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laprius
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 Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Haven't set standards??? So the DTV receivers we've bought as well as the HD Televisions with digital tuners built in may be useless? 
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Eurogamer wrote: | Sony has told Eurogamer that PlayTV will be released on 19th September and cost GBP 69.99.
David Reeves had prepared us for a 10th September launch and a European price of EUR 99 (GBP 78). Which means Sony must, like Tesco, know we're feeling the pinch at the moment.
PlayTV is digital video recorder for PS3 that can record TV while you play games or watch other programs. There is no copy protection on content, which is saved in a standard format and can be transferred freely to your PC or PSP - which can also control the box remotely.
The PS3's power is put to good use, and PlayTV is future-proofed to handle HD signals when they saturate the market at some point in the future. |
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genxevo
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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probably a stupid question (and may not even have an answer for yet).. BUT.. if i imported it from UK, will it work here? or would it be like the japanese psp tv tuner where it only works with a certain company in their country
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, it will work here.
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Dropbear
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome, my dad has been wondering whether we should get a HD PVR, and now this looks like a viable answer.
No date/price for Australia? Would like this for christmas.
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:50 am Post subject: |
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| Eurogamer wrote: | Sony has told Eurogamer that PlayTV will not allow saved video files be transferred to PSP, PC or Memory Stick.
Instead, the PS3 TV recorder will only be able to stream live or recorded content to your PSP using Remote Play functionality.
Sony Cambridge, the studio making the software for PlayTV, had told us there was no copy protection or time restrictions on the standard format recordings, which could be moved freely onto all manner of storage devices.
No reason for the change of heart was given.
We were also told that PlayTV will not record HD signals at launch, and that Sony is working on making this feature possible in the future.
PlayTV will launch on 19th September for GBP 69.99. |
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Klawrence
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:05 am Post subject: |
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Im interested in whether or not it will work on a 24" with at standard 56Hz picture minimum (almost all monitors have this). Pal TV format is at 50Htz, while NTSC is at 60Htz. This is why in Australia at least, you cant whack a HD Set top box into the HDMI of a monitor and watch HD TV bypassing the need to have a computer PCI-E tuner, something iv been wanting to do for a while. Since TV's sold as in Australia all have at least a 50Htz interface minimum, PlayTV will work on any HD TV with a tuner. If it somehow works on a 56Hz monitor, then ill buy it and a playstation 3 to boot.
EDIT(Random): Out of interest, has anyone who has a DELL 2408WFP ever tried or know if its possible to plug a HD STB into it via HDMI or component, or DVI?
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Last edited by Klawrence on Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:36 pm, edited 5 times in total
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Buttmouth
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:06 am Post subject: |
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Awww aww awwww.... N.. aw.. awww.... Nooo...
(Lame)
Take some more functionality away why don't ya's.
Oh well. It was a little too good to be true I guess.
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genxevo
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:13 am Post subject: |
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| Eurogamer wrote: | Sony has told Eurogamer that PlayTV will not allow saved video files be transferred to PSP, PC or Memory Stick.
Instead, the PS3 TV recorder will only be able to stream live or recorded content to your PSP using Remote Play functionality.
No reason for the change of heart was given.
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this is what makes people annoyed and where all the homebrew starts
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XtremeXfactor
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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I can view recordings from my digital tv capture card in my pc, on the ps3. Doing the reverse (ps3 to pc) would have kicked arse. But oh well, i'll still check it out when it comes out here (last i heard it was going to be a January - March release in '09).
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laprius
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:39 am Post subject: |
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I'm pretty bummed out by this development...there is a slight hope however, I don't know about UK/Euro law, but we can legally record a show from tv now to keep for personal use (only came through 2007/2008 we've been recording on our VCR's illegally for some time now lol) maybe with legislation supporting it, they might enable it here...probably not though, and the won't-support-HD-at-least-for-now thing kinda bites the big one too! :S Geez Sony you were doing so well!!!
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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I highlighted what I found interesting.
| CVG wrote: | PlayTV is one of the many peripherals Sony says is part of "future-proofing" the PS3, but for the £69.99 price, what can it actually do?
We'll start off with the basics. The PlayTV box contains the main receiver unit - a pleasantly small black PS-branded box - a USB cable and the Blu-Ray disc containing the software to get it all going.
You plug the receiver into your PS3 via USB, and into your roof aerial via the standard RF lead you'd use with your telly. The receiver is USB-powered, so no need for a plug.
Plop the disc in and you're greeted to a short overview video that you can't skip, because it actually disguises the PlayTV installation that's secretly happing in the background.
The install takes three and a half minutes, and slaps the full 141MB PlayTV program onto your PS3's XBM (Cross Media Bar), so you won't need to insert the disc anymore.
It also puts 308MBs in the Game Data file for "Recordings and Settings", containing some delete-able default videos about PlayTV.
One thing to note is that the installation of PlayTV places a new TV icon on the main list of icons of your PS3's XMB which, even if you delete PlayTV altogether, appears to remain permanently on your menu - almost like it's updated your firmware.
Firing up the program, it automatically detects all the stations - 80-or-so of them - and that's it; you can jump straight into watching live TV.
Don't expect miracles from the picture quality - you may have your PS3 hooked up via HDMI, but you're still essentially watching a standard definition signal so you'll have the same grainy picture you get with Sky TV or any decent-quality Freeview box.
The controls while watching TV are simple enough, whether you're using the PS3's Blu-ray Remote or just a DualShock. You need only hit a button on the controller to bring up menus, program information, channel lists or quit back to the front end.
Of course, the best bit is the ability to pause live TV. Just hit the Start button like you would a game and the screen pauses. Get your tea and scones and when you return you can resume the action by hitting Start again. Simple.
The length of time you can pause for seems limited only by hard drive space - when you pause it starts caching whatever's being broadcasted to your hard drive. You could leave it paused for the duration of a film and it'd only eat up about 2GBs of storage.
But if you know you'll be gone for a while you're better off recording your program to watch later. This is PlayTV's best feature. Just hit the Select button at any time and it'll start recording.
There are other ways to get programmes recorded, too. As you browse show listings for the days ahead, you can set the PS3 to record any show with one touch of a button. Or, if you know exactly what you want, you can do a word search for a program and, after a brief search, it'll list all the examples of that programme airing in the next few days, which you can set to record. Clever, that.
Any recorded footage is slapped in a Library menu, automatically tagged with the programme name and description. Hit X on it and PlayTV runs the recording. Again, nice and simple.
Or, brilliantly, you can export videos to your PS3's XMB menu as MPEG-4 video (despite rumours suggesting the feature had been removed). From there you can use it like a normal file - watch it on your PS3, put it on PC, transfer it to your PSP... whatever you like.
You can access PlayTV from your PSP via Remote Play, too, allowing you to watch live TV or stored videos through your portable. Handy if you find yourself near a Wifi spot in, say... India, and don't want to miss out on Corrie.
So, all round, all good. But there are a couple of problems. The main issue is that PlayTV won't turn on your PS3 to record a programme. So if you set your PS3 to record something your console will have to be on at that time. Not too convenient.
The other problem is a more techy. Advanced recording systems like Sky+ can be set to record every episode of a particular series regardless of what time episodes are aired. Using whatever industry-standard trickery involved, it knows when the programme is on and starts recording. PlayTV can't do that.
It gets round it by recording on a timer. So, if you know Eastenders is on weekdays from 8pm to 9pm, you can set that up. But if a series has irregular airing times you need to set each episode manually. Not massive problem, but not ideal.
Is PlayTV worth getting, though? If you really like the idea of recording TV, yes. It does it brilliantly, and with intuitive menus and easy features, it all works seamlessly.
But it is £70, and most (if not all) HD TVs come with Freeview boxes built in nowadays, so that's quite a price to pay just for the privilege of recording. Plus, there's no scope for it receiving high-definition terrestrial broadcasts, which are planned for the end of 2009.
If Sony then releases a PlayTV HD box, that'll be well worth a purchase. But this? Its value is questionable. |
EDIT: Resized pic due to stretching.
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Last edited by BurnZ on Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total
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genxevo
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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^just confirming if i read that right.. PlayTV shows and records programs in Standard def??
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john_solids
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nadslaing
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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I thought it was in HD. I swear that I read it would be able to record HD television.
What a letdown. If it's in SD, I'll pass. Already have a HDD recorder.
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ittekimasu
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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I thought it was due to them still trying to get the rights to be able to record HD TV from the channels, not because the technology wasn't avaliable in this product.
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nadslaing
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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TiVo records HD doesn't it?
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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^I think it does, well it should for $700.
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Ken_Gooner
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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lol, I still use my VCR
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nadslaing
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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I'm a little confused about TiVo. I thought it was like Foxtel with a heap more channels, but then I thought it was probably just the free-to-air channels (including HD channels etc).
If it's the latter, that's a little lame.
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BurnZ
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BurnZ
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject: |
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| ThreeSpeech wrote: | Announced just a year ago at Leipzig GC 2007, PlayTV is the long awaited add-on, which allows you to watch, record, rewind and pause live TV on your PS3 gaming console. Complete with a slick seven-day Electronic Program Guide (EPG), you can even schedule recordings to be completed whilst you use one of your PS3’s many other functions or, because of the unit’s nifty dual-tuner, you can even record whilst you are viewing another channel through PlayTV itself. It also incorporates funky Remote Play compatibility for use with the PSP on the move.
Setting up the PlayTV unit for operation couldn’t be simpler - just pop the disc into your PS3 and follow the on-screen step-by-step instructions:
- Connect your TV aerial to the PlayTV box
- Connect the box to your PS3 using the USB cable that comes in the package
- Scan for available freeview channels
Full installation of PlayTV takes no more than five minutes, after which it gains its own place on the Cross Media Bar, and you’ll never need the disc again. Once you’re fully installed, you can launch straight into the EPG and are ready to kick back, relax and watch some TV.
Sony has always been renowned for its easy-to-use, professional and well built user interfaces, and the one accompanying PlayTV certainly doesn’t disappoint. SCEE have built a slick and fast EPG, with graphics presented so well that scrolling through channels is simply a breeze, and avoids any lag that you might expect.
The EPG is also extremely easy to use: you can view what’s on over the next few hours at a glance, and if you want to delve further into the details you can scroll across to the program of your choice, and more detailed program information will be displayed beneath the EPG table. On this same screen, you can set recordings by pressing select on your chosen program, providing a really fast way to plan your viewing.
Another way you can set a recording is to use the ‘Find and Record’ utility. Accessed from the main carousel menu (which contains access to settings, the EPG, library etc) the Find and Record utility does exactly what the name suggests. You simply input a key word / words and any programmes due to air within the next seven days, which have these words are included within the title or description will be listed. You are then ready to schedule a recording or view the programme (if it’s airing there and then) at a press of a button.
Also accessed from the main menu is your recording schedule – a simple list of all your planned recordings, which is especially useful if you need to remove a scheduled recording should you change your mind, or wish to record something else after realising the finale of Big Brother really isn’t going to be that exciting.
The recording itself is totally independent, and can continue no matter what you’re doing. If you’re not in the PlayTV application itself, a notification similar to those telling you of new messages received will pop up in the top right-hand corner of the screen, letting you know what’s being recorded. As for game performance whilst PlayTV is recording, we tried out Resistance, Assassin’s Creed and MGS4 - none of which showed a visible degradation in framerate while recording Family Guy from BBC Three.
The PlayTV Library, again accessed from the main carousel style menu, is where all of your recorded content is stored and accessed. Two handy views are available, one being a formal list and the other being a thumbnail view – showing a clip of each recording, similar to video thumbnails on the XMB. Another function accessed through the library is chasing playback, enabling you to start watching something you’re recording that hasn’t yet actually finished; for example, if your scheduled episode of Heroes starts at 9 and you get home at twenty past itching to catch up on the latest happenings as soon as possible, you can start watching the episode from the beginning and PlayTV will continue to record and effectively timeshift your viewing – perfect.
One of the big talking points of PlayTV has always been it’s compatibility with the PSP; and while we can confirm you won’t be able to physically copy files over to the PSP’s Memory Stick Duo, there’s plenty of other functionality provided with Remote Play. Anywhere you can get a wireless internet connection, you’ll be able to hook up your PSP to your console sat at home; enabling you to not only watch stored recordings, but also watch live TV, schedule recordings, and… well, do anything that Play TV can do. Working overtime but don’t want to miss Neighbours? Or want to pause the evening news until you get in? Simply pull out your PSP, connect to your PS3 over wi-fi and do it remotely. As with any Remote Play functionality, the connection you’re using will need to be of a decent speed (especially for watching video), but in our field tests only slight pixilation occurred when using a shared connection at work - and hardly any when connected via a friend’s wireless router. Another potential use of Remote Play is the ability to watch TV wirelessly around the home. Bring your PSP into the kitchen whilst you cook dinner or do the washing up; watch Peep Show in bed; or even catch up on the news while you sun yourself (note: not for UK readers) in the garden.
Finally - the controls. PlayTV incorporates two solutions for controlling your channel hopping: you can either use the PS3’s Sixaxis / DualShock 3 controller, or if you have the optional Blu-ray remote you can use that. Handily for those using the Blu-ray remote, PlayTV comes with an adhesive plastic sticker, which overlays onto your remote, adding controls for PlayTV whilst keeping the original ones there too. This works really well, and those expecting to use Play TV a lot might wish to consider investing in the remote – especially useful for simplifying for people not familiar with PlayStation control pads. The Sixaxis controller, however, is equally compfortable for those already used to it, and uses straight forward controls: up and down on the D-Pad to flick through channels, shoulder buttons to rewind / fast forward recordings; it will really take you no time to get used to using it at all.
PlayTV adds yet more functionality to the PS3, and if you regularly use Freeview to watch TV then it’s definitely for you. The slick EPG and user interface nicely fit the PS3 experience, and those of you switching from an older Freeview box will be delighted with the difference. Its recording functions suit all needs, with every standard function incorporated – and while some people mention that there’s no ‘Series Link’ feature built in, you can simply set up a weekly recording for the same time-slot each week. The rarely found Find and Record feature is especially useful, and saves time and effort trawling through the EPG looking for the program you wish to schedule. Its Remote Play features work extremely well, and further increase the value of PlayTV enabling you to watch TV wherever you have an internet connection.
In our humble opinion – well worth it. So, our question to you – what will be the first recording you set up through PlayTV?
Tom Eccles |
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john_solids
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 1:32 am Post subject: |
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very nice. looks like all i need now is 2 new hdd's then i'm set.
i was a bit worried how it would go with playing games at the same time but my concerns have gone.
its the all in 1 machine, just wish they had this idea before the ps3 came out and actually had it built-in that would of been the greatest
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genxevo
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:50 am Post subject: |
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bah! it takes up another usb port!!
i know you can buy usb hubs, but everything is going to start looking messy, sticking it in the front of the ps3, if only they put one usb port in the back, just to hide all the cables sticking out from the usb hub
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ittekimasu
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:01 am Post subject: |
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my ps3 sits behind the tv, so that won't be a probelm. looking forward to this service.
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