Play TV for PS3 - news

as or the uk free to air standard being different than the european standard, well play tv is a uk developed system and will likely support our system rather than the other.
 
Needles said:
as or the uk free to air standard being different than the european standard, well play tv is a uk developed system and will likely support our system rather than the other.
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I'd assume that it would be aimed for the entire Euro market. As we dont know what our HD standard will be yet - I doubt that it will work with any future UK HD format.
 
Just to point out that (from my understanding) no decision had been made on the freeview progression onto HD as a totallity, and that there were huge concerns over the bandwidth needed to broadcast existing channels in this method........in fact, I seem to recall them looking at further broadcasting compression technology, and that this in itself would make all existing DBT technology defunct - it'd be a big ol' mistake if Sony were to release this before a standard had been set.
 
t@xman said:
Just to point out that (from my understanding) no decision had been made on the freeview progression onto HD as a totallity, and that there were huge concerns over the bandwidth needed to broadcast existing channels in this method........in fact, I seem to recall them looking at further broadcasting compression technology, and that this in itself would make all existing DBT technology defunct - it'd be a big ol' mistake if Sony were to release this before a standard had been set.
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Whilst what you say has elements of truth - I dont believe that SD Freeview is going anywhere in the short term so this will not be a pointless purchase for anyone.
 
wwwebber said:
Whilst what you say has elements of truth - I dont believe that SD Freeview is going anywhere in the short term so this will not be a pointless purchase for anyone.
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Indeed, the cutover hasn't even happened yet!!! (end of 2009 I think and 2010 for us Londoners!!).


rp2000
 
ok is this a HD box? or just bog standard pvr ?


edit: nevermind looks like this hasnt been confirmed or will be doubtful to be HD
 
wwwebber said:
Whilst what you say has elements of truth - I dont believe that SD Freeview is going anywhere in the short term so this will not be a pointless purchase for anyone.
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Sorry, I was referring directly to the HD elements rather than SD - though I think it'd be daft to release prior to the HD-DBT standard having been defined.

However, in terms of SD I'd say there's some far better standalone solutions out there for similar money (or less once a new HDD is taken into account), and what really concerns me is the huge power consumption that a PS3 uses relative to a regular PVR..........having said that, I can see the alure of a single box solution, but history tells me that such solutions tend to be a compromise of ideals.
 
Inoshishi said:
Read today its going to be around the £70 mark, which is better than the original £99
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That's sounds a decent price, as my old 80GB Digifusion was £60 last year, and that was a complete pile of **** (had it replaced 5 times)
 
Some new info bout Play Tv

It will be possible to export TV recordings made with PS3's forthcoming digital TV receiver in a standard file format and store them anywhere you like, Sony explained today.

Mark Bunting, a producer at Sony's Cambridge Studio, which is working on the software for the PlayTV device, showed how the MPEG-2 video files could be moved from the PlayTV interface to the PS3's home menu.

From there, they can be moved to another storage device such as a memory stick, backup hard drive or PC. There is no copy protection in place and no time limit on how long the recording can be kept. Asked what you could do with the file Bunting said: "Anything you like, really, as long as you do it legally. It's in its raw format."

He was no doubt alluding to the piracy of TV programmes that is currently rampant on BitTorrent peer-to-peer networks. It seems that there will be nothing to stop PlayTV acting as a source of these recordings, as can any PC TV tuner.

"We've talked to our legal department about it," said Bunting. "All we're doing is moving it out of PlayTV and to the cross-media bar as if it was any other recording. So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it.

"If I'm prohibited from getting the recording off and storing it somewhere else because some other dude is making money out of selling it, then I'd rather they brought the law in to catch those people," he added.

We'll be posting full details about PlayTV soon - although sadly, these still will not include a price or release date for the device, which are still under wraps
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I like the idea of being able to transfer downloads to any other device and there being no copy protection. Always used to annoy me that I had to keep films etc on my old PVR if i wanted to watch them again and not make a hard copy.
 
Still no release date? Come on Sony. Don't make a certain retailer look bad. I had my hopes built up since last October time for a March 21st/28th release date.

Note: Yes, yes, release dates are just estimates by the retailer. Expect delays, blah blah.
 
hope the recordings can be quite easily converted to my ipod touch - be great for train commutes
 
A big preview done buy gamespot on plat TV
http://uk.gamespot.com/features/618...clk=multimodule&tag=multimodule;picks;title;1

A few snippets of info,


Utilising a USB tuner, plus the included software, PlayTV will allow users to play, record, and stream free-to-air digital programming. These types of broadcast are common across Europe, where the open DVB standard has been incorporated into such services as TDF in France and Freeview in the UK. We sat down with a prerelease version of the device at a recent Sony event and used the occasion to put our questions to Cambridge-based developer Mark Bunting.

All models of the PlayStation 3 are compatible with PlayTV, although the more hard drive space you have, the more you'll be able to record. Whatever size hard drive you have, 6GB of space will be reserved exclusively for game-related data. The PlayTV adaptor plugs into any free USB socket on the front of the PlayStation 3. The unit itself isn't as small as some PC-based models and, instead, takes up about the same space as an original Nintendo DS handheld. However, it contains two separate tuners so you can watch and record different channels. Also, it does not require an external power source. While you can control PlayTV with a DualShock3 or Sixaxis controller, a more traditional remote control is useful if you want to navigate Freeview's many channels at speed.
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Selecting Live TV from the menu takes you straight into the live video or audio stream currently being broadcast. PlayTV supports both digital TV and radio, which you can flip between using the onscreen guide. The PlayTV box actually includes two tuners, so you can record one channel while watching a completely different one.

You can also pause the live TV at any time, allowing you to leave the room and come back to resume exactly where you left off. Because this buffering puts a constant strain on the hard drive, it's only activated when you press the pause button. You can force PlayTV to buffer the live TV stream all the time if you want, but it's not activated by default because of the increase in hard drive activity. While Sony says that its laptop drives are robust enough to cope with buffering, the high rate of return for Sky+ boxes has encouraged Sony to disable it by default.

One of the nicest visual touches of Live TV is the dissolving effect as you move between channels--a touch of gloss that's missing from most digital TV devices.
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PlayTV's guide pulls scheduling information straight from the airwaves, which includes programme title and schedule times. It also includes a short blurb about the show and its stars. The guide holds information for all channels up to seven days into the future, allowing you to record anything that's listed during the week ahead.

Unlike some recording systems, such as Sky+, PlayTV doesn't include a series link function that can record every episode of your favourite series automatically. However, if there's something on at a regular time, you can set daily or weekly repeat functions for each of your recordings.

Searching for programmes based on keywords is one feature that PlayTV has over most other Freeview tuners. You can search for certain criteria not only through titles, but also by searching for accompanying information. This means that a search for "simpson" would bring up listings for both the Simpsons animated TV show and programmes starring Jessica Simpson. As Bunting showed us, this feature also allows you to search for programmes about New Zealand, even if New Zealand isn't in the title.
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PlayTV allows you to record both video and audio from digital TV and radio, respectively. The MPEG-2 stream for video is stored in its original form, so there is no degradation in video or audio quality between the live broadcast and the recording. Controversially, there's no copy protection encrypted onto the recording, so you're free to back up anything you record to another device for storage. Likewise, audio is recorded in the MP3 format and can be moved around at will, including to a PlayStation Portable or an MP3 player. PlayTV helpfully adds tag information to the MP3 files for this very purpose, so you can see what you're listening to on any device that supports MP3 tagging
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The menu system for PlayTV is as user-friendly and robust as we've come to expect from Sony. The interface boasts far more polish than most other Freeview equipment we've seen, while its PSP functionality will no doubt make it a must-have for frequent travellers. Displayed on a large widescreen TV, DVB performance can sometimes leave a little to be desired, with MPEG artefacts being a common occurrence on some channels. However, this is a problem facing all digital programming due to compression, and PlayTV is certainly no worse than anything else we've seen.

In terms of high definition, PlayTV does support the HD AVC streams that are currently being tested in Europe. According to Bunting, HD content from the BBC looks fantastic, and it will definitely be supported when the corporation makes it more commonplace.
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Summary

PlayTV is looking promising. If you're not served by cable or satellite and have a PlayStation 3, then it's definitely worth looking into PlayTV. The release date and pricing information have yet to be announced, but according to Bunting, the software will reach master submission stage at the end of March. Encouragingly, when we suggested a final retail price of £150 (196 euros, US$298), we were told it would be "well below" that price. We look forward to seeing the finished product later in the year.
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Hopefully the price will be finalised soon around the 75-100 and i think it will be good value, coupled with the fact that it can record/view HD content when available and there is no DRM on anything you record. Hopefully series link can be implemented in an update.
 
msmalls74 said:
Hopefully the price will be finalised soon around the 75-100
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Seriously? You would be happy to pay that for what is just 2 DVB tuners and some software? I would hope for around the £50 mark myself otherwise I would just go out and but a nicer PVR for a little more.
 
Tobes said:
Seriously? You would be happy to pay that for what is just 2 DVB tuners and some software? I would hope for around the £50 mark myself otherwise I would just go out and but a nicer PVR for a little more.
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Can you get a dual HD capable tuner with all the functions of play TV for £50? And can it stream TV to my PSP?
 
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