Continuing to tweak the PlayStation 3 multimedia experience, Sony announced on Tuesday a revamped method for browsing and buying film and TV content on the console. The service, dubbed "Video Unlimited," alters the previous video section's looks considerably with a cleaner layout, more images and a new recommendation system.
"This is a complete redesign of the video store that you've come to know over the past few years on the PlayStation," said Eric Lempel, Vice President of Sony Network Entertainment. "You can still rent and buy video content from all the major movie studios and TV networks in HD and SD. What's different is the way you discover all this content."
The biggest change comes in the form of a new attribute-based recommendation system that shows up on the right side of the screen after selecting a title, said Lempel in a video demonstration of the app. "These [recommendations] will be completely different depending on the film," he explained.
Selecting the superhero flick "Thor," Lempel notes the myriad side categories that appear, including "Save the World" and "New Mexico." Clicking the latter, Lempel is brought to a new screen full of movies that take place in the state, along with a new set of recommendations. The labyrinthine process boasts a "History" feature that displays every single step of the search so users won't get lost.
Lempel also demonstrated a search function that uses predictive text to narrow down topics and speed up broader genre sweeps.
Paying PlayStation Plus members receive early access to the new app today. A full public release for all other PlayStation Network account holders is slated for sometime this fall. (via Official U.S. PlayStation Blog)
