Sony and Netflix – the two of the fastest growing home entertainment brands in the U.S. – are joining forces to make movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation3.
The streaming via the PS3 system will begin next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.
Initially, watching movies instantly streamed from Netflix via the PS3 system will be enabled by a free, instant streaming Blu-ray disc that is being made available to all Netflix members.
The free instant streaming disc leverages Blu-ray’s BD-Live technology to access the Internet and activate the Netflix user interface on the PS3 system, which must be online via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
The disc will be required for streaming at least until a PS3 software update sometime in late 2010.
Netflix members slide the disc into their PS3 systems to reveal movies and TV episodes that can be watched instantly. They can use the Netflix Web site or navigate directly on their PS3 systems to add movies and TV shows to their Queues.
PS3 system enables consumers to play high-definition games, watch Blu-ray movies, listen to music, view photos, browse the internet, and download content from PlayStation Network.
Netflix, one of the world’s largest online movie rental services, enables to stream movies and TV episodes to a TVs and computers via Netflix ready devices (such as the PS3) and delivers DVDs to homes.
According to the companies, the PS3 system’s installed base has reached close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix recently reported 11.1 million U.S. subscribers as of September 30.
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