By Darren Murph and Emma Barnett
"Lovefilm, the movie and game rental service, will be available via Sony PlayStation 3 consoles from next month onwards".
You Americans may not have a clue what Lovefilm means to Britons, but in short, it's Netflix for the other side of the pond. To that end, we imagine quite a few UKers are giddy over a video that has since been pulled from Sony's YouTube channel. . It's bruited that Lovefilm streaming will be coming to UK-based PS3 owners sometime this autumn, with a wealth of search options available and free trials promised for those who've yet to buy into the outfit's services. We're hoping to hear more from Sony (or Lovefilm) in short order, but for now, we'd encourage you to cross every finger you have that a dedicated disc won't be required for everything to work.
As of next month, PS3 owners will be able to order a movie using the Lovefilm app, and choose whether to stream it via their games console or continue ordering the DVDs to be delivered.
The app will also let users curate their movie and game rental lists.
Lovefilm is also rumoured to be developing a similar app for YouView, the BBC-backed internet-connected set-top box, due to go on sale early next year. The IPTV service, which is being positioned by its owners, ITV, Channel 4, Five, TalkTalk, BT and the BBC, as the 'next generation of Freeview', will allow apps and channels to co-exist on the same TV platform.
However, the media regulator, Ofcom, is believed to be preparing to launch an investigation into the broadcasters’ plan to bring iPlayer-like services to televisions across the country, post a series of complaints from rival services, such as Sky and Virgin.
