Sony Downloads — Not So Fast, PS3

Okay, so maybe when Sony reported that they were planning on downloads for its PS3 platform, they were a little optimistic. Turns out, they're only able to confirm that they can only offer downloads from one movie studio. Wanna take a guess at which movie studio that is?

Sony "Me Too!" Movie Downloads for PS3

Playing catch-up with other download services, Sony just announced it will make downloads available on Playstation 3 in the US this summer. Sorry friends in Europe and Japan, you're going to have to wait for information on when you can start downloading. Insiders knew that downloads of TV shows and movies were coming soon, but pushing it up to this summer is a big surprise. But, Sony's a big movie studio too — could it have been that difficult to get that contract worked out?

PS3 even more the Blu-ray player to own

Thanks to Sony, April 15 will be slightly less painful for 10 million people this year. Of course, I’m talking about the upcoming rollout of a new firmware that will allow PS3 owners to finally experience DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Up until now, the PS3 has only supported Dolby’s TrueHD, meaning that films like I, Robot, Independence Day, the Die Hard collection, Fantastic Four, and anything from Fox and New Line (who exclusively use the DTS-HD MA format on their Blu-ray releases), could only be heard in their far more lossy Dolby Digital versions.

PS3 Audio Update Guilts Gamers

More than ten million owners of Sony's PlayStation 3 will get a firmware update on April 15 that may make them feel ashamed of their home audio setup.

The new software includes a codec from DTS that delivers DTS-HD Master Audio, which supports 7.1 audio channels and 96k/24-bit sound —  identical to the original studio master's high variable rates (that's up to 24.5 Mbps for Blu-ray discs).

PS3's Blu-ray Player Upgrades with Downloads

If Sony's PlayStation 3 didn't already look like a great deal to people shopping for a Blu-ray player (it costs about $20 more than several other players but comes with an entire gaming system attached), its value proposition versus the competition just shot through the roof.

By the end of March, the PS3 will become the first Blu-ray player on the market with all the extra features of Blu-ray 2.0 technology (also known as BD-Live), according to Sony. Only a couple other Blu-ray 2.0 players will launch this year.

Guitar Hero a Wii Bit Off

Wii users, stop banging on your speakers. It's not your system or your ears. Your Pearl Jam solo is suffering from a glitch in the Wii version of Guitar Hero 3 that's putting out mono sound rather than a multi-channel version advertised as Dolby Pro Logic II on the package. The only way your Guitar Hero 3 will output multi-channel audio is via an update due out early next year.

Activision sent out this mea culpa with a promise of making good--without providing details.