Crunchyroll apps to launch on PlayStation 3 and Samsung TVs

[Buckeye]

Well, that killed my enthusiasm for the app. No 720 quality at the very least, and it looks like I will have to continue to connect my laptop with an HDMI cable to my TV.

[WTK]

For those who are still interested, the PS3 app is out now.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/...ma-to-your-tv/

[WTK]

via CR

Crunchyroll PS3 App Launches Today

New app allows Premium members to view shows on PS3.

After first being announced during Anime Expo, Sony and Crunchyroll have officially launched the long-awaited Crunchyroll app for the Playstation 3. The free app will allow Premium members to view catalog and simulcast episodes while also including the first episodes of simulcast shows as shown below with Saki: Episode of Side A for non-Premium members.

The app also includes access to your Queue and to celebrate the launch, Crunchyroll will be offering a free 30 day Premium trial for new PS3 app users who sign up directly from the app. The app will first be available to owners in the US and Canada with access in additional countries planned for the future and 720p/1080p HD access is also on tap for later this year. With all of that said, who's excited to finally be able watch your favorite Crunchyroll shows on your PS3 without relying on the browser?

[Draneor]

Originally Posted by something

Well, there's the car... and sometimes a bed. I'm not familiar with any other non-computer locations. I think you're making things up!

The bathroom, kitchen, taking out the trash, 7-Eleven, Walmart, work on a really slow day, in line for the Hirano Aya concert. Course, the computer can go with you.

[superdry]

Originally Posted by WTK

via CR

So, why no 720p now? I can only presume that the hardware decoder on the PS3 should have no problems decoding what's put up for PC streaming. The only thing I could find was supposedly it was mentioned in the CR forums the PS3 app only does 480p due to licensing.

[agila61]

Originally Posted by superdry

So, why no 720p now? I can only presume that the hardware decoder on the PS3 should have no problems decoding what's put up for PC streaming. The only thing I could find was supposedly it was mentioned in the CR forums the PS3 app only does 480p due to licensing.

"Primus" on ANN is claiming Crunchyroll will be rolling out higher resolution later this year, so either they plan on getting the beta cleaned up before upping the resolution, or else they have to do a distinctive encode for the PS3, and decided to do the 480p encodes first for launch, and then do the 720p encodes in preparation for the 720p roll-out.

[Damius]

Originally Posted by agila61

"Primus" on ANN is claiming Crunchyroll will be rolling out higher resolution later this year, so either they plan on getting the beta cleaned up before upping the resolution, or else they have to do a distinctive encode for the PS3, and decided to do the 480p encodes first for launch, and then do the 720p encodes in preparation for the 720p roll-out.

I'm not sure what I would have done as a company. Doing it this way, I would have been afraid to lose some clients. It's not all the people who will come back later on and try it to know if it's better...

[superdry]

Originally Posted by agila61

"Primus" on ANN is claiming Crunchyroll will be rolling out higher resolution later this year, so either they plan on getting the beta cleaned up before upping the resolution, or else they have to do a distinctive encode for the PS3, and decided to do the 480p encodes first for launch, and then do the 720p encodes in preparation for the 720p roll-out.

I read that. Sounds like exactly what they did for the Android app - the videos encoded weren't that great, but at some point, the quality increased (480p? at least).

I think CR should have delayed the app until they got HD streams unless it's true they ran into some licensing problems.

[agila61]

Originally Posted by Damius

I'm not sure what I would have done as a company. Doing it this way, I would have been afraid to lose some clients. It's not all the people who will come back later on and try it to know if it's better...

But delaying until the 720p was ready would also mean that the channel was wonkier when the 720p was rolled out, since it wouldn't have had the benefit of users using it in a wide variety of situations, reporting problems, and having the developers fix those problems.

Getting the bugs ironed out and then rolling out the 720p has something to recommend it. Most of those people who tried it and turned off because it was 480p will hear sooner or later about the 720p roll-out, and will have a nicer experience when they do try it again.

If they have 480p, I don't think the delay is a purely legal issue ~ AFAIK, companies are insistent about DRM streaming even at 480p, its rather 360p that is seen as low enough resolution to not worry so much about. But it could be a mix of legal and technical, depending on the performance of the PS3 video when running the DRM. They could have a few more programming milestones to pass to get 720p working smoothly enough with the DRM support running.

Update: Note that I see the paragraph in the announcement on the CR site that addresses this:

Currently the Crunchyroll PS3 app is available in the US and Canada PlayStation Network. We are working on bringing it to other countries. We are also planning on rolling out 720p and 1080p on PS3™ later this year, so stay tuned.

[WTK]

via CR

Crunchyroll is on Samsung Smart TV Now!

Another great news to share with everyone! We launched our app on Samsung Smart TV last week to all countries and regions except Japan. The app is available for free download. Currently it is available to users with 2012 TV models and it will become available to other models as Samsung approves them.

Premium members can login with their existing account to access all the benefits, including streaming the latest episodes (no ads of course!), accessing the queue, searching for shows, and more.

If you don't have a Premium membership, you can still download the app for free and watch the first episode of every simulcast show to try it out. To sign up for free trial, please do so on the website.

Currently the Crunchyroll Samsung Smart TV app supports English subtitles. We are working on adding other languages. We are also planning on rolling out 720p and 1080p to Samsung Smart TV later this year.