PlayTV Comments by Tom Bramwell

@betahoven
I suppose I am suggesting that awarding anything a score out of 10 is somewhat pointless (as I have been so keen on pointing out recently), be it a video game or a freeview tuner or a baked alaska pudding, but that is a whole seperate debate.

@MasterNameless

Play TV is a digital TV product that uses Freeview, so it won't matter one jot that the analogue signal is getting turned off.

You did read the article, right? ;)

Nice feature. Haven't read the full article but how does it work? Is the box like a signal converter with the ps3 doing all the work or is there more to it?

@kangarootoo
Yeah I agree, I think Eurogamer should scrap the numbers altogether. But I guess they'd lose too many page hits if they did that :)

@Xerx3s
That is the key question to which I can't find answers. Whether it is upgradable to Freeview HD hinges on it.

How many thousands of comment pages have EG catalysed just this year with their controversial scores out of 10? It's a goldmine :)

I'm actually incredibly surprised by the amount of non-negativity in these comments.

WHERES THE XBOTS?

I'm 99% sure I've read somewhere on these pages that PlayTV will support HD signals by the time they've started.

Not that it matters, freesat has it now \m/

"Just get Sky and a Sky + for christsakes. "

hmm, you're saying that the combined cost of these two is a one-off payment of £70-odd quid? in that case, sold!

joking apart, playtv is a PVR costing me (who already owns a PS3) very little money, and it means i still only need one box under my TV (vids, PVR, games, BD, music, piccys, internet). plus murdoch isn't getting my cash. what's not to like?

no, wait - you ARE murdoch.

I haven't recorded anything off the TV since i moved the VCR to make space for the PS3! So think i may invest in one.

With the only 2 USB ports on the front of my PS3 I've been searching the net for some sort of USB right-angled extender so i can hind the dull PlayTV box round the back. I've seen them before and reckon it will solve the "aesthetic" problem.

@ law07

WHERES THE XBOTS?

Playing games ;-)

@ Mr Bramwell (or, indeed, anyone else who may know):

What kind of networking capabilities does the PS3 have? Can you transfer files to a NAS/home server/PC?

Just that I'm in the middle of setting up my media network and gonna get an HP MV5020 to stream files round the house - mostly ripped DVDs and music, but just realised that it'd be good to record telly again at some point. I'll be getting a PS3 soon and it would be handy to tap into the extra storage that the MV5020 provides and I'm betting at some point in the future I'll be able to...ahem.... clean the saved files to play on other devices (gawd bless you SUPER).

So, anyone know if the transfer is possible? Or would I have to stick them on a memory stick and do it that way? Not too fussed if not,'coz I'll probably just invest in a USB PVR tuner for my Eee Box, but I like the fact that it would be fairly cheap seeing as I'll have a PS3 anyways, plus I love that the EPG seems nice and speedy.

/shakes fist at stoopid Samsung EPG

"We played Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and made sure we were doing that graphically gruelling bit with the submarine in the jungle just as Man City started to embarrass themselves against some unpronounceable Danes: not the slightest shudder as the recording started."

Well, that's probably down to City's almost total inactivity giving PlayTV an easy ride. Still, we got there in the end - Super Joe Hart!

@hedbog

"Just get Sky and a Sky + for christsakes"

How much does Sky+ cost per month? Besides which, as has been previously mentioned, nothing else provides the same service as remote play.

@Psiloc
Troll :P

@bioreit

I know it supports that media server gubbins that Windows Media Player 10 includes. I don't think it supports "proper" network browsing though, which kind of blows.

Unless you install Linux on it of course. Then it would I suppose.

Asda currently have a 160GB PVR for £70 including a whole season's setanta subsctiption. Seems a lot better value.

My question would be: how much is an average hour's worth of TV in terms of disk space? I take it that it's actually just dumping the freeview MPEG2 stream onto the hard disk, in which case, 45 minutes of BBC1 should be about 1.5GB.

The only way it could run games smoothly while recording is by simply spooling the data across as opposed to re-encoding it, which is probably why it won't run the streams directly on PSP.

If it is going to record Freeview HD, you're looking at around 9GB per hour!

/me strokes 18GB 1080p BBC HD version of Raiders of the Lost Ark...

"but no amount of artfully premeditated lifestyle photography can disguise the fact that it has to plug into the front of the PS3, where the USB ports are, and hang around messily on the floor."

Shame the reviewer doesn't realise he can get an 99 cents USB extension lead and run it behind his PS3. schoolboy error.

"and it did crash half a dozen times, usually while trying to watch a channel with poor signal strength. Worst of all, it's a hard lock that necessitates a reboot, busting any ongoing recordings until the power's back on."

8 out of 10 for something that does the above, you would never give a game a similar score

There must of been some review conditions from sony set to give the review early to eurogamer

"nothing else provides the same service as remote play."

http://www.orb.com, pick up a dual tv tuner for next to nothing for a PC and PlayTV suddenly looks a bit pants. PlayTV looks ok but it needs to be at least half the price to be worthwhile

Looks like a separate PVR is probably the best option really, but still looks like a good add-on.

They ay it isn't effecting any games right now, which sounds good, but when developers finally unlock the cell etc and use all its power for a game then something will have to give surely?

As for freeview HD, I don't think its worth worrying about just yet, if you want this or any other PVR just buy it.

Alternatively, just watch it on the iPlayer

I just tweaked the piece with a few minor changes. For example, I returned home to discover it does power on and try and record while you're out, even if you were in standby.

Right, will now go through comments and try and answer a few more questions.

I dont see any need for if you have Sky+

@ kobashi

Not all of us have Sky +

drxym:

"1. Set it to record a show
2. Put it in standby
3. Turn it physically off at the back and then back on so it really is in standby
4. Does it wake for the show?"

Yes.

"1. Set it to record a show
2. Put it in standby
3. Unplug PlayTV
4. Turn it physically off at the back and then back on
5. Does it wake for show?"

Yes.

ukslim:

"It must be using CPU and IO bandwidth to de-multiplex the video data, and write it to HDD. OK, so it seems like all games written so far leave enough resource free for this to happen. What happens when developers start pushing the PS3 harder? Does every developer have to leave a bit free, just in case the console has PlayTV?"

I'm trying to sort out an interview to ask questions like that right now.

X201:

"Come on Tom.
Ask them some direct questions.
"Is the tuner inside PlayTV capable of receiving DVB-T2 ?"
"Is the tuner inside PlayTV patchable ?"

They weren't available to comment for this article, but I'll get those answered for you ASAP.

betahoven:

"By the way, giving this a score out of 10 is pretty ridiculous"

Shh, don't tell anyone. Also, I should say that the scoring policy document on EG was written when non-game items like this weren't considerations. It will be reworked soon to make a better account of itself in these, er, enlightened times.

Also: "Yeah I agree, I think Eurogamer should scrap the numbers altogether. But I guess they'd lose too many page hits if they did that :)"

As I said in a thing on Gamesetwatch recently, I think scores provide context and are useful, but you should obviously read and (if you're going to) make decisions based on the text. However, I'd always advise to read around when you can. That's what I do when I buy things!

Godhather08:

"Shame the reviewer doesn't realise he can get an 99 cents USB extension lead and run it behind his PS3. schoolboy error."

Hey, nice moniker! I do realise that, but I live in the UK, so I would have to pay a quid or more, and therefore NO SALE. And even with the cable (the supplied one is about 1.5 metres) it's still a bit messy.

alpha-0ne:

"8 out of 10 for something that does the above [crash], you would never give a game a similar score"

Like all PC games ever? Games crash, as does software in general. GTA's locked up now and again. I think the thing to bear in mind is that we liked it that much in spite of the technical hiccups.

@ kanga

Ta for the reply. Methinks I'll investimigate a bit more. Don't really fancy going down the Linux-install route right now, seeing as it will be plugged into the same TV as my Eee Box. Either I can get it to work, or I'll just use a USB PVR thingie. Or crack the hell out of the files with something. What the hey, it's worked so far for all the iPlayer downloads :-D

@ Mugwum

Just want to say, sterling work! Really earning your pennies tonight and on a Friday, too! Have a rum and coke on me (not the good stuff, mind. I'm not made of money).

bioreit:

No worries chum! If anyone has any more questions, or requests for me to do things with the box, just post them here and I'll try and get round to them tonight or this weekend.

I also think you are doing a great job Mugwum at responding to questions. Well done.

However I also think the score is a bit pointless. It makes sense for games imo to compare the games score to a similar games score, but a score here just doesn't make much sense as there is no comparison.

IMO

Wow, great job Mugwum.

This is a little fiddly, but if you get the chance, could you try transferring a recording to a computer, can you play it in http://www.videolan.org/

Nice work Tom

Award yourself an extra Jaffa Cake from the EG biscuit tin on Monday morning.

I just wish the PS3 didnt have to be on at the same time as I'd be watching PlayTV, will use far more power than my current setup.

Then how would it work?

It's USB connected.

@ Law07

It could always draw the power from the PS3 whilst it's on standby.

why oh why was this given a score?

Yes, as good as MGS4.

@Bumhug360

Good link. That orb tech looks rather tidy. Nice one.

@Mugwum

Sterling update. That is what I call going the extra mile :)

this is all well and good, but is there anything on telly worth watching let alone worth recording?

mm lets see xfactor, wow i can watch the repeat on itv +1 +2 +3

meh

Thanks for the great review! I've just pre-ordered mine on Amazon, £59.99 is a steal!

Sounds like a decent bit of kit. I wish they'd do sumthing like this for the 360. But I think 70 quid is waaaaaay overpriced, considering you need a PS3 to make it work. As other have said, for the same price you can get a full freeview box with a HD for the same price. I'd expect the thing to sell for no more than 20 quid, in fact I'd say a tenner is a fair price. I'm not being fanboy-ish either. I'd say the same thing if it was on the 360 or the Wii.

I think it's a bit of a strange decision for Sony to only allow for one recording at a time. Most modern PVRs allow 2 or sometimes 3, and to be honest, I couldn't imagine going back to a PVR that only had one recordable tuner.

If anyone has any more questions, or requests for me to do things with the box, just post them here and I'll try and get round to them tonight or this weekend.

Steady on, old fruit!

I'd just like to know if it can record two channels at once please.

If not, then i'll stick with my Sky+ box as that's an essential function for me.

ta!

"I'd just like to know if it can record two channels at once please."

Two posts above yours.

Hehe, doh!

No sale then. If they change that I might be tempted, but I'm always recording two things at once with Sky+

It's rare enough to see one thing worth recording on Freeview, two things at the same time is unheard of.

amazon are doing a ps3 hdd 160gb for 35, wud get alink but cba cuz im in bed surfing viamy ps3 yesi

Will get one... mainly in the hopes they come to their senses and follow companies like Hauppauge etc and remove the DRM.

Have SKY HD already, but recording 2 channels is sometimes not enough, so some extra Freeview might be useful.

The thing I've been most impressed with (regarding this article) is the fact that the journo has responded to the questions raised.

Well done - Please keep it up!