London (England) - Sony has released more details on PlayTV, the service that allows users to turn their Playstation 3 into a digital video recorder and TV tuner.

There is a new trailer for PlayTV that details how to connect the service to the console.  Users will need a special PlayTV set-top box, which receives the TV signal.  The box connects to the PS3 via USB.  It uses the PS3's hard drive, so users can have dozens of gigabytes worth of recorded videos.

PlayTV incorporates a dual digital tuner to the PS3 to receive two cable or satellite feeds.  It includes an on-screen program guide, high definition capability, and basic DVR controls like the ability to control live TV.



One of the more pivotal aspects of the new feature is its ability to connect with the PSP.  With the console's Remote Play functionality, users will be able to watch recorded programming from the PS3 on their PSP via an Internet connection.

The new service is initially only available in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.  The technology is currently suited for consoles with PAL encoding, which means the NTSC-based United States, while widely assumed to be in the rollout schedule, has not officially been announced in the PlayTV lineup.

The new trailer is available on Sony's semi-official Three Speech blog.

"It uses the PS3's hard drive, so users can have do...

Jan 18, 2008 16:05     

"It uses the PS3's hard drive, so users can have dozens of gigabytes worth of recorded videos." I find that a bit concerning, 80GB (not to mention smaller models) are not going to last very long compared to the 200-500GB utilities you usually use for this purpose.
koogco report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I'm getting that

Jan 18, 2008 20:51     

Just another reason why the PS3 / PSP rocks. :)
Henrik Gustavsson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

PS3 Hard drive is removable

Jan 19, 2008 03:35     

You could just install a 300gig hard drive if you want more space and it shouldnt be too hard to just write the video files to USB mass storage devices as the PS3 already allows for.
Haro report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Impressive feature

Jan 19, 2008 04:05     

very cool features, particularly the integration with psp is something . About the Hd , well thats not a real problem, in fact you can replace the standard hd with anyother of 2.5" (standard size for notebook's one ), without losing the warranty. Here a video of playtv :http://ps3.console-tribe.com/news/4-1-53730/video-playtv-in-azione.html
Andrea report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

PS3 HDD is upgradable

Jan 19, 2008 10:18     

This is in reply to koogco. The PS3's hard drive is upgradable and there are many sites on the internet explaining how to do it. Also for the less adventurous, you can probably just plug in an external USB hard drive and store your recorded TV shows on it.
Paul report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Thank god we can change the HD in the ps3

Jan 19, 2008 11:49     

That means, with a 250 gb laptop HD you can now have one heck of a DVR and a computer in the PS3. And since technology only continues to get better, it's only a matter of time until the 500 GB 5400 laptop HD hits the streets.
Zach report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hey koogco...

Jan 20, 2008 19:38     

If you're a program packrat, the PS3 has a user-replaceable hard drive and also recognizes USB hard drives. Otherwise, just delete the program after you watch it.
wyrdtoo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Very useful

Jan 21, 2008 07:46     

Finally, some useful feature. This one, the Divx compatibility and the HD capability make PS3 an almost complete media center. It would be great if they concentrate now on the gaming experience: some sort of "wii nunchuck" for example.
Steve report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

US?

Jan 21, 2008 11:53     

When will this come to the US? I am sick of all this PAL stuff. I want US cool PS3 things /cry
Findarato report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

harddrive

Jan 21, 2008 13:02     

I have already swap my ps3 with a 250G harddrive, it's easy as run a on menu backup to USB thumb drive, unscrew and replace harddrive, on-menu format drive, and then on-menu reload data from USB thumb drive. So for my ps3 , there is no space problem. As for USB TV...there is tons of those on the market for laptop...it won't be hard to make one for PS3..which is linux base.. All sony has to do is to code a DVR function into PS3 and add a TV Guide like those in vista media center.

yo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

to bad no 3.5" HDD, my wallet is lite

Jan 21, 2008 13:20     

twice the price for 2.5" HDD can the usb external HDDs be use with PlayTV
coldmast report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

SD only?

Jan 21, 2008 19:26     

If the device connects to the PS3 by USB it will not have the bandwidth for HD.
RalfTheDog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

HDD get bigger, cheaper

Jan 22, 2008 11:06     

good thing too. do 1 TB external and upgrade the internal to 250-320 and you're good. I wonder how long it will take before that comes to the US?
Webdev511 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

with cablecard or without?

Jan 23, 2008 10:56     

Without dual cablecard slots (ala TivoHD), we'd be restricted to the OTA feeds that cable companies must provide without encryption (here in USA). Hope this PlayTV box has cablecard slots or it's utility in USA will be very limited.
DavidB report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0