Sony thinking about online movie downloads that you buy, not rent

A small sign that Sony might be starting to get it? It was already pretty much an open secret that Sony was planning to add movies and video game downloads to their Connect online music store sometime next year, but the Inq reports that they’re thinking of making it possible to properly buy (and own) the movies you download rather than subject you to frustrating rental periods where the movies self-destruct after a certain period of time (which is how MovieLink and CinemaNow do things). No doubt there’ll be plenty of DRM involved (because Sony ain’t gonna stop being Sony), but at least you’ll be able to create a video collection that you can transfer to other machines without worrying about expiration dates. There’s even a mention that the download service will work with the PlayStation Portable, and we’d be surprised if the PlayStation 3 didn’t also figure into the mix somehow.