PlayTV Officially Official – Launching November 26 For $170
Well, we knew it was coming. Sony has officially announced the PlayTV HDTV tuner peripheral for PS3 this morning: It launches on November 26 for $170…
PlayTV to launch in Australia Unlock free-to-air digital HD TV on PlayStation®3
Watch, record and replay TV shows on demand Turn PS3 into a High Definition digital TV tuner and video recorderSydney, 2 November 2009 – Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) announced today the introduction of PlayTVTM – the device that turns PlayStation®3 (PS3TM) into a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and High Definition digital TV tuner. PlayTV will be available in Australia on 26 November at a compelling recommended retail price of $169.95 and is set to become a favourite on the gift lists in time for the festive season.
With the ability to watch, pause and record free-to-air TV, PlayTV reinforces PS3’s rightful place at the heart of the family’s home entertainment needs. With twin HD tuners, PlayTV allows you to watch one program while recording another, or even record while playing a game or enjoying a Blu-ray movie. PlayTV offers a simple solution to the Australian family’s TV needs.
“PlayTV further extends the broad entertainment credentials of PS3, and makes it a must-have item for every Australian family,” said Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand. “PS3 already provides the best High Definition gaming, Blu-ray Disc movie playback, VidZone music video streaming, video, photo album, web browsing and PlayStation®Network content. With the introduction of PlayTV’s state of the art TV tuner and PVR functionality, PS3 continues to be the best choice for the home entertainment needs of the Australian family.”
PlayTV also makes it possible to watch TV programs on the go via Remote Play on PSPTM (PlayStation®Portable) or via WiFi or 3G with Sony Ericsson’s AINO phone. Visit the new www.playstation3.com.au website to find out how to start getting more entertainment out of your PS3 console.
Feature List
PlayTV provides the sort of features you’ll only find on top of the range PVRs:
* Two High Definition TV tuners: both able to watch, pause and record TV in High Definition, as well as Standard Definition. Ability to record TV while playing games or watching a Blu-ray movie or DVD.
* Electronic Program Guide: an incredibly user-friendly, seven-day interface, that provides the navigation for programming the PVR features of PlayTV – it’s fast and simple to use, with either SIXAXIS controller or the Blu-ray Remote Control for PS3.
* Compatibility: PlayTV operates on the widely available Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T) format.
* Easy to use: Intuitive controls, single button help features, tutorial videos and simple navigation make PlayTV a joy to use compared with the complex navigation of other PVR models. Optional on-screen graphical display provides a wealth of information about the status of PlayTV and enables quick access to program information, stored TV programs and the controls to pause or record live TV. PlayTV will also determine the correct settings for either Standard Definition or High Definition displays automatically for a hassle-free viewing experience.
* Portable viewing with PSP: Seamless PSP connectivity allows you to set recordings, watch live TV and recorded TV programs remotely on the PSP, via a WiFi connection (using Remote Play feature).
* Portable viewing with Sony Ericsson AINO: Remote Play via a WiFi or 3G connection.
* It’s future-proof: PlayTV will evolve with time – with new features added and updated via PlayStation Network.With PlayStation 3, the game is just the start. PS3 is so much more than a games console; now it’s a TV tuner and recorder as well – PlayTV is one more reason why PS3 kick starts the home entertainment experience in the living room.
Comments
well its about time…..
“or even record while playing a game or enjoying a Blu-ray movie.”
cool! would have been good to have it for the f1…
should be great for the world cup tho.
only one big question for me… can you export the recorded files? would be good if we could watch them on the media gate upstairs…
otherwise I might still go with a tv card in a pc
Yes Matt, you can export recorded videos to your video folder on the XMB to then transfer to USB drive etc.
When running the PlayTV under the Australian region, you can’t transfer recordings to the XMB due to Freeview restrictions.
To transfer, you need to change the region from Australia to Other. Doing this will break any UHF channels in your area. You can change it back afterwards, but any scheduled recordings you had for those UHF channels will be lost.
Even if you do transfer to the XMB, only files < 4GB can be transferred to external drives via USB.
Shifting the recorded files makes this make or break for me, otherwise I’ll just dump the same money on to a TV tuner stick. Sure, I have a PSP, but I actually want to keep them rather than just streaming.
Wikipedia to the rescue!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayTV
“HDD Size: PlayTV can only record to the PlayStation 3’s own internal hard drive. Recorded video can then be transferred to an external storage device.”
Good thing I upgraded it!
But will there be a monthly fee or is this $170 a once off?
Once off. Although you’ll probably need to upgrade your PS3 hard drive so you don’t fill it up with a single HD recording…
Here’s the details if you want to upgade your PS3 Harddrive, http://www.kevmarl.com/2008/10/14/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-playstation-3-ps3-part-3-how-to-upgrade-your-ps3s-hard-drive/
AT LAST!
Gotta wait another 24 days tho :-(
“Compelling recommended retail price of $169.95″???!!
You can buy this on UK websites for 59.99 pounds or approx A$115.
Whay are Aussies getting gouged on price again??
UK one is standard definition. $50 for HD is okay with me…
The uk one is the same hardware. the latest s/w update 1.21 (Global btw), adds HD.
This or mythtv? can you move recordings off onto another storage medium? can you share recordings with other (non-sony) devices. It’d be nice if you could watch via laptop.
Videos are recorded in MPEG4 format and can be transferred to other mediums.
Will it access programming guides? freeview guides is missing info for a lot of the time.
Two questions. 1. Is there any chance of this having Austar or Foxtel? 2. Could this be accessed in rural areas?
I heard you cant skip ads?
You can skip ads at 30x it was reduced from 120x with the Oz update but its still fast.
The ps3 has a lot way to go for usability. If you are trying to play a song or movie the user interface is terrible. Where is the search functionality? Takes me ages to find that song I want to hear, or that video I want to watch! How can I enqueue a playlist? I expect this to be another similar crappy user interface too.
While I whole heartily agree with you in regards to the video and music playback user interface being S!!T, I have to say te PlayTV UI is exceptional. I just installed mine last night and am loving it. Very very simple to do what I need to do.
I purchased a uk play TV for $150 and since the australian update camed out there is no difference. So guys you might as well look around now.