Sony unveils PlayTV telly tuner for PS3

Sony has unveiled its forecast TV tuner for the PlayStation 3, enabling users in Europe to record and watch digital TV on their games console, Sky+ style. Play TV - TV tuner for the PS3 Sony's PlayTV The announcement was made at the Leipzig games show in Germany - a show being heralded by many as the new E3, or at the …

[Rob]

Entirely pointless in the UK

In reality I can't see much use for this in the UK, where most people have some form of cable or Sky TV.

I suppose it'll be useful to people using over the air digital, but can you find two channels that might be showing programs you want to watch at the same time? I can't even find two channels that I want to watch at all.

[David Webb]

Dollar Rate

"He said the accessory would be priced between $135 and $200"

So about £135 to £200 +VAT then? Love the $ to £ exchange rate these days.

[AndyB]

A bit of a gimmick?

A 'PVR' addon for the PS 3 that costs about the same as a standalone Freeview PVR, but has less storage (much less as the 60Gb HDD in the PS3 is likely to cluttered with a lot of other stuff).

Can it record when the PS3 is playing games? If not then there's another reason for buying a pukka PVR instead of this gimmick.

[David Gosnell]

About time!

Wasn't this functionality trumpeted years ago, and supposed to have been integrated in the PS3 from the start?

I remember thinking at the time it would make it a killer console, perhaps even "the one" worth waiting for.

Obviously too little too late now compared with the competition from Humax et al, especially at the total price point.

[Jack Garnham]

Load of Pap...

If I wanted to watch freeview I would spend 20 quid on a freeview box from Asda. I could hardly justify spending the best part of a hundred quid on a USB add on for an already extortionate PS3! Oh but wait, you can record too? Excuse me while I contain my excitement... which is short lived when I realise that there's sod all to bother recording on freeview anyway, you can't even get BabeStation.

At least Microsoft are using their "next gen" console to trial and implement "next gen" entertainment. MS demo'd live streamed IPTV using the Xbox 360 at last year's E3, the technology is only really limited by bandwidth to the home these days (come on OpenReach, fibre to the curb please!).

Downloadable TV content on the Xbox 360 will be available in Europe some time in Autumn according to MS's announcement at E3 2007.

Bad move Sony.

[Dave]

So nothings changed then

By Krystan Honour

Posted Thursday 2nd August 2007 14:22 GMT No ones buying ps3 because its TOO EXPENSIVE

I also wonder what kind of DRM Sony is going to dream up.......

[PhilF]

So let me get this straight...

I don't own a PSP or PS3 but from comments I have read elsewhere; you can watch DVDs (&blu-ray) on the PS3 but are prevented from transferring them onto the PSP.

How come Sony are preparred to let you transfer TV? After all you have paid (in some way) for the content in both cases.

[Anonymous Coward]

PSP

Do all these mentions of new devices for psp mean that sony has finally realised that its not actually just a PS3 accessory . In fact its a pretty good device in itself that would be so much better if Sony only paid a little attention to it.

Personally I love being able to play PSOne games on mine (particularly FF7), but if its a choice between buying a PS3 and then buying a second copy of it through the marketplace, or just using the open firmware and illegally converting my own PSOne copy. I'm going to take the illegal route.

[Anonymous Coward]

bit steep.

For the price of a ps3 and the peripheral you could buy a wii, xbox 360 and a twin tuner pvr with a bigger hdd than the ps3.

Although id rather revert back to my atari 2600 and ferguson videostar than give sony any money.

[Paul R]

Cool

Great, a device, that plugs into another device, that plugs into your TV, that lets you watch TV... on your TV!

Now why didn't I think of that?

[Jon Brunson]

Hmm, bargin!

... not!

Why not buy Sony's own SVR-S500? It's got twin tuners, 80Gb HDD, and is a cheaper than this add-on, it'll also mean that there's more space on your PS3's HDD for games & the likes.

Additionally, is this Freeview Playback verified? (Serious question)

[Iain]

Wow, TV on TV

Oddly enough, my Sony HDTV already has a Freeview tuner. But no Freeview signal before 2012 at the earliest, so I can't say I particularly care.

[Anonymous Coward]

Freeview Playback

I wondered why someone mentioned this, then it dawned on me. Freeview Playback devices will probably be configured so you can't skip adverts in the future, so lets home it is not Freeview Playback Verified

Personally I prefer my Nebula devices or the Topfield PVR

[Rob]

@Mark...

This isn't about the XBox. In fact only one person has mentioned it so far and they've actually made a reasonable comment on the technology MS is demonstrating.

I'm a big Sony fan, and run a PSP dedicated website, but even I refuse to buy a PS3 at it's current price. Spending their RnD cash on almost pointless peripherals, when they could be spending it on the PS3 or making it cheaper is just stupid.

Maybe it makes more sense as a gadget outside of the UK, but since we're based IN the UK we're going to have a more negative opinion of it...

[Jon]

@ Rob

"Spending their RnD cash on almost pointless peripherals, when they could be spending it on the PS3 or making it cheaper is just stupid."

I thought this was for the PS3?

I for one think this is a fantastic idea. You all seem to be forgetting that a large amount of these consoles will end up in bedrooms where people don't generally have SKY or PVRs.

The idea that you can remotely access the program guide from the PSP over the Internet and set recording is also extremely useful.

[Jon]

Why are you all attacking it when you have no idea of the price?

The price of $135-$200 is actually for the PSP satellite navigation add-on 'Go Explore'. There has been no mention at all of a price for the PVR but don't let that stop you all comdeming it without even knowing the price.

I would be willing to bet it will be less than £100. Probably more like £50.

BTW Mark. I'm interested to know why you think the R&D budget for this PVR device would be better spent by dropping the price of the PS3. How much exactly do you think they would have cut off if that were the case? 50p? £1? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that this PVR device will do more for sales than a £1 price cut.

[4.1.3_U1]

@Jon

"The price of $135-$200 is actually for the PSP satellite navigation add-on 'Go Explore'."

But in the article it says:

"David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, claimed PlayTV would extend the "broad entertainment credentials of PS3". He said the accessory would be priced between $135 and $200."

Who is right?

Incidentally, why should the "President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe" be quoting a price in $ at all?

[Neural9]

Why does the PS3 continue to lag so badly?

I'm so annoyed at Sony. I went out and bought a PS3 the day it came out and it stillllll can't do the basic media work of the 360. Now asking me to add more pounds to the pile I wasted to pick up some tv is insulting. Just connect it to media centre Sony or write your own you profiteers.

[Greg Williams]

Yes, but...

... if you buy a Humax or other freeview box, then it won't fit in with the natty PS3 component colour scheme will it? Can't be having that.

If it DOES sell in the price range quoted above, then it's just a joke, pure and simple. Even if you can watch TV on it, recording is really out, as the HDD on the PS3 isn't really big enough to make it viable long term. Maybe the odd program here and there. If they'd support external hard disks.... ah, but then they wouldn't suit the natty colour scheme either. But then Sony could bring out their own PS3 external hard disks! But then they'd be stupidly priced too... hrm... no... can't see a way out of this one...

[Anonymous Coward]

Good news!

I agree the price for the PVR unit is a bit on the costly side if indeed it is £125 or so, but if it's an actually conversion of $125USD, then it's quite a fine price.

Either way, it is stupid to say the device is pointless as people own boxes already. That's a load of crap. There are many who still don't, and there will be many who are yet to buy one (ie kids growing up, people moving out/moving places, people arriving in the country, etc). Also people often like the convinience of a unit which 'does it all'.

Microsoft's IPTV is nothing special compared to live TV abilities, it's all pre-recorded, it's an iTunes for Video essentially, but just real time streaming of it. It's no where near as flexible or varied in content as real live TV. Microsoft is falling behind by only offering such limited services.

That said, I don't consider it a bad idea to have, therefore it is good that the PSP and the PS3 will be able to use downloaded video content, but just makes the PS3 even more superior than the XBox360 when it comes to home entertainment devices.

However the PS3 is still overpriced, and I would like Sony to take only one lesson from Microsoft by dropping the prices (as none other is worth following unless you like Microsoft's overheating pathetically noisy consoles which doesn't even ship with any next gen drives to facilitate for the potential of the console, but makes you pay more for it, meaning it wont even necessarily be supported by developers!)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Entirely pointless in the UK"

"In reality I can't see much use for this in the UK, where most people have some form of cable or Sky TV."

I think not - there are huge numbers of people who aren't daft enough to pay a subscription on top of their licence fee and advertising levies to watch even more channels of crap than they can get without further cost. But, to be fair, a lot of those wouldn't have or want a PS3 either.

[John]

@4.1.3_U1

--"Incidentally, why should the "President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe" be quoting a price in $ at all?"

My thoughts exactly! The president of the European arm of a Japanese company quoting a price for a device to be made available initially in the UK and Euro-land quoting a price in US$? The world's gone MAD!

And 135-200 is hardly a particularly precise range in any currency. Why not just say $165 +/- 20%??