Sony steps into the future....

Sony's newest announcement from the pre-IFA press conference was the launch of their Qriocity network service platform. This new service will provide streaming music and movies to Sony’s network-enabled devices.

Sony´s European president said, “Via Qriocity, Sony will deliver a variety of digital entertainment content and services that are “powered by Qriocity”. This will include video, music, game applications, and e-books over time, and through these services, and in combination with its networked devices, Sony aims to bring new and exciting entertainment experiences to customers.”

Qriocity will be a 'cloud'-based service offering hundreds of movies on demand from top Hollywood studios and local content providers, plus the Music Unlimited service with access to thousand s of music tracks and synchronisation to Sony networked devices. 'This will change the way in which we all enjoy our digital music' he predicted.

Available here in Spain and the UK in the autumn, Qriocity media providers include 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, MGM, NBC, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Movies will be available in HD and SD, and can be rented for 14 days.
Prices have yet to be announced. Network-enabled BRAVIA TVs and Blu-ray Disc players, Blu-ray home cinema systems and the PlayStation 3 will support the service, with portable devices to follow.

This is just another example of the way Future Lifestyle believe we will all be enjoying our media at home in the near future. Soon unsightly dishes on the exterior of our homes will be a thing of the past as we stream and download everything from the internet.
Are you interested in what the future holds and how we can improve your home entertainment experience today? Contact us and book a free consultation to see what the future may hold............

Death to the Games Console!

Games on Demand is coming! And according to the company behind it, this online service about to be released will revolutionise how we Game. The promise is to deliver games to your living room - LIVE, and without the need for an expensive console or a high-powered personal computer.

OnLive's launch of the world's highest performance Games On Demand service means instant delivery of the latest high-end titles over home broadband Internet to the TV and entry-level PCs and Macintosh® computers will soon be possible.

Founded by noted technology entrepreneur Steve Perlman (WebTV, QuickTime) and incubated within the Rearden media and technology incubator, OnLive spent seven years in stealth development before officially being unveiled.


OnLive lies directly at the nexus of several key trends, all of which are reshaping the way we think about and use digital media:


• The shift to cloud computing, displacing the limitations, cost and complexity of local computing;
• An explosion of consumer broadband connectivity, bringing fast bandwidth to the home;
• Unprecedented innovation, creativity and expansion within the video game market.


Pioneering the delivery of rich interactive media to the home, OnLive will change the way that entertainment applications are created, delivered and consumed. Some say, it’s the future of gaming and – potentially – the death of traditional gaming devices as we know and love them.


OnLive – say it avoids all need to trudge to the shops, hand over your hard-earned cash and trudge all the way home again with the latest hot game. Instead, this ‘cloud’ service will deliver top games direct to your PC or TV screen instantly, using a small receiver unit that hooks up to your existing broadband connection


All the heavy work, so to speak, is performed by powerful remote servers using clever compression routines. Players simply provide the required inputs using a joypad, as normal. The results of their efforts are then streamed back with almost non-existent lag. OnLive will run on a network of server centres placed so that no user is more than 1000 miles from one. In broadband terms that’s just down the road, figuratively speaking.


OnLive is set to launch in June 2010 in the USA, with a worldwide rollout expected to follow shortly thereafter. Users are expected to pay a $14.95 (£9.99) subscription fee each month, plus the cost of either buying or renting each game. In this regard OnLive has several very significant advantages: there’s no need to invest any further in a game you’re not enjoying; you can sample all the latest releases with minimal costs; and you’ll be able to remove some of the clutter from under/behind the telly and clear a bit of shelf space into the bargain.


OnLive also enjoys the support of many high-profile games publishers – removing the need to manufacture and physically distribute games is an obvious benefit. Big-name titles such as Borderlands, Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed are among the launch games announced so far. As you might expect the Big 3 console competitors have met the announcement with luke warm enthusiasm, perhaps understandably.

PlayStation 3 opens it´s movie store in Europe

PlayStation this month (19th Nov) have opened the new PlayStation Network movie download store for business in Spain and select European territories. Now you can save the trip to the shops and enjoy hundreds of films in the comfort of your own sofa on your PS3 or on the go with PSP.
Sony says users have a choice of 800 movie titles from a wide range of studios – both new releases and back catalogue titles. Unlike Xbox’s new 1080p streaming service, the PSN proposal involves downloading a DRM-laced file to the PS3 hard drive. While Sony concedes that this will take several hours on a good connection, it points out that viewers will be able to watch their movies only shortly after the download begins. With movie rentals, users have a 48-hour window to view their download, commencing with the first Play activation.

Interestingly, those who download a standard-def movie have the option of transferring the film to Sony’s PSP portable for additional viewings. However, if you opt for a 1080p movie, there is no provision for transferring a portable version of the file to a PSP.

Also with the latest firmware update (v3.10) will allow you to access your Facebook account through your PS3. By linking your PlayStation Network account to your Facebook account, you will have the option for the PS3 to automatically update your Facebook News Feed with Trophy and PlayStation Store activity. A spokesman for Sony says this is just the beginning of our integration with Facebook and we are looking forward to adding new features enhancing the experience in future updates.