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Sony Australia plans to begin selling high-definition movies and TV shows via its PlayStation 3 as early as this year, hammering another nail in the coffin of the rigid free-to-air TV networks.
Movie download stores have long been hampered by the complexity in moving downloaded content from the PC to the TV, but this niggle is finally evaporating thanks to new services that deliver video directly to the TV via games consoles and set-top boxes such as TiVo and Apple TV.
The final hurdle - Australia's comparatively slow broadband speeds and strict download quotas - is also set to disappear, with the upcoming National Broadband Network promising speeds of at least 100Mbps to 90 per cent of the population.
Sony has sold movies and TV shows through the PS3 in the US since June last year, and Australian Sony Computer Entertainment head Michael Ephraim said work was progressing on a launch in this country.
"We're looking at [launching] some time towards the end of this year or into 2010," he said in a phone interview.
Jack Ford, managing director of Sony Pictures Television, gave a similar projection at a Sony event in Sydney last week.
"I'd also expect that, within the next 12-18 months, high definition film and television content will be available through the PlayStation Network."
As a starting point, Sony announced today it would soon introduce VidZone, allowing PS3 users to watch music videos for free through the console.
Last week, Blockbuster and TiVo opened their joint movie and TV download service, allowing users of the TiVo set-top box to rent more than 100 movies and several TV shows directly from the device.
Internode customers can use the BlockBuster/TiVo service without eating into their download quotas.
Telstra BigPond, which sells movies, music and other content through its various websites, is rumoured to be heading down a similar path later this year by selling a set-top box similar to the TiVo that can provide unmetered access to BigPond's online services.
Yesterday, Apple Australia announced it was now selling HBO shows, including The Sopranos and Sex And The City, through iTunes.
Other studios including Disney, 20th Century Fox, NBC, Sony and MTV already offered episodes through the service, while a broad selection of movies can also be rented or bought.
Those with an Apple TV device can watch content bought from iTunes directly on their TV sets.