A comparison of PS3 and 360 as media players

[NeoTechni]

Perfect example of why we need net neutrality.

 

[jonabbey]

Well, I signed up for a Netflix account on my PS3 this afternoon. The price and selection you get for that price is quite remarkable. How is Netflix making the numbers work on this?

 

[Rolf N]

So 86.5% of home entertainment is not digital, huh? Would someone please tell these clowns what the first D in DVD stands for.

 

[Npl]

So 86.5% of home entertainment is not digital, huh? Would someone please tell these clowns what the first D in DVD stands for.

Are you referring to this quote?

Digital distribution, which includes electronic sell-through (EST) and video-on-demand (VOD), is firmly established, having made up 13.5 percent of the overall consumer spend in home entertainment year-to-date. EST climbed 37 percent to $432 million and VOD was up 20 percent to $1.2 billion year-to-date, a combined growth of 23 percent to $1.7 billion.

(Emphasis mine)

 

[jonabbey]

And, having used Netflix on PS3 for a couple of days, I have to say, if that's an HTML 5 interface, I'm not at all impressed. I can't imagine a more plain-jane looking application.

 

[patsu]

The Hulu one is more fancy but you can tell they are thin clients because of the request-response flow.

I think LoveFilm has the most elaborate presentation (e.g., animation, perspective movie list) compared to NetFlix, and Hulu Plus. They all follow similar UI template.

 

[patsu]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-10-26-vidzone-has-streamed-over-500m-videos-on-ps3

Free online music video service Vidzone has streamed over half a billion videos since launch.

More than 3.7 million PlayStation 3 users have downloaded the application, delivering over 3 billion ad impressions, according to Vidzone Digital Media. The service is currently available in 18 countries and seven languages.

The service most recently added 120 pre-programmed TV channels focusing on music by genre and record label, and hosts an impressive 30,000 music videos

 

[patsu]

Meanwhile…
http://www.dvdinformation.com/pressreleases\2009\DEGUSf_Q32010.pdf

So DD + Blu-ray could (finally) make up for DVD sales decline. These should be US figures only.

… and now some numbers for Western Yurope and Japan:
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=5346

According to Media Control GfK International research, based on actual point-of-sale data, Blu-ray unit sales volume in the third quarter of the year in Western Europe and Japan was up 67.6% from last year. Combined DVD/Blu-ray units were down 3.8% year over year, but were 8.8% higher than in the second quarter of 2010.

Leading key retail markets included Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.K.

 

[upnorthsox]

… and now some numbers for Western Yurope and Japan:
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=5346

Yurope? Is that where they only drive Yugos?

 

[patsu]

I did it wrong ! Mispelled a mispelled word.

Should be Yurop:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yurop

 

[upnorthsox]

I did it wrong ! Mispelled a mispelled word.

Should be Yurop:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yurop

"Nathan, when your mom comes over I feel like I have Yurop in my pants!"


That says it all really.

 

[patsu]

Blu-ray format attracting more families:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118026394

At a September investors conference, Disney chief Bob Iger told Wall Street that "Disney is different (from other studios in) the type of movies we typically make. While the sell-though business has certainly faced some challenges these last few years … we haven't seen as much of an effect as some of the other studios."

Given the focus on the family market, he also said Disney isn't threatened by the cannibalization that's hurt other genres from $1 rentals that Redbox's thousands of kiosks provide or from low-cost DVD-by-mail or digital rentals via Netflix.

In fact, Iger is so confident that he gave the greenlight to the Mouse House's homevideo division to offer up the complete slate of Pixar pics to date for on-demand rentals through Nov. 9, across a variety of digital retailers, marking the first time all the Pixar titles are available simultaneously.

...

Disney experimented with releasing "Alice in Wonderland" to kiosks the same day that the DVDs and Blu-rays appeared at retailers, and saw no major effect in sales. In fact, "Alice" has gone on to earn more than $73 million on homevideo from DVD alone. "For the most part, when you make a quality Pixar, Marvel, Disney title, people want to own it," Iger said. "Either because it is economically right to do that due to the multiple times children want to watch it, (or) the titles tend to be the type people like to collect."

As a result, "Toy Story 3" will also bow day-and-date in stores and via rental outfits.

...

While "Dragon" bowed strongly, 31% of its sales came from Blu-ray, according to Nielsen VideoScan.

...

Last year, most family titles moved just over 10% of their discs on Blu-ray. The current average for the family genre is 15%. By the end of the fourth quarter, that could be north of 20%, studio execs say.

Fox is attributing much of the industry's growth to the success of "Avatar" on Blu-ray, which set a high benchmark with close to 5 million units sold in North America alone. It moved 2.7 million discs in North America in four days when it was released on Blu-ray in April. More than 30% of its sales came from Blu-ray.

...

 

[patsu]

For Blu-ray folks who have DVDs at home:
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=5359

Warner Home Video has massively improved its DVD2Blu program, which previously allowed owners of Warner DVDs to trade them in for their Blu-ray upgrades for a reduced price. For a limited time, you can swap any DVD (not necessarily even from Warner) for a new WB Blu-ray for as low as $4.95 (or $14.95 for TV seasons), with free shipping on orders over $35.

Qualifying DVDs include any pre-recorded discs that contain professionally-produced content purchased at a regular retail or e-commerce store (excluding adult content). The DVDs can contain film, TV, sports, animation or documentary content and can be from Warner Bros. or non-Warner Bros. Blank or copied DVDs do not qualify.

Not that if you order a multi-disc set (such as a TV season), you only need to send in one DVD.

To upgrade, go to the DVD2Blu site... [etc. etc. etc.]

There are 105 titles you can exchange for.

 

[patsu]

MUBI coming this week to EU:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/11/01/mubi-is-launching-on-ps3-this-week/

We are launching MUBI on November 3rd and this is our trailer for it.

…

Oh, yes… We are launching on November 3rd in UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. If you’re in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, don’t fret, we’ll be launching in your territories next week. Australia and New Zealand we haven’t forgotten you: we’re announcing your date later this week.
From November 3rd you’ll be able to download the MUBI from PlayStation Store. It’s a free application so you may as well have a look! You’ll find some of the most visionary independent, classic and foreign films to stream directly to your PS3. Quentin Tarantino, Coen Brothers, Lars Von Trier, Gus Vant Sant, Jim Jarmusch, Roman Polanski, Wong Kar-Wai, David Lynch, Ang Lee, Jean-Luc Godard are all in there. Rent them for 7 days for £2.99/€3.59, or you can purchase an all-you-can-eat 30 day subscription for just £9.99/€12.99. Oh, and there will be some films for free too – films we think need to be discovered and that you need to tell your friends about.

MUBI's wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mubi_(website)

 

[NeoTechni]

MS fixed one of my complaints in the new update.

When you click one of your libraries (Photo, Video, Music) it now gives you a list of sources (harddrive, USB devices, discs, etc) instead of opening one by default and making you press a button to get the list.

 

[AzBat]

Strange, I've never had that issue. It always gave me a list of sources before.

Tommy McClain

 

[patsu]

Blu-ray retailers are starting to bundle free VoD movies with each Blu-ray movie purchase:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/02/vudu-wal-mart-and-disney-join-forces-add-a-free-streaming-copy/

Wal-mart is showing how it might make use of VUDU after purchasing the 1080p movie streaming house earlier this year, now that the two have teamed up with Disney to throw in a free digital copy of Toy Story 3 with each one purchased at the store on DVD or Blu-ray. When the movie goes on sale today, customers will receive a download code they can use on their nearest VUDU player (now including Boxee on the Box, PC or Mac) to stream some Buzz and Woody at any time without a disc involved. Wal-mart and VUDU are quick to describe this mix of of physical and digital access as the future of content, and we're thinking this type of promotion is about to become much more widespread since Amazon's already offered a similar deal with Disc+, and Best Buy purchased CinemaNow specifically for this type of offer.

These VoD services should just join the Ultraviolet platform. I remember Ultraviolet is created with Blu-ray in mind too.

 

[V3]

How's the picture quality of these VOD, last time I checked they were very poor compare to Bluray. Have they made more improvement ?

 

[patsu]

No idea. I remember Vudu introduced 1080p HDX format last year or so. What did you try last time ?

Blu-ray should have the upper hand in quality. The VOD movies are dressings on top -- especially if they consolidate to use 1-2 common DRM platform.

 

[patsu]

Blu-ray retailers are starting to bundle free VoD movies with each Blu-ray movie purchase:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/02/vudu-wal-mart-and-disney-join-forces-add-a-free-streaming-copy/

These VoD services should just join the Ultraviolet platform. I remember Ultraviolet is created with Blu-ray in mind too.

Amazon expands Disc+ program, over 10,000 titles now include immediate downloadable access:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/02/amazon-expands-disc-program-over-10-000-titles-now-include-imm/

In a move curiously timed after this morning's Wal-Mart/VUDU news, Amazon has announced its Disc+ program is growing, up from around 300 titles last year to more than 10,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs. If you not familiar, Disc+ means that when you buy the disc, not only is that shipped to you, but you also get a free downloadable copy to watch right away.

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