Added as a bonus to PlayStation Plus subscribers, the new PS4 and PS5 Sony Pictures Core brings a new streaming service to gamers. However, the new PlayStation-centric streaming app lacks one of its biggest features.
Also known as Bravia Core on Sony SmartTVs, the Sony Pictures Core app offers thousands of movies to buy or rent in 4K resolution. On TVs, these movies can be streamed in 80Mbps, the same bitrate as a native 4K bluray.
However, this high bitrate playback isn’t actually available in the Sony Pictures Core app on PlayStation 4 and PS5. Dubbed PureStream, this high bitrate playback is absent from the cosmoke version of the movie streaming service.
Via FlatPanelsHD, the PureStream menu is completely missing from the console version of the service. This means that users even on an 8K Bravia panel won’t be able to watch movies in the highest possible quality.
Furthermore, the console version of the app doesn’t boast PureStream capabilities anywhere, despite being one of the main features of the Sony streaming service. According to reports, the service also has much softer image quality compared to the native TV version of the service.
Nevertheless, there are still high quality visual features on the Sony Pictures Core app. For example, compatible movies can benefit from Dolby Vision HDR, IMAX aspect ratio, and 4K output. However, these are only available on the PS5 version of the app.
Sony Pictures Core comes to PlayStation Plus subscribers following an egregious price increase that saw users canceling their annual subscriptions. While still not enough to circumvent the massive increase in monthly cost to the subscription service, the addition of a few hundred free to stream films in the app is a positive one.
Nevertheless, Sony still has an issue of reputation following the massive increase of its PlayStation Plus subscription service. With its library of playable games falling behind Xbox Game Pass, and its classics catalog failing to increase its pitiful selection, the service is in need of worthwhile additions.
Sony Pictures Core is available to download now on the PlayStation Store for PS4 and PS5 owners.
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