably, there’s also a Family/Kids collection, which is a pissing category in the categories section anyway and, as such, is completely pointless. There’s also X-Men and Fast and Furious categories, which gives me the feeling that Sony should have included a franchise section, so that a film and it’s sequels can all be found together, leaving collections for actual collections of different films.
Other than the odd categorisation, the £5 minimum when adding to your wallet and the senseless inclusion of Miley Cyrus staring at me from the Video Store’s front page, it’s all been done well. The price points are pretty much spot on, easily low enough for you to consider the slight increase of price worth skipping the drive to Blockbuster. Now that the inital rush of people has subsided, film trailers are streaming rather well, so maybe Michael should give that film download another try…?
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Gamoc | 22/11/2009 14:18
Team TSA: Content Manager
1185 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Huh. This ended up being much longer than I expected.
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 14:21
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
‘ I discovered that there are roughly a fuck load of movies on the store already at release’
Lol that made me laugh hard, My colleagues are now interested in what im browsing
Amphlett | 22/11/2009 15:08
Member
986 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
“a fuck load of movies” That’s a lot of films!
hazelam | 23/11/2009 10:08
Member
2969 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
is that more or less than a shed load?
Bladesteel | 23/11/2009 20:35
Member
249 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
That depends. Is it an imperial, american or a metric fuckload? I hate it when people don’t specify the units properly.
cc_star | 22/11/2009 14:23
Team TSA: Writer
5826 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Great service, not heard terrible reports from the US so maybe it’s just launch week excitement causing the problems.
I’ve noticed Hannah Montana & Jonos Brothers on there do I’m currently trying to hide that from my little one
Gamoc | 22/11/2009 14:25
Team TSA: Content Manager
1185 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Sweet Jesus. Get Eyepet and keep it near the PS3. in the event that the child notices Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers you can just distract them with the Eyepet.
Zuler | 22/11/2009 14:59
Team TSA: Writer
10364 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Quick, deploy the EyePet!
rht992 | 22/11/2009 14:26
Member
2267 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
if the download time goes way down i’m going to stat using it for renting films. i’d rather have a physical collection of films than a virtual one
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 14:39
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
Has anyone tried a HD download? im umming and arring about trying one. also did anyone get a free transformers download?
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 22/11/2009 14:56
* Banned *
-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I tried making a new account but got nothing.
How exactly do we get our free Transformers download?
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 14:57
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I tried to, execting a promt or something. I want a free transformers, would be nice if it was HD too. hint hint sony
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 22/11/2009 14:58
* Banned *
-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
Yeah, I was pretty gutted. I had a really bad day that day and then I realise I wont be watching Transformers for free either.
Cjdamon042 | 22/11/2009 15:38
Member
393 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I rented Coraline in HD on Thursday night (around 5.7GB I think) and it downloaded perfectly fine. I guess I’m one of the few that actually managed to watch a full HD movie pretty much as soon as I pressed the Download button…and I’m on a Uni Halls connection too! Haha
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 15:42
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
any quality issues? or was it just like watching bluray?
Gamoc | 22/11/2009 15:44
Team TSA: Content Manager
1185 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
I don’t think it’s going to be 1080p HD.
cc_star | 22/11/2009 15:49
Team TSA: Writer
5826 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
It could be 1080p, but have a low bitrate, like the Xbox Instant-On movies
Blu-ray has a bitrate of 48mbps, no download service is going to compare with that quality for many years to come.
There’s more to quality than resolution, a lot more.
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 15:54
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
i think im gonna give it a try in the next 3 days(off work), might get that transformers 2 down and check that out. if i start it now, should be ready by tuesday or wednesday
skibadee | 22/11/2009 17:43
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
i want a hd film because my tv has got full hd but i think i need a better down speed that 1/2 mb i think if i upgrade to a 10mb i might give it a try
BryOnRye | 22/11/2009 19:22
Member
773 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
The HD movie I downloaded was 720p.
skibadee | 22/11/2009 22:59
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
what type of broadband speed do you have?
Cjdamon042 | 23/11/2009 00:52
Member
393 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
The quality was perfectly acceptable for me, but I only have a 20″ “HD” Samsung monitor that was in 1080p mode. Obviously at that size I won’t be able to really tell the difference but still. For my personal viewing, the quality was perfectly fine.
cc_star | 22/11/2009 15:53
Team TSA: Writer
5826 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
What’s this free Transformers thing, and how do I get one – Is it for new customers only?
If so, way to treat customers who have spent probably hundreds of pounds on the PSN
SpikeyMikey23 | 22/11/2009 15:56
Member
626 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
in the press release earlier this week it was mentioned that newly created psn accounts on new ps3s would be privvy to a free copy of transformers, doesnt say sd or hd etc but FREE all the same. we just get a BOGOF offer on tom hanks
cc_star | 22/11/2009 16:00
Team TSA: Writer
5826 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Great!
/sarcasm
KeRaSh | 22/11/2009 18:24
Member
173 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2009
I think I read the copy was SD and the Coupon Code will be sent out in December.
skibadee | 22/11/2009 23:00
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
sd no hd version on there
waddo_89 | 22/11/2009 16:45
Member
423 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Haven’t tried a video download yet so can’t really feedback on my performance observations. Unfortunately, I know that when I do decide to take the plunge and rent out Angels & Demons, it will coincide with my Dad deciding to squeeze the life out of our 4.5 Mb/s connection with his stupid work laptop online backup!
davidjmclare | 22/11/2009 17:38
always on easy
890 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
I have Virgin Media so its a question of which to go for, Virgin is more expensive and only kept for 24 hours, but after watching the film do you want to watch it again for the next 14 days? and the PS rents sound like they take ages…
has anyone tried both?
skibadee | 22/11/2009 17:44
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
i found the trailers really slow the other day hopefully they have improved now
Tuffcub | 22/11/2009 17:55
Team TSA: Writer
3415 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
New stuff – eg Star Trek – is not availaible in HD. Therfore Viudeo store has gone from massive win to epic fail as far as im concerned. Dont do SD.
Rob92 | 22/11/2009 18:26
Member
1221 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Haven’t actually tried the service (my ps3 is still broke but i viewed it on a mates console). Little bit dissapointed that everything isn’t listed as a rent or buy, SD or HD. I mean there’s probably little chance I’d go for HD anyway, I’m not all too bothered, but the fact some things aren’t even up for rent isn’t good enough.
Still when I get my ps3 back up and running I’ll give it a try. I reckon I’ll be one of them where it takes me 24hrs to download a film. i have never have much luck with PSN.
rick_x | 22/11/2009 19:23
Member
57 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
I hate to always see the negatives but for me the store fails on 2 major points: 1) Sound, and 2) Price.
1) Has anyone noticed that all the movies are ‘2.0 stereo’? Seriously that’s so last century. I paid quite a bit for my launch PS3 and Sony 7.1 amp only to find that the video store transports me back to the glory days of NICAM?!? Big fail in my opinion and very hard to understand given Sony’s marketing of the PS3 as a home entertainment hub. 2) Why can big companies never understand that high-volume sales of lower priced content will make more profit than their current model of sell a few at an expensive price. The prices for a rental and purchase, given that there are no extras thrown in and the sound issue mentioned above, are too high and certainly not at impulse purchase levels. The only way to defeat piracy and get consumers to embrace digital distribution is to make it so cheap it’s not worth the hassle of P2P etc.. and price it accordingly. The first company that realises this will dominate the European sector and I hope Sony realises this sooner rather than later.
funkyellowmonkey(ps3 id) | 22/11/2009 23:05
Member
285 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
agrees!
jonny_bolton | 22/11/2009 19:55
Chooses The Impossible
1812 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
The problem I have with these kinds of services if that if you go onto it not knowing what you want to buy/rent you’re screwed. It can take hours filtering through everything, scrolling down pages waiting for icons to display, it’s a chore. Such a large library always has it’s problems. I’d much rather go down Blockbuster’s look what’s in there chart, or scan the A-Z section. 9 times out of 10 I’ll find a movie that takes my fancy but that is just not the case with services such as the PSN’s.
BadBoyBoogie | 22/11/2009 21:00
Let There Be Rock
2515 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Once the download times start to come down, I’ll definitely be using the rental service. Competitively priced as well IMO, especially when you take into account what it costs you to get to your nearest rental store!!
skibadee | 22/11/2009 23:01
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
i feel that they should have made a deal with divx as well they now do divx hd
skibadee | 22/11/2009 23:03
Member
1969 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
the files would be over half the size with the same good pic & sound i am a big fan of divx did a lot of my movie collection in that format for back ups