Sony Wants You to Replace Your Cable Box with Your PS3

Sony Corp. is rumored to be exploring an Internet-based television service that would use devices like the PlayStation 3 to replace traditional cable and satellite receivers. This could be a major disruptor to the American market; most consumers have two choices for premium television (cable or satellite), while a limited number of consumers have access to fiber services like AT&T U-Verse and Verizon Fios. Here’s more from The Wall Street Journal:

Sony Corp. is considering launching an Internet-based alternative to cable-TV service, people familiar with the situation said, posing the latest threat to the cable and satellite operators that dominate pay TV. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company has approached several big media companies to negotiate the rights to offer their TV channels over the Web in the U.S., the people said. Sony is proposing to beam the channels over Internet connections to Sony-made devices, including PlayStation gaming consoles, TV sets and Blu-ray players, the people said.

To me, cable and satellite companies are the same as mobile phone service providers — they all suck. While Internet services like Netflix and Hulu have given consumers more choices than ever, I’m still dreaming about a true disruptive service that would put cable and satellite companies on their collective asses.

Apple and Microsoft are rumored to be exploring an Internet-based TV services, and I’m thrilled to see Sony in the mix. These alternatives can’t get here fast enough. I’d love to cancel my Time Warner Cable subscription for a modern and more cost-effective service. It’s good to have dreams.

How about you? What do you make of the rumor? Would you be down with a Sony Internet TV service that ran through your PlayStation 3?

Source

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

39 thoughts on “Sony Wants You to Replace Your Cable Box with Your PS3”

  1. Heh goodluck. CBS already told Apple they will not abandon their prepaid model.

    I'm not interested unless it is a la carte that has local channels on TE menu in addition to unbundled sports stations.

      1. Sports only my friend :PNFL and NCAAFB ftw. If and when the Hornets are playing they are shown on Cox Sports TV which has an exclusive rights to the games. They also show about 90% of the games in SD so it's not worth it to me.Sent from my iPhone 4

      2. go hornets!

        sorry, having withdrawls

        I only watch local channels so i can get up to date weather information from the local jackoff weathermen.

  2. It would be a great move by Sony especially with the Internet enabled TVs. I know that there are a lot of people out there who get annoyed by all the wires or that converter box that takes up space. I know Sony would lure many customers just based on that. Kinda makes me want to go get a new tv now.

  3. I cut the cord with DirecTV and we're just using Hulu Plus and Netflix at this point. We can still get the local channels for sports via a digital antenna. My one complaint is that since I have CenturyLink for my internet, we can't get ESPN's streaming service on my computer or 360. Apparently they're not a participating internet provider. But I find I don't miss it since I hardly watched much TV anyway and it was more or less $90 a month just so my wife could watch cooking shows.

    1. I have been seriously considering this, so I am curious to get your opinion about it. The only thing that is preventing me from doing this, however, is what Smartguy mentioned- sports. I watch the University of Miami and Dolphins football games religiously. When football is not in season, I watch a lot of Heat and Marlins games as well. I'm paying $120 now to Comcast for their cheapest HD package and internet, so if I cut half of that out, it would be huge, but I can't bring myself to give up watching my local teams play year-round.

      By the way, did you have any issues with DirecTV?

      -M

      1. Not specific issues other than it was a waste of money for what we were getting out of it. 400 channels and nothing was ever on. Paying for the sports pack was a waste because most of the non-local games were always blacked out. There were roughly 40 religious channels. As an atheist, I found that this was not a good use of my viewing dollars, however maybe that's for someone else…whatever. There were also something like 15 home shopping channels. Something like 5 channels dedicated to reality TV. I mean, that more or less cut out everything but Law & Order re-runs and Food Network at that point.

      2. I'm not too savvy with how Comcast prices things but I only have Charter SD cable for $10 and 25meg internet for $40. I hook the cable to my tv and it decodes quite a few HD stations including espn. Try that. I like it cheap.

      3. Do you mean straight from your wall outlet to your TV? If that's what you are referring to, that's what I used to do with most of my TVs, but since Comcast recently switched to an all-digital signal, I need some kind of converter (box) to decode the digital signals.

        This sucks not only because I don't want to pay for Comcast's cable box rentals for every TV in the house, but also because some of my TVs are wall-mounted in tight areas and there are no shelves or place where I can put a cable box or other components. These TVs that I have would be ideal to be Internet TVs, but Google needs to get off their ass and develop a really comprehensive TV package complete with local sports and channels. I think they would be in a better position to offer the holy grail of a-la-carte TV to the masses.

        -M

      5. You sure it won't work? Charter has digi as well. My tuner in the tv just decodes the HD though. My channels have decimals!Sent from my iPhone 4

      6. my parents tv channels have decimals as well. they used to have comcast because they are the only cable providers in the area, but got tired of paying for it and now they only have the digital converter box needed for the local channels. I'm not sure why they are there exactly, but I'm also aware of that phenomenon.

      8. I have Wide Open West, they also switched to an all digital signal. On my hd tv I connect straight to the tv with out needing the converter box. I had to have the tv scan for channels, now they all have dashes. I also get local channels in hd. The sd tvs needed a converter box.

  5. Speaking of PS3, and features, I checked out the revamped PS Home.

    I know, I know, but it has like at least 20 free games inside of it now. One of which, is Texas Hold 'Em.

    I move for an invitational so that I can take all of your fake moneyz.

    EDIT: Did I mention that all the game in PS Home are free?

      1. That doesn't matter, it's free.

        We're talking like an hour of downloading and installing (since this is PS3 after all).

        And you get like 20 free games. No brainer if you ask me.

      6. Is it worth the wait for 20 free games, one of which is Hold 'Em?

        Another one is based on Killzone and another based on UC3. Both of them unlock stuff in the retail counterparts.

        Believe me, I'm surprised to find myself raking in noob chips for hours in Home myself. I mean, if you don't want to lose to me, I understand. Big Blak's around here (somewhere), y'all can hang out together.

    2. By the way, they give you 1000 chips at the door, so no money is involved.

      However, I've made a few people real mad after I cleaned them out and then thanked them for being suckers.

      I've only built up my chips to like 3500 so far, but that's only because I lost like 7000 last night in 2 hands. I was down to 200 and played my way back up to 3500.

      1. Damn. I would love to layeth the smacketh down on you in poker. Unfortunately, the only Texas Hold'em I play is on Yahoo games channel. Let me know if you're ever on there, and I'll invite you to a game. In the meantime, don't give up on setting a date for playing Blg Blak in MK. That is, after all, the most anticipated match-up in all RPadom.

        -M

      2. There is that Full House Poker in the XBL Arcade. It's only $5 too (I think).

        I just went for the PS3 one because it's free and it's (supposed to be) easier to talk people into.

        But if the majority votes, I'll get it for XBL just to clean out your virtual mortgage payments.

        As for taking BB to the curb in MK… I'd have to find him first. He went from yelling from the top to occasionally haunting us from second place. If anyone has any contact with BB, tell him we miss him and we're just worried about him.

      4. I'd prefer xbl only because I don't have a ps3. but I don't know that everyone gotten together on ps3 so maybe it is time for that to happen (and I work nights so scheduling can sometimes be a bitch).

      5. I'm still here! I have no set patterns yet because of my recent uprooting, two time zone changes and daylight savings all on one day (i think I technically had a 26 or 27 hour day that I have not recovered from). We are creatures of habit and I've yet to set that up, although I am enjoying not working.

      1. Al my stuff is still packed away, the only game I kept out is Deus Ex because that was the I was playing before I moved. We are living in a friends finished basement and just have the "essentials" out, clothes, tv, computers, and the Xbox. Everything else is still boxed up including my Turtle Beach 5.1 headphones, games, movies, CDs, pictures, paintings, blah blah blah.

        I'm hoping by the years end we will have our own place thus allowing us to officially unpack.

  6. I work nights too, so this is my problem as well. Weekends are always welcomed though, and i might even be able to find my mic this time!!

    That way you guys can hear what i sound like (think effeminate southern gentleman)

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