Following on from the Xbox 360 movie options Sony have followed suit with a download/streaming service via the PS3. Yet another reason to select a distributed video system from Install Automation, you could use and control the PS3 from any connected room in the property.

High quality movies, to rent or to own, at the click of a button on PS3 and PSP.

The PlayStation entertainment experience continues to grow with the arrival of the PlayStation Network Video Store for Europe and the PAL territories. Launched in November 2009 in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with other markets to follow in 2010, the service allows movie fans to download all the latest releases straight to their PlayStation 3 and PSP for viewing at home or on the move.

Movies at your fingertips

The service features a wealth of major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Starz Media, Universal, and Warner Bros., in addition to local market studios including Universum Film (Germany) and Constantin Film (Germany).

Hundreds of titles are available including Angels and Demons; Bruno; Crank 2; The Dark Knight; Dead Space: Downfall; Gran Torino; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; National Treasure; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Public Enemies; Star Trek; Terminator Salvation; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Rent or buy

PlayStation users who choose to rent have up to 14 days to watch their movie, and, once playback is started, have a maximum of 48 hours to watch each film. Movie lovers who purchase their favourite films can store them on the PS3 Hard Disk Drive which can be accessed at home via PS3 or transferred to PSP for movies on the go.

Imagine having a CCTV joystick on every panel or desk in your home or office. Open AV’s CCTV telemetry interface now allows control of any CCTV camera from anywhere via the internet. The system is integrated into the overall home automation system and allows the client to control any standard pelco controlled cctv camera.

Integrating an Xbox 360 into your home automation system now transforms the Xbox 360 from a gaming device to a movie and music server. A distributed system allows central location and sharing of all the devices in your home. With the Xbox360 that now means the unit could be selected from any room and used and controlled via an in-wall panel or remote control.

Sky Player is Sky’s online TV service – great TV from Sky on your computer. And now you can watch Sky Player on your Xbox 360. (Xbox LIVE Gold and relevant Sky subscriptions required.)

The number of mortgages granted to house buyers hit a 22-month high in October, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

It said 55,300 mortgages were granted to buyers, the highest number since December 2007.

This was a 9% increase from September, and up 43% from October last year.

The CML said mortgage lending to buyers had now doubled since its low point in January this year, but remortgaging was still very subdued.

“It appears that low interest rates for those with substantial deposits, coupled with this year’s sustained increases in house prices, are encouraging more people to buy or move home,” said the CML’s director general Michael Coogan.

“But the same low interest rates that are driving house purchase activity provide little incentive for borrowers to refinance their loans.”

First-time buyers are still having to put down average deposits of 25%, the CML’s figures show, despite a gentle easing of the industry’s mortgage rationing in the past few months.