14 DAY TRIAL // The digital movie download market may not be as big as the music one, but it is definitely growing and heating up. While Apple is fighting NBC over variable pricing and contract renewals, Sony is pondering its entrance to the market.
Sony is contemplating the creation of its very own direct-download movie store, the firm told the press. Spokesman Shigenori Yoshida mentioned that the company was "looking into the area" of digital video downloads as a very possible business venture. Beyond this mention, the representative offered no further details about the possible service. A key concern is that of format, as Sony's new video Walkman players as well as the PlayStation 3 and PSP will do not play copy-protected video formats at this time. This hints towards the use of unprotected H.264 or MPEG-4 formats, but that would be unlikely due to the sensitivity of movie studios towards copy protection issues.
While Sony has officially only hinted at a movie download service, rumors say that its chief executive Sir Howard Stringer intends to make online video a focus. The idea would be to extend such a video service as far as recent Bravia LCD TVs, many of which support the Bravia Internet Link that will access online content without requiring a separate computer. Here again, the issue of Digital Rights Management arises.
Sony has been competing with Apple for quite some time now and a new movie download service to rival the iTunes Store would be nothing new. Considering that Apple has been fighting content providers over issues such as variable pricing and subscription services, no doubt there would be much rejoicing if Sony were to come up with a viable alternative. As far as competition with Apple's iTunes Store goes, it isn't likely that there will be much of that going on, as Sony's offering won't work with iPods, iPhones and likely Macs.