Do anything with PlayTV recordings

By Oli Welsh Published 25 February, 2008

As long as it's legal, says Sony.

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.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Carlo #1 4 years ago

    CAN YOU PLAY GAMES WHILE RECORDING?

    DOES IT WAKE UP FROM STANDBY TO RECORD?

    IS THE 'PLAYTV' A RUNNING APPLICATION OR WILL IT EXTEND THE BASE O/S?
    Edited by 2 at 25/02/08 @ 19:19

  • DutchDemons #2 4 years ago

    will it be released on PS3, or on PS4?

    knowing Sony, they always brag about some new feature (CELL, Home, blu ray and now this) and then their 'high' ends and they forgot to actually create it first.

    OT: still sounds nice, MS take note, if you're quick you can beat them to it!

  • Mugwum Verified Operations Director, Eurogamer Network #3 4 years ago

    "Get some real fucking answers!"

    There'll be a piece on PlayTV up soon that addresses some of this. We just thought you'd want a quick bite of what we found out today, so we picked one. And be nice to your shift key.

  • Carlo #4 4 years ago

    Sorry, I'm not angry at you guys, I'm just *so* frustrated at seemingly every reporting site not asking these basic questions.

  • betahoven #5 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:36:16 17-12-2011

  • Wilester #6 4 years ago

    How soon is "soon" Tom?

  • Kyle #7 4 years ago

    Yeeeaaaaah Toooooom!

  • MightyMouse #8 4 years ago

    Sounds like an essential purchase tbh, and good for them not using rubbishy DRM.

  • Kyle #9 4 years ago

    Yes I will definately buy it if its affordable, It's been a pain not being able to record stuff without a VHS player (which I do have but can't be arsed to set up as there's already a jungle of wires behind the TV's in my house).

  • Totoriko #10 4 years ago

    Is 60Gb (now 40Gb) enough for DLC and pvr content?

  • Cyclone #11 4 years ago

    Engadget has a small preview as well:

    [link url=http://www.engadget .com/2008/02/14/sonys-playtv-for-ps3-gets-shown-off-still-on ly-for-europe/
    ]http://ww w.engadget.com/2008/02/14/sonys...[/link]

    They say no to recording while playing games, at least at the moment. Apparently it's being worked on.

  • b0bb1ns #12 4 years ago

    @Totoriko

    Most PVRs have 150gb or more in them - a typical 1 hour programme being about 1.5 gb or so. You'll be able to store a few on the PS3's drive but you'll have to be prepared to watch them before they build up or copy them off.

  • Carlo #13 4 years ago

    bobbins, the HDD that comes in a playstation is 'user replaceable'. Just buy one from whatever shop you use for computer hardware, and fit the new one yourself.

    Look: http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=BkM9wiZePfs

  • niz #14 4 years ago

    ""So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it."

    What planet do you live on?"

    You can export your recordings from most digital PVRs anyway. PlayTV is no different in that respect, although exporting them sounds quite a bit more easier than with most PVRs.

    Most of the TV stuff in P2P networks originates from the US because they're shown there first, so I doubt PlayTV is going to be a major source for "piracy".

  • mcwildcard #15 4 years ago

    Tom, if you get the chance to ask, see if they'll give any clue as to whether the boot up time will be shortened by release.
    It takes loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong, judging by the video on the BBC blog.

  • McLovin85 #16 4 years ago

    i read an article somewhere and it had a link to HMV selling it:

    <a href="http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/disp layProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=757271"&g t;

    cool thing is that it's HD ready so can playback 1080p when things start going HD...whenever that is
    also being able to use PSP remote function is awesome (will never miss an ep of neighbours again :))

    £100 price tag is a bit on the expensive side though...

    edits for: (sorry, not sure how to use function for creating a link properly)
    Edited by 3 at 25/02/08 @ 23:22

  • Grayvern #17 4 years ago

    Most PVR's are nowhere near as easy to copy stuff onto other storage media though.

    And £100 isnt terrible for a device that can receive HD Content, and free HD chanels are increasing in number, Both channel 4, and BBC one do them. I believe film 4 may also have a HD version.

  • frombrosis #18 4 years ago

    This is unexpectedly good news. It actually makes me want one now... The thought of copying a HD episode of LOST to my memory stick for transport is very alluring. Can't wait.

  • mattigan #19 4 years ago

    This might actually make me think about getting a PS3, INCONCEIVABLE!!!

  • gallow #20 4 years ago

    I imagine you can export the recordings and view them on a PSP while on the move.

  • SteveB #21 4 years ago

    Being able to play a game while recording is pretty fundamental though. If it's not there from the start that would suggest to me that it's won't happen because why would they have left it out ?

  • woodnotes #22 4 years ago

    "And £100 isnt terrible for a device that can receive HD Content"

    Are you forgetting the £280-£425 you paid for your PS3?

    "and free HD chanels are increasing in number, Both channel 4, and BBC one do them. I believe film 4 may also have a HD version. "

    Not on Freeview.

  • moggsy #23 4 years ago

    @ frombrosis

    This is unexpectedly good news. It actually makes me want one now... The thought of copying a HD episode of LOST to my memory stick for transport is very alluring. Can't wait.

    And you will be waiting as:

    a. There is no HD Freeview at the moment - might be at least a couple of years away.

    b. Lost is a Sky exclusive.

    Also seeing as Ofcom and the TV companies haven't quite decided how they are going to broadcast HD Freeview at the moment then I'm not overly convinced that Sony's add on will be compatible with it. Yes they can update the firmware but if a new physical tuner is required then that's a different matter.

    Latest news here

    Edit: And I've just spotted you live in Australia so the above doesn't apply to you! ;-)
    Edited by 4 at 26/02/08 @ 09:18

  • Sympathy_For #24 4 years ago

    @ Carlo

    Apparently Play TV will wake up from standby to record (2nd paragraph): [link url=http://threespeech .com/blog/?p=884
    ]http://threespeech .com/blog/?p=884
    [/link]

    Sweet!

  • Tetragammatron #25 4 years ago

    I don't particularly see the point of this. You can buy a standalone PVR with approximately quadruple the hard drive space for the same price, and in doing so you won't be taking up the console at the same time. The only way to record a programme is to not play games while you do it, which is probably the only reason I'd want to record in the first place! Remote Play streaming sounds great on paper, but have any of you tried it so far via the Internet option rather than Private Network? You could probably drive home, watch the programme and drive back by the time the XMB moves. Painfully slow.

  • Darren #26 4 years ago

    I can't help thinking that PlayTV will be a huge flop because it's not offering anything you cannot get already from a Freeview box and with the digital switchover imminent, I can't imagine there's that many people that don't already own one. It's just another console add-on at the end of the day, like the HD-DVD add-on for the 360, and we all know how well that sold, i.e. not very well! Surely people with PS3s want to play games or watch BDs (and DVDs) on it not watch/record TV programmes? Am I missing something here? :?

  • gamingdave #27 4 years ago

    Darren, think the point is that you will have one machine under the TV, which has been Sony and Microsofts approach for a long time. Why have a PVR plugged in aswell if the PS3 will do it. IIRC it upscales the content and sends it over HDMI aswell, so for most people, one box and one cable will be all they need (even if the tuner box sits by the side or on top, itll still be smaller).

    With this addon the PS3 can play games, music, pictures, DVDs, BluRay, and now TV. Most people dont need anything more.

  • rhinoxious #28 4 years ago

    "They say no to recording while playing games, at least at the moment. Apparently it's being worked on."

    - If this is true then it's next to useless, while I'm playing games is one of the main times I want to record TV. I thought multitasking video streams is what teh Cell was supposed to do for us?!?

    "And £100 isnt terrible for a device that can receive HD Content, and free HD chanels are increasing in number, Both channel 4, and BBC one do them. I believe film 4 may also have a HD version."

    - A good point, though HD capable stand alone PVRs with bigger hard disks are undoubtedly going to plummet in price once demand picks up (they currently cost around £300). Remember there are no HD channels available over Freeview broadcast at the moment, they are only accessible through Sky, Virgin, or FreeSat.

    We should see the first HD Freeview channels from early next year due to a reorganisation of the curretn available bandwidth (less crap radio and some performance gains due to technology), the rest will have to wait till the digital switchover.

  • Tetragammatron #29 4 years ago

    gamingdave, you can't group all the media functions together with the PVR functionality. In the case of a built in Blu-Ray player, photos, internet and music this is probably true. People either want to watch a movie or play a videogame, it'd be silly to do both at once. But in the case of a PVR, people will want to record a programme whilst playing, which isn't possible using this. I'm sure they're "working hard to rectify it", but they've been saying that for in-game XMB for over a year now.

  • zuljin #30 4 years ago

    @gallow
    It would be even better if you could record it - and it would automatically save it as a film on your XMB. That way you could watch it on your PSP without mem stick hassle.

  • LetsGo #31 4 years ago

    Gotta say this is wicked! Cant wait to record some stuff at night and blonk the mem stick from me PS3 to me PSP to watch on the way to work!

  • tripitaka #32 4 years ago

    Transfer to PSP.

    Streaming to PSP over wifi.

    These are the functions you wouldn't get with a bog standard PVR.

  • Luvbeers #33 4 years ago

    Well it's not much of a sales pitch to me as I live in Austria and don't watch any old episodes of what have you dubbed into german in SD (don't know why they can't keep the english audio on the dual channel!)... but looking forward to the influx of US/UK TV on BitTorrent by amatuer sony pirates!

  • LeD #34 4 years ago

    Why don't my posts show up?

  • LeD #35 4 years ago

    Ah, they do now?

    Any idea how/if this will work with say, SkyHD or equivalent? Does it have any kind of digital input?