ITWire by request: PS3 PlayTV preview

by Mike Bantick

Saturday, 03 May 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! iTWire reader Electron Beam posed this challenge recently – to bring a 'dummies' explanation to the Sony PlayTV box for the PlayStation 3. Though we are yet to get our mitts on the little black box, here is the low down about PlayTV, the little black box that will attach to the big black box (the PlayStation 3) sometime later in the 2008. Quite simply, the PlayTV box turns the PlayStation 3 into a feature laden Personal Video Recorder (PVR).  As part of Sony's continued push to see a PS3 in every living room as a entertainment hub, the PlayTV box is set to add free to air TV into the PS3 mix. Plug your house antenna into the PlayTV box, connect the PlayTV box to the PS3 via USB port, and ensure the PS3 is [ahem] connected to your TV and the set up is complete. Once all these components are powered up the PS3 SIXAXIS controller (or Blu-ray remote) can be used to wield the PVR functions of PlayTV. Keeping it simple, PlayTV contains twin High Definition TV tuners, meaning that one show can be watched while another is recorded to the PS3 HDD for later viewing. When viewing the list of recorded shows, the PS3 has a neat interface allowing thumbnail images of the shows along with a fifteen second preview. Like most PVR's on the market, PlayTV will allow viewers to pause and rewind live TV. Also like most PVR's on the current market, receiving an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) is at the mercy of the free to air broadcasters.  The built in TV guide, the EPG should at least, for each channel show the current program, as well as the program to follow.  The EPG interface is neat, intuitive and clear. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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