Sony clarifies PlayTV date, price

By Robert Purchese Published 12 August, 2008

Bit later, bit cheaper than expected.

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 your PSP can control the box remotely like something out of The Jetsons.

Head over to our preview of PlayTV to find out more, and beware that our main concern in that piece - that Sony couldn't confirm recording at the same time as playing games - has now been clarified: you can.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (64) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • the_dudefather #1 4 years ago

    not a bad price actually, colour me tempted

  • X201 #2 4 years ago

    It is not future proofed for UK users. It only handles DVB-T signals.
    Freeview HD will use DVB-T2.
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/08 @ 16:42

  • spammage #3 4 years ago

    Shame it can't handle DVB-S or it would be a wonderful second SKY HD box for 70 quid. Probably won't see any HD broadcast over terrestrial for a few years if ever.

  • Ryze #4 4 years ago

    Once HD freeview comes along - as long as this thing is compatible and actually does record while playing any game, then it should be a hit.

    I'm curious about its power consumption if it's to be left to record shows during the day. Hopefullt the PS3 has a low power mode that allows access to the HDD, from which it can drop into standby when idle.

  • DFawkes #5 4 years ago

    I said at the time I'd have it at about $70, so I'm interested. Especially since I don't have a Digibox in my room.

  • Widge #6 4 years ago

    Can you give it a FreeSat feed? I know its not much use for some, but would be great for me as I have a redundant dish out the front of my house!

    Hoping FreeSat becomes good in the next year or so.

  • siksik6 #7 4 years ago

    Does it only record one channel at once? If so, no sale!

  • asphaltcowboy #8 4 years ago

    siksik6: What? What do you want, the moon on a stick?

  • siksik6 #9 4 years ago

    Err, no. Pretty much every decent PVR does that now, most are under £100 and completely seperate.

    I don't see why a £70 add on device can't do it.

    It ain't replacing my Sky+ anytime soon basically.

  • michaelius #10 4 years ago

    can it work with cable tv?
    I got cable decoder here with hdmi output would it be able to record from that ?

  • GChris #11 4 years ago

    "Does it only record one channel at once? If so, no sale!"

    I believe it can record one channel while you are watching another, but not record two channels at once. (Presumably, this would affect performance in-game too much?)
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/08 @ 17:04

  • siksik6 #12 4 years ago

    That's odd. To do that it would need two tuners... and if it has two tuners, then it can record two channels at once..


    Maybe they couldn't get it do write to streams to the hard disk without breaking gaming...

  • saku_luk #13 4 years ago

    Will this be able to record what you are playing atm? o.o

  • milko #14 4 years ago

    I was all up for this til I found out how much electrickery a PS3 running playTV would use compared to a regular PVR digibox. It's the sort of amount that would lead to noticeably higher bills!

  • Gaol #15 4 years ago

    I just don't see much market for this in the UK.

    I think the market of people with an HDTV and PS3 in their lounge and no cable/satellite provider is incredibly limited; and these people clearly don't care much for TV. Consumers with PS3s under the main TV (single male gamers/cinephiles) who do value broadcast content will already have a Sky HD service for their HDTV. Familys that consume enough (SD)TV to want to record it will either have a Sky+/Virgin+ or DVD recorder. They might even be using a VCR. They ain't gonna buy a PS3 just to record TV.

    What does that leave? Something for the kids?

    Seems ill thought out.

  • Jonsend #16 4 years ago

    It would likely run in a low power mode when the PS3 is off, much like the mode for remote play switching the PS3 on.

  • tjlazr #17 4 years ago

    i've been waiting for this despite the fact i haven't actually bothered watching anything on tv for over a month. It would be good to be able to catch the stuff like comics brittania via the series link and not have to watch it via a computer on iplayer. I certainly don't need to record two channels at once given the current output. I'm in.

  • dazrichards #18 4 years ago

    I agree with Gaol. Couldn't be less bothered about this (despite taking the time to write this of course). My TV has a built-in Freeview tuner, as does my DVD recorder underneath it. Plus I have a spare digibox lying around if I want to hook up the TV in my room. All this would be fine for people who don't have these things but given that many PS3 games recently have mandatory installs there soon wont be enough room on the hard drive to record anything. Like GT finally getting Top Gear episodes (even though they are free every day on Dave) this is another lame move.

  • presh #19 4 years ago

    It looks like you need to connect the PlayTV box to the arial, thence onto the PS3. I don't have an arial as I have cable TV; does this mean PlayTV won't work?

  • Furfoot #20 4 years ago

    Does this work with DVB-C if not then don't even bother releasing it in holland.

  • X201 #21 4 years ago

    @Furfoot
    Nope it only does DVT-T

    @Others
    No Cable
    No Freesat
    No Sky
    and in the UK it will not be able to handle Freeview HD when it eventually arrives.


    In the UK it will be able to do Freeview.
    In parts of Europe it will be able to do their terrestrial digital TV and also handle its digital equivalent (currently scheduled to use DVB-T)
    Edited by 3 at 12/08/08 @ 18:16

  • muzzer77 #22 4 years ago

    milko :I was all up for this til I found out how much electrickery a PS3 running playTV would use compared to a regular PVR digibox. It's the sort of amount that would lead to noticeably higher bills!

    That depends. If your playing on your PS3 and recording at the same time it is cheaper than having your PS3 on and a separate PVR.

  • muzzer77 #23 4 years ago

    @Furfoot
    Nope it only does DVT-T

    @Others
    No Cable
    No Freesat
    No Sky
    and in the UK it will not be able to handle Freeview HD when it eventually arrives.


    In the UK it will be able to do Freeview.
    In parts of Europe it will be able to do their terrestrial digital TV and also handle its digital equivalent (currently scheduled to use DVB-T)

    how do you know it will not handle HD. Have Sony released the latest specs. The freeview HD standard has just been agreed and all of a sudden Sony are ready to release. Maybe it has been delayed for this reason.

  • siksik6 #24 4 years ago

    Had a look at some pictures, and only one RF socket... so unless it splits it inside, that's only one channel you're watching and / or recording at the same time. (obviously you can watch a recorded one and record one, since that only uses one tuner)

  • muzzer77 #25 4 years ago

    Gaol: I just don't see much market for this in the UK.

    I think the market of people with an HDTV and PS3 in their lounge and no cable/satellite provider is incredibly limited; and these people clearly don't care much for TV. Consumers with PS3s under the main TV (single male gamers/cinephiles) who do value broadcast content will already have a Sky HD service for their HDTV. Familys that consume enough (SD)TV to want to record it will either have a Sky+/Virgin+ or DVD recorder. They might even be using a VCR. They ain't gonna buy a PS3 just to record TV.

    What does that leave? Something for the kids?

    Seems ill thought out.

    Sorry mate but i value tv but refuse to pay for SKY HD, they charge enough as it is a once you buy the box that should be it. There should be no extra charge for HD. They will have no choice to go free when freeview catches up. They are just stinging people at the mo. If they stopped wasting money on crap programs they could afford to let people have HD at no extra cost.

  • muzzer77 #26 4 years ago

    Had a look at some pictures, and only one RF socket... so unless it splits it inside, that's only one channel you're watching and / or recording at the same time. (obviously you can watch a recorded one and record one, since that only uses one tuner)

    My Humax only has one RF socket but still records two channels at once.

  • GChris #27 4 years ago

    "Had a look at some pictures, and only one RF socket... so unless it splits it inside, that's only one channel you're watching and / or recording at the same time. (obviously you can watch a recorded one and record one, since that only uses one tuner)"

    My current PVR does technically have two RF inputs but then has a big square block connecting an output into the next input. Presumably Sony have come up with a more elegant solution that sits inside the box but does effectively the same thing.

  • siksik6 #28 4 years ago

    That, or it only records one at a time!

  • callum9999 #29 4 years ago

    You dion't need to aerials for a dual tuner. Infact, I have never seen a dual tuner PVR have more than one and they record two streams.

  • IneptPercy #30 4 years ago

    You can get a decent 80GB twin tuner PVR for that... Oh wait I already have...

    As for dual tuners having 2 input, mine does, you can loop one to the other which I have but if you have a weak signal you could input each separately from a boost or such like.

    As for dual tuners not being important, I would say they are very important, I wouldn't consider buying a PVR without dual tuners.

    Still no need for a PS3 for me... try again sony.

  • X201 #31 4 years ago

    @muzzer77
    All major silicon manufacturers have told OFCOM that it will be the end of 2008 at the earliest before they have DVB-T2 tuners in production.
    The Digibox/PVR manufacturers (including Sony) have told OFCOM it will be May-July 2009 before the first DVB-T2 devices appear on shop shelves and at least Christmas 2009 before they arrive in any meaningful volume.

    DVB-T2 cannot be fixed with a patch or an upgrade (Programmable tuners are available but they cost bucket loads and would knock the price of the PlayTV tuner through the roof).




  • siksik6 #32 4 years ago

    "You dion't need to aerials for a dual tuner. Infact, I have never seen a dual tuner PVR have more than one and they record two streams."

    No, but you do need two TUNERS. You can use one Aerial and loop it, but you definitely need two tuners.

    Sky+ also has two tuners, and two feeds coming from a twin LNB on the satellite dish.


  • tonynibbles #33 4 years ago

    Lovely!

    Probably the best looking Freeview interface available *anywhere*, with no DRM and 2.5" HDD or USB recording. SOLD!

    Its much more open than the other available, and far cheaper than any of them too:
    http://ww w.freeview.co.uk/products/dtrra...
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/08 @ 19:55

  • tonynibbles #34 4 years ago

    Lots more info on the official site too

    Looks like they dont even mention *any* HD tuner now - I'll expect that to be announced later in an updated unit...

  • seasidebaz #35 4 years ago

    WOO! Reading through the comments:

    1. Yes it is future-proofed for the UK. DVB-T works on MPEG-2, DVB-T2 works on MPEG-4. As long as they allow MPEG-4 decoding, we are futureproofed.

    2. Yeah we need dual-tuners, but as Philips is the only company that produces a tuner I'm pretty sure that they have one with integrated loop.

    3. I'm not paying the Sky+HD premium. Or the VirginHD premium.

    4. DVB-T2 will roll out in 2012.

    5. PlayTV works while the PS3 is turned off, and thus using minimal power.

    Hope this answered a few questions, all others please email kazhirai@playstation.com

  • moveteam #36 4 years ago

    @seasidebaz:

    1. No, DVB-T(1) is both able to use MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Boxer (the commercial gatekeeper in Sweden, Denmark and Ireland) is using MPEG-4, but these channels are encrypted and are not able to work with PlayTV. However a public service MUX in Denmark is entirely MPEG-4, and PLayTV will probably support that.

    5. No it doesn't, it just automaticly turns your computer on.

    (:

  • X201 #37 4 years ago

    @seasidebaz
    1)As moveteam stated DVB-T supports both MPEG 2 & MPEG 4 the same as DVB-T2. But the MPEG codec means nothing if the device can't decode the transmission signal (DVB-T or DVB-T2)

    Play TV will not be able to handle Freeview HD - If it could Sony would be shouting it from the roof tops but there is no mention of HD anywhere on their website or press release.
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/08 @ 20:57

  • X201 #38 4 years ago

    @tonynibbles

    An updated model - probably.
    The current model being updateable - not a chance

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #39 4 years ago

    I'm not paying the Sky+HD premium. Or the VirginHD premium.

    There's no premium for Virgin HD if you have the XL service. I'm seriously thinking about switching from Sky+, as Virgin has nearly all the channels I watch, plus free Setanta Sports, plus the HD functionality, for £1.50 less than I'm paying for basic Sky.

  • seasidebaz #40 4 years ago

    Yeah, if you have the XL service.... ie PREMIUM

    Anyway, I don't care as BT Vision is getting HD channels from September. Yay me!

    /n00bs

  • Rash' #41 4 years ago

    The fact that it isn't HD ready is a concern. I'm not sure if the investment is worth it considering. Having said that standard digital broadcasting isn't going to be discontinued anytime soon so I'm torn whether it's worth the long term investment.
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/08 @ 22:30

  • Zomoniac #42 4 years ago

    The only reason I'm getting one is for the ability to transfer the TV content to my PSP at the press of a button, no pissing around doing manual encoding, so I can watch last night's TV on the commute without having to do anything.

  • Rash' #43 4 years ago

    Zomoniac, Yeah that is a big selling point.

  • Byblos1 #44 4 years ago

    I'm tempted to buy this for the remote play functionality but I'm really concerned about the power usage of this thing. The PS3 uses a lot of power even idle.

    http://ww w.hardcoreware.net/reviews/revi...

  • chasejamie #45 4 years ago

    So I take it there is no way to hook a standard Sky box up to it and record the football, movies etc? Still, nice price and I love gadgets.

  • Gaol #46 4 years ago

    "Sorry mate but i value tv but refuse to pay for SKY HD, they charge enough as it is a once you buy the box that should be it. There should be no extra charge for HD. They will have no choice to go free when freeview catches up. They are just stinging people at the mo. If they stopped wasting money on crap programs they could afford to let people have HD at no extra cost. "

    My point was there isn't a market for Play TV outside of a few PS3 fans with limited interest in TV.

    If you don't want to pay Sky for HD content then you're not getting any. Virgin give HD content on the XL package because they have only have ONE channel, BBC. They have HD films on demand, but thats pay per view. At the moment you have one reasonable choice if you want HD content and it's SKY - thats the reason they're charging extra, because they can, not because of the cost of x or y program.

    It's gonna be a while until freeview HD turns up, and even longer before it offers a reasonable choice of HD channels. And until then, surely people with the disposable income for a 40" plasma and PS3 can afford a SKY+ or SKYHD box. Where does Play TV fit in outside a very small niche of tech geeks who don't watch much telly?

  • Zappa #47 4 years ago

    wow sounds really cool.

  • JDub #48 4 years ago

    Not bad - Possibly worth a punt... :)
    Edited by 1 at 13/08/08 @ 00:25

  • xandoodle #49 4 years ago

    Cheaper than expected!?

    Thats like the price of 6 freeview boxes.

  • mcbi4kh2 #50 4 years ago

    @xandoodle It can record things to your hdd. I dont think there are cheaper ones available that can record?

  • ghearoid #51 4 years ago

    Um, I'm quite tempted if only because my current PVR is impossibly huge and this PlayTV thingy looks nice and small, leaving enough room to get a 360 for Fable 2. ;o)

  • systems #52 4 years ago

    I think some of you are getting confused between channels and multiplexes. With a single tuner you can record one channel arriving in a multiplex and still watch a different channel on the same multiplex. With two tuners you could record two channels from two muxes and watch any channels from those two muxes.

    Here is the list of UK multiplexes (muxes) so you can see how the channels are grouped together:
    http://ww w.digitalspy.co.uk/terrestrial/...

  • Widge #53 4 years ago

    I would get this... but going to hang on to see if they do a UK HD version further down the line.

  • NKSR #54 4 years ago

    ca you record gaming footage?

    i could create a montage :D

  • moggsy #55 4 years ago

    This is better value if you're not bothered about the PSP functionality. 160GB hard drive for 80 hours recording, low power consumption, can record 2 things at once while you watch another recording, has series linking and accurate recording etc.

  • seasidebaz #56 4 years ago

    As I keep saying, if BT Vision can get HD with a simple thing as a codec update, I'm sure PlayTV can as well,

  • moggsy #57 4 years ago

    @ seasidebaz

    BT are introducing VOD HD content - not Freeview HD content.

    The Freeview HD standard was only recently decided on and needs different hardware. PlayTV as it stands will never be compatible (although it was compatible with the earlier tests the BBC did because that didn't need new hardware - hence the confusion).

  • Andy247 #58 4 years ago

    How is this cheaper, it went on Play.com at £69.99 a few months back before being withdrawn. It's a freeview box, it's a £20 piece of kit, all the clever stuff is done by the PS3 so what on earth is the justification of the cost?

  • moggsy #59 4 years ago

    @ Andy247

    Software development isn't cost free you know (although a lot of my customers like to believe it is...).
    Edited by 1 at 13/08/08 @ 12:00

  • X201 #60 4 years ago

    @Andy247
    It decodes the TV signal and then decodes the picture data before sending it down the USB for the PS3 to dump on the HD. If anything the PS3 is doing the easy part.

  • Kafeen #61 4 years ago

    Sony said when they made announcements about it a while ago that you could turn your PS3 off into stand-by mode, if something was set up to record the PlayTV device would turn your PS3 on, record the program, then switch back into stand-by automatically. So the power consumption shouldn't be too high.

    Or you could alway leave folding@home on and cure cancer or something :)

  • MuppetThumper #62 4 years ago

    Gaol, you're talking shite mate.

    I'm a gamer who watches TV. I like the breadth of programs available on Freeview but I certainly wouldn't want to PAY for any more and besides, I watch enough Freeview anyway. Some of the time I might want to, you know, play games? Having a unit that plugs into a console is a sensible choice for me as I don't want an extra standard sized electrical piece of kit for which I have to find another power socket. And you know what? I know plenty of people just like me.

    I didn't realise you were a marketing expert, but I would be willing to bet that Sony's marketing team has researched the potential for this device more than you have.

  • FullSPecWarrior #63 4 years ago

    1 less device in my living room
    1 less connection to my tv / amp
    2 tuners
    Watch all my videos, movies and now tv from one unit
    Take my TV with me using my PSP
    Schedule and watch recordings remotely using my PSP
    A user interface that doesn't run like treacle
    Not paying Sky

    Sounds awesome to be honest. Just what I'm after.

    EDIT: Scrap that. I see they u-turned on allowing you to transfer the recordings onto memory sticks etc. Hero to Zero in one fell swoop. Will not buy now.
    Edited by 1 at 13/08/08 @ 23:07

  • zedzee #64 4 years ago

    I suspect the only difference between PlayTV and a £20 Freeview box (or a TV set that has one built-in, for that matter) is the prorietary connector that makes the former only work on a PS3.