The PS3 is a Blu-ray playing powerhouse, but for U.S. PS3 owners who lean more toward the digital-delivery side of things, Sony today launched CinemaNow on the console. CinemaNow is Best Buy’s digital movie service that features more than 15,000 movies and TV episodes from all major studios and many independent distributors.
CinemaNow offers new-release movies on the day they release at retail, and TV episodes are available for purchase or rent on a pay-per-view basis the day following their broadcast. There is no monthly subscription fee to stream content to the PS3.
New release movies on CinemaNow are available to rent for $3.99 (Standard Definition) and $4.99 (High Definition), while catalog titles rent for $2.99 (SD) and $3.99 (HD). Movies for purchase range in price from $4.99-$15.95.
PSN users can download the CinemaNow application from the “Media & Apps” category in PlayStation Store and launch it from the TV/Video Services icon of the XMB.
All HD movies include Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. Purchases are stored in the cloud and can be played back on any internet-connectible device featuring the CinemaNow service.