First Impressions of Blinkbox App on Sony PS3

  Have you read the press release and initial opinion on Electricpig.co.uk here?  Blinkbox Launches onto PS3

I have just tried Blinkbox out on my PS3, and it looks and feels pretty good, so wanted to share a few first impressions.

They claim to have 6000 titles available, of which a number are free to watch (ad supported).

I like the idea of this service, however here is a list of my Blinkbox PS3 pros and cons:

1. I cant seem to get blinkbox to appear on the cross media bar like bbc iplayer does, so it makes it a lot harder and annoying to have to use the internet bookmark…why is that – am I being a numptie?

2. I like the design – it feels like a tv guide and everything is big enough for me to use when sitting further away.

3. In the same way as bbc iplayer, when I am playing a film, the progress bar doesnt quite fit in the screen, so I cant push the pause button (resolution on my TV is 32″ 1080i)…why is this?

4. The gamepad controls when I am playing back a title dont work as I would expect. I also have a PS3 TV remote control and this doesnt work at all. e.g. you cant use the L2/R2 buttons to fast forward and rewind, you cant skip forward a chapter, you cant pause using ‘x’…

5. I am not sure I like the idea of having to rely on my broadband connection everytime I want to re watch a streamed title I have purchased from Blinkbox…I would prefer progressive download or it download x% of the title to my hard drive so I dont have to worry about buffering at 8pm on a Saturday night.

6. I like the fact I can buy a title, and watch it either on my PS3 or a PC.

7. The quality of the stream is not bad but I have seen better…and they dont seem to offer anything in HD.

8. The quality of the titles available is good, but some are expensive. When I have to rent on a pay per view basis or buy a title, then I would choose the best quality, which for me is still the PS Video Store (when comparing the two).

9. Good collection of free tv shows from across a few broadcasters (UK), however they are old archived ones and not the latest and greatest.

So in summary, I think its a good service which is easy to use, and if it were easier to access then I would use it to compare prices with PS Video Store and get the best price on a title I am interested in.

However I do not believe that Blinkbox can ever “find a place in British PS3 owners hearts just as Netflix has staked its claim on US gamers’ affections”, because it does not offer a subscription service…something that Netflix does incredibly well and delivers massive value to its loyal customers…

Have you tried Blinkbox on the PS3 yet?  What do you think of it?

Paul Johnson is a writer for Appmarket.tv and founding Director at Montgomery Aston and has been specialising in making sense and acting upon the convergent areas of Media, Communications and Consumer Management for the past 15 years.

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