Qriocity: Sony's New PSN Service For Multiple Products
See Full ImageWhen we learned Sony had filed a trademark under the name "Qriocity," we were interested to know what it might be.
Well, according to PlayStation LifeStyle, this is Sony's attempt at delivering PSN ID services to other Network-enabled products. This would include their Bravia HDTVs, VAIO PCs, and Blu-Ray players - watch the video through the link - and Qriocity will also test your Internet connections and gives you a "bandwidth optimized" version of the movie you intend to stream. That's just one of the features this service will likely boast and if hints from this year's Consumer Electronics Show are accurate, Sony will roll this out some time next month. Lastly, you will log in to Qriocity by using your PSN ID; each platform with which you utilize Qriocity will let you create multiple PSN accounts for different levels of access. The only question that will undoubtedly be important to all those looking to save a little cash this year, is whether or not this will be a subscription service or a pay-per-movie type deal. Sony has often said they intend to continue to stretch the boundaries of the Network and last year, they said we can expect this expansion to hit other Sony products in "Spring 2010." This seems to fit.
By the end of this year, you'll likely be seeing the PSN just about everywhere. And yes, playing online will remain free, despite the addition of premium services.
1/11/2010 12:31:38 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (68 posts)
BikerSaint
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 1:08:14 PM
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As I said before earlier on the first thread about this, I see what you did Sony....
Nice play on words there!
Qriocity = Curiosity
6 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:46:00 PM
1 up, 0 down
Phoelix
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:59:30 PM
That was a bad call on the name.
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FatherSun
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:32:51 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:35:15 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 1:24:20 PM
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I hope that the more easily panicked folks take note of this for future reference, since the panic about paid services was clearly unmerited.
12 up, 0 down
fluffer nutter
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:08:53 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:36:58 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:39:40 PM
No one else - NO ONE - in the consumer electronics industry has the reach that Sony has nor has anyone brought services like these to the market. This really ought to be a "Wow!" moment.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:47:33 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:58:43 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:12:12 PM
Regardless of the technical difficulties in speech recognition, natural language interpretation, coping slang and accents, not to mention gesture recognition and coping with all sorts of lighting conditions and physical limitations of customers....I still question one major element of Natal.
Why did they pick a young boy to be the avatar representation of the system itself? Apart from the creepy factor there is the obvious point that most male gamers between the ages of 12 and 200, would have picked a system avatar who is entirely more female and between 18-25 years old.
I'm just not sure what the point of Natal is. Am I supposed to befriend this thing? Is it an agony Aunt? Is it a companion for only children? What the hell is it?
5 up, 0 down
bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:40:34 PM
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FatherSun
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:41:03 PM
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Nickjcal
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 5:41:34 PM
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Alienange
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 1:31:39 PM
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1 up, 1 down
fluffer nutter
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:09:19 PM
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Doosharm
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:12:43 PM
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Superman915
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:36:06 PM
Last edited by Superman915 on 1/11/2010 2:36:44 PM
0 up, 3 down
Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:20:26 PM
It means that their new HDTVs, BluRay players and PCs will be able to access Sony's network and content, but that instead of creating a completely new network for that, they are extending the reach of the PlayStation Network from PS3/PSP to include those other devices.
So a customer with a new network enabled Sony HDTV would be able to create a PSN account and access paid content from their TV whether they have ever used, or even own, a PS3 or not.
This isn't about making PS3 owners pay for something they already have, it's about expanding and extending the PSN to cover other devices than the PS3/PSP. It's about extending and expanding the PSN based content and services beyond console based gaming.
5 up, 1 down
Alienange
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 5:16:17 PM
I guess it doesn't really matter for us Canadians anyway. It's not like the PSN has TV and Movies here...
I do feel for the Americans though. This news most likely means another $99 at Target.
2 up, 2 down
therabbitkinge
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 1:50:01 PM
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Jawknee
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:06:20 PM
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godsman
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:34:10 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:41:42 PM
1 up, 0 down
Alienange
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 5:18:05 PM
1 up, 1 down
jaybiv
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 11:58:12 PM
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jaybiv
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 2:35:16 PM
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FatherSun
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:02:35 PM
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WolfCrimson
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:23:57 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:43:16 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:35:48 PM
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If Sony BluRay players, TVs and PCs have BlueTooth connectivity, want to take a bet how long it takes for them to announce that Sixaxis compatible controllers will work with Qricity enabled devices allowing access to PS1 and PS Mini games?
I'd also bet that the themes and wall papers will work nicely also. And, since even the TVs can play back MP4 and MP3 based content and generally have a flash memory port or two, I would not be surprised to see Qriocity services including themes, wall papers, music, video downloads and streaming and PS1 and PS mini games. Because BluRay players and TVs have limited local storage it also makes complete sense to offer cloud based storage of various things including user files like game saves.
Think about it for a minute. Forget the PS3 and PSP, ignore all PS3 and PSP specific games and think about all the other content on the PSN. None of that (including PS1 games) is beyond the capabilities of any of the PCs, BluRay players and HDTVs being made today.
@Fathasun
I think you're right about the Giant awakening. However, they don't need cloud computing for any of this, the CPU power in the HDTVs and BluRay players is more than enough for the majority of the content on the PSN, except for the PS3 and PSP games. I think the only things on the PSN currently that none of these other consumer electronics devices could cope with are PS3 games (both full games and PSN games) and PSP Games. I actually think that the PS Minis will work as well. The fact that PS Minis can be played on the PS3 as well suggests that they are either not running natively on the PSP or PS3. If that's the case, then whatever virtual run time environment they run in could easily be embedded in the new devices from Sony.
Last edited by Highlander on 1/11/2010 3:36:38 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:51:18 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:00:33 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:01:13 PM
Most (if not all) new HDTVs come with flash memory interfaces - to allow them to display phographs and video from Digital Cameras - which of course Sony also makes. Sony TVs come with MemoryStick slots. As do their BluRay players, at least the ones that meet the current 2.0 BluRay profile requirement.
Just like the PSP plays PS1 games from a MemoryStick, what's to stop the HDTV, BluRay device or PC from doing the same thing?
BTW did you know that Sony makes almost all the cameras used in making 3D TV & movies?
Last edited by Highlander on 1/11/2010 4:02:49 PM
7 up, 0 down
FatherSun
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:25:00 PM
What I have noticed thoughout the years is that SONY innovates technology but sometimes manufacture elite products. Thus leaving the mainstream consumer out. And thats where the money is. Then here comes the Ipod and Natal. As if these companies created what they are developing and feeding it to the mainstream as the NEW thing. I see what the PSP couldve been or shouldve been, and the PlayStation Eye taken to another level. Happens all the time. Sometimes you gotta just jump in. With Qriocity they can bring it all together. SONY dont let em steal your thunder.
AS far full PS3 games I wouldnt expect or even want that thru Qriocity. It will cannibalized the PS3. Lets keep that just for us true gamers!
Last edited by FatherSun on 1/11/2010 4:26:26 PM
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bxshotboi
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:44:09 PM
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fluffer nutter
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 8:54:23 PM
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Jed
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 9:33:25 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 3:48:50 PM
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:03:53 PM
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Banky A
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:07:17 PM
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I hope this becomes somewhat a regular house-hold thing, it'll be cool to walk into somebody's house and see the XMB in full style in an electronic.
:)
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 4:34:17 PM
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DGo8
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 5:35:04 PM
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robinhood2010
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 5:37:30 PM
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Yes, I bet you were.
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raiden213
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 6:17:37 PM
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This looks interesting if implemented very well.
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Charger7302
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 6:26:43 PM
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I hope that it is instant streaming because I would love to stream movies off the ps3 without having to join netflix, and hopefully without a subscription, shouldn't we be able to just use our psn funds/wallet?
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Lairfan
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 8:40:52 PM
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Jed
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 9:30:09 PM
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Too bad the only Sony products I own are my PS3 and an old CD player. If I had the money to drop on a Bravia TV I'd do it in a second.
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Highlander
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 10:51:11 PM
One other thing that just popped into my head is the fact that the PS3 is DNLA compliant so it can stream content. I wonder whether they'll do TVs and BluRay players with wireless technology and DNLA compliance as well? They have talked repeatedly about TVs, and BluRay players (and the PS3) all communicating, so why not. Either way it would allow the TV in the living room to stream video from a PS3 elsewhere in the house. That would be pretty cool too.
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___________
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 11:46:30 PM
dont buy a sony tv there overpriced and no where near as good as the competition.
and there always late to the party, for example samsung released their series 7 than replaced it with the series 8 than sony came in and released a TV to compare with the series 7.
whats the point of that?
they bring in a brand new TV that compares to a 2 year old TV.
and they are very expensive compare to the competition.
samsung 55inch full HD 200Hz TV RRP $3000
closest thing sony offers to that same size same features is close to 4K and the picture quality is no where near as good because the samsung uses LEDs and the sony does not.
i still say plasmas are the way to go, i was shown a 12K 70 inch samsung today and JESUS TAP DANCING CHRIST! it looks good!
plasmas are way better than LCDs and are still slightly better than LEDs.
not to mention a plasma will be roughly 700 bucks cheaper than its LED brother.
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fluffer nutter
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 @ 9:31:58 AM
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Highlander
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 @ 10:23:18 AM
Anyway, the fact that Samsung release their 'series 8' and Sony release a "series 7" at the same time is of zero consequence. What Sony calls series 7 could be (I'm not saying it is) a generation ahead of the Samsung series 8. Now, if you're talking about the screen in terms of which 'generation' of technology is in use making the glass and LCD matrix, I could at least see a point. However it's not just the glass, but also the backlight technology, the video processing and all the other elements that go into making a TV what it is. Samsung and Sony use a lot of their own technology and software in their TVs as well.
Using the series number of one manufacturer's TV as a comparison against the number on another is pretty much pointless unless one is an OEM manufacturer for the other. From all the reviews and comparisons I have read of LED backlit LCD TVs (which are pointless since they are all far too high end and expensive for mere mortals to own), there is a very marginal difference between the two. That in turn means that it generally comes down to personal preference. Your personal preference is as always not Sony, so no surprise there.
Regarding Plasma TVs, unless they're about to make a resurgence, which they're not, that technology is currently a dead end. Disadvantages such as weight, energy consumption and burn-in also tend to drive people towards LCDs. I know that the plasma TVs had the advantage in terms of picture quality and contrast ratio early on, but the current generations of LCD are more or less equivalent with Plasma for quality and contrast, and typically consume less energy.
BTW you talked about LCD and LED TVs as if they are different, they're not (yet). The only true LED TV is the OLED TVs such as the one that Sony sells. All the other so called LED TVs are actually LCD panels with LED backlights instead of CFFL backlights.
LED backlights offer an advantage in terms of energy consumption and contrast ratio because the LEDs can be dimmed or turned off in order to increase the contrast. This is not something that a CFFL based backlight can cope with.
Samsung uses white LED backlight technology. Sony on the other hand uses a tri-color LED approach with red, blue and green LEDs used to provide illumination. Sony claims that their technology gives superior color reproduction and contrast. In most tests they do have the edge on contrast. The multi-color LED backlight in the Sony can alter not only the brightness of the backlight behind a pixel, but also the hue of the backlight which enhances contrast and color depth. The white backlight on the Samsung can only adjust the brightness of the pixel.
Purely from a tech point of view, tri-color LED backlight technology is closer to full LED TV screens. It also appears to offer far more options in terms of adjusting the color and luminosity of each pixel on a screen. I don't know which TV is better, it depends on your criteria.
2 up, 0 down
___________
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @ 6:28:00 AM
the Z5500, the TV i recently bought is 1 year old, the samsung 7 series is 2 years old.
its probably because we always get stuff later like sony style told me today their new XBRs are out in the UK but were not getting them till april.
so looks like you need to get your facts straight bub.
the screen is pointless did you not know samsung has over 60% of the licences to manufacture LCD panels?
you take apart almost any LCD TV or even any laptop screen and 99% of those are made by samsung.
samsung, sony, toshiba, panasonic, most of the big companies use the same LCD screens and their made by samsung.
how do you think samsung can make better TVs for sony and charge less?
no difference between LCDs and LEDs?
SERIOSULY! you did not just say that.
seriously i expected better from you.
go to your local audio and visual enthusiasts and compare the 2 if you still think LCDs and LEDs are the same may god send you a new pair of eyes.
LEDs are so much better than LCDs the proof is in the contrast ratios.
LCDs cant dream of getting black and white levels of plasmas, LEDs are close, not there but close.
how are LEDs expensive?
you done any shopping latley?
a LED TV is normally 300-500 bucks more than its tube brother.
for instance i can get a 55 inch samsung series 8 for around 3800 bucks compare to a 55 inch plasma is around 2800 and a LCD is around 3300.
i know how LED TVs work half my family are freaking TV repairers.
yes sonys tri color LEDs are better just one problem.
there is only one TV of theres that uses that tech and thats the KDL-45-XBR 55 and that was taken out of production in late 08.
thats the TV i wanted because XBRs are the top trumph but speaking to my local retailers JB, myer, target, binglee said they have not got one in since july 2009 and they cant get one in since sony no longer sells them.
sony fu**ed up big time, as usual they were late to the party.
samsung came out with LED TVs and sony replied with the XBRs and ONLY the XBRs, samsung released the 6,7, and 8 series with LEDs to sonys 1 TV.
than sony stops making it over a year before the new ones are coming out.
the new XBRs are not out here till april and i cant wait because my TV is on its last legs.
as i said i wanted the XBR but sony does not make it.
samsung offers me many LED choices sony offer's me zero thats their fault not mine.
0 up, 1 down
Highlander
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @ 10:26:50 AM
If you know how "LED TVs" work, then stop bloody calling them LED TV, they are not LED TVs, they are LED backlit LCD TVs. The LEDs are not displaying the picture they simply illuminate it.
Sony, Samsung and Sanyo all have joint ventures to make large LCD glass substrates because it's too expensive to go it alone, but Sony take the glass and assembles it into an LCD panel in a Sony facility. The glass with the liquid crystal is one thing, the technology behind the glass is quite another.
If you want to persist in calling a TV that has an LED backlight an LED TV, go ahead, that's Samsung's thing too. But you know it's not an LED TV, it's an LCD TV with an LED backlight.
If you go back and actually read my post you will see that I clearly state that LED backlighting technology has a contrast advantage over CFFL, and that LCD panels with LED backlights have contrast ratios that are as good or better than Plasma.
Since you're bound to argue with me again, I'll go ahead and quote the New York Times regarding so called LED TVs...
<<quote>>
What's an LED TV?
When a product has become commoditized and its price is regularly dropping and its profit margins are getting ever-thinner, how can a company boost its sales and raise its prices?
Samsung Series 8800 LED HDTV Samsung 8000 Series LED TV
One way is by changing the product’s name.
That’s what Samsung has done with its new line of LCD TVs using LEDs to illuminate the screen. In its print advertising and on its Web site, Samsung calls the new range simply “LED TVs.”
They are not LED TVs. Calling them such makes as much sense as calling its existing line of LCD televisions Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp TVs, or CCFL TVs, after the lighting technology that they use.
Whatever its validity, Samsung’s decision to drop “LCD” was a smart marketing move. After all, “LED” is the acronym du jour, a technology that’s all the rage as a new, perhaps revolutionary lighting source. It’s as emotive a term as “HDTV” and “digital” were in their heydays.
<<end quote>>
Here's the link to the full article, I'm done.
http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/whats-an-led-tv/
Last edited by Highlander on 1/13/2010 10:30:38 AM
1 up, 0 down
Jed
Thursday, January 14, 2010 @ 12:22:18 AM
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___________
Thursday, January 14, 2010 @ 5:57:52 AM
jesus christ dude you are the pickiest person i have ever met.
I KNOW THERE NOT LED TVS I SAID THAT IN BOTH POSTS!
god, i called them LED TVs because its quicker and easier than calling them LCDs with a LED back light.
point is samsung have LED back light TVs (HAPPY?) available for me to buy, sony dont.
0 up, 1 down
___________
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 11:51:31 PM
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as for the paid service, as i have said DO NOT! charge us 50 bucks and were still missing out on something.
i would be more than happy to shell out 50 bucks if i have full access to PS1 classics and movies.
speak of the devil, when are sony getting the video store up in AU?
the UK got it late last year, what the bloomin hell is taking so long?
anyway hopefully with this new cashola they will update the servers.
i can download a demo off the PSN and off XBLA and XBLA will always be finished minimum 5 minutes earlier.
the PSN servers are freaking DEAD SLOW!
i can download a full freaking movie in less than a hour so why does it take me 4 hours to download a 1.5 GB demo?
honestly the 12 year old servers i have at work are faster than the crap sonys using.
0 up, 3 down
___________
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @ 6:29:58 AM
i really want to give it a try but cant because 50 bucks says it will take hours to download and im out during the day.
cant leave it on at night because its to noisy and wakes the whole household up.
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NetheRealm
Friday, January 15, 2010 @ 4:59:26 AM
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Superman915
Reply
Monday, January 11, 2010 @ 1:04:19 PM