Blu-ray movies to include portable files

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 10th 2007 at 7:15PM }

In a strange, un-Sony like move, Sony's David Bishop announced that future Blu-Ray movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment will include portable files that can be transferred to laptops and other portables (such as the PSP?). This feature may launch this year, which would be a fantastic deal for current PLAYSTATION 3 and PSP owners. Imagine copying a movie from your PS3's Blu-Ray reader directly onto the PSP via USB connection. That would be an incredible bonus. Let's see it happen, Sony.

[Thanks, Nav! Via Kotaku]

Tags: blu-ray, david bishop, DavidBishop, sony, sony pictures, SonyPictures

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Michael @ Jan 10th 2007 7:30PM

>Imagine copying a movie from your PS3's Blu-Ray reader directly onto the PSP via USB connection

Why on earth would anybody want to do such a thing is completely beyond me. I'll take a 1080p BluRay movie on a 1080p plasma any day over a tiny PSP version.

I'm sure eventually I will be proven wrong and there will some day down the road be a movie I'd be interested in watching on my PSP (and it's hard to complain abou getting something for 'free'). But for now - I'm having a very hard time imagining what kind of movie I'd rather watch on my PSP than on a 1080p panel...

BTW - I do think video on the PSP is a good idea. I use my PSP to watch language courses and sometimes watch live TV on it (when my kids hog the TV). But for an experiance like a 1080p movie, sorry, the PSP screen - as good as it may be - does not compete with my TV...

Michael

Silver R. Wolfe @ Jan 10th 2007 8:00PM

I disagree Michael, I think this is a wonderful idea. It gives you two versions of the same movie at once, avoiding you the task of ripping the movie yourself to your PC so, even if you had that beautiful 1080p 72" Bravia set at home, you could take that movie on the road with you on your subway commute to work with less hassle than the traditional means.

Bored @ Jan 10th 2007 8:11PM

But then again, that's what Remote Play is meant for.

I think that this downloadable content will be just trailers of other movies released in Blu-Ray, and not much more.

Michael @ Jan 10th 2007 8:41PM

>you could take that movie on the road with you on your subway commute to work with less hassle than the traditional means.

I guess it's a matter of personal preference when it comes to watching movies. To me, the operative word here is 'COULD.' Sure - I could watch the movies on PSP instead of at home (or perhaps watch them twice; which I do with very few movies to begin with; and those that I do watch more than once - I again prefer to watch on the big screen than my PSP).

I just don't seem myself actually doing it. Of all the movies out there - there has yet to be one single movie that I'd want to watch on the subway on my PSP rather than on a big screen at home. As of today - I have converted precisely ZERO movies to take along with me on my PSP. It's not because it's hard. I have converted OTHER video material. Just not movies.

Again - I'm not saying having the option is a bad thing. I just don't see myself taking advantage of it. I'm sure other people will watch movies this way. And maybe - just maybe - some day there WILL be a movie I will want to watch on my PSP ;-)

Michael

JK @ Jan 10th 2007 9:43PM

I think having the option is cool, regardless of whether or not I'd use it.

If Sony Pictures (probably not other studios) spent a halfway decent time creating a PSP/PS3 "exclusive" mini-game that's fun for 5 random minutes a day (or just include a better version of some online Flash-based movie promo mini-game), then that would be cool too. Or maybe include the soundtrack for the movie, or some samplers. There's more potential than just copying a UMD-less version of the movie to your PSP. And personally, considering I don't have a blu-ray laptop, but I have a PSP, I'd take a downscaled version of a movie I paid for easily.

As for Remote Play, if you've tried using it, then you'll hopefully agree that the quality is no where near what a UMD/UMD-less encoded movie should be like. If the PS3 came with 802.11n, maybe, but even with 802.11g and me standing 1 ft. away, it's far less than ideal.

sid @ Jan 10th 2007 9:06PM

actually this is a good idea because then u wont have to buy another umd disc just for movies on psp. u just buy the Blu-ray and then u can use it at home on ur plasma and take the movie along with u on ur psp, and for the same price. with the umd now dead this would be a good option for sony to make some profit in the PSP movie business. maybe sony could limit the number of PSP's the video can be transferred to 1 or 2.

It is an excellent idea.

sean @ Jan 10th 2007 9:29PM

i like this idea. but i dont have a big memory card for my PSP so i probally cant even do this. this is my problem with the PS1 games too. if only i had a larger memory card this problem would be solved.lol but they could lose money on alot of the movies though cause people can just download it on their friends laptops or PSP's and their is less sales for sony. i dont see how this will work but i hope they do it anyway

Hoffer @ Jan 10th 2007 10:43PM

I have a PS3 and PSP and think it is cool. Of course I would watch the Blu-ray version, but it would be a nice option. Maybe for plane rides or being stuck somewhere. If it is free, why not?

Michael @ Jan 10th 2007 11:53PM

How silly of me! Of course - the airplane scenario makes perfect sense (provided I forget to bring any games with me ;-) )

Seriously - I can totally see myself killing some time on a long flight with a PSP movie or two - even if I haven't seen it before on my home TV. Wow - did not expect I'd have to eat my words so soon ;-)

sid -> ("with the umd now dead this would be a good option for sony to make some profit in the PSP movie business.") Um - no. Since Sony will not be charging anything extra for the included FREE OF CHARGE PSP version - no extra profit for Sony. Just a bonus for PSP owner (or perhaps incentive for new customers to buy a PSP; so in that sense - perhaps some incremental profit from new customers getting hooked on the PSP?)

JK -> ("If the PS3 came with 802.11n, maybe, but even with 802.11g and me standing 1 ft. away, it's far less than ideal.") What PS3 comes with in terms of WiFi is a moot point. Because PSP comes with 802.11b - which is some 5 times slower than g. So the bottleneck is the PSP. Putting 802.11n on the PS3 wouldn't change your PSP experience one bit. BTW - I wonder if Sony put software-upgradable WiFi adapters on the PS3 (kind of like what Apple has been doing for a while with their laptops etc) so that once the final draft gets approved - Sony can give a nice present to all of their existing PS3 customers in the form of a free upgrade to 802.11n ;-)

Michael