PS3 takes on Slingbox
- 14 Feb 08, 08:43 GMT
Sony has talked up the multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 3 since before it was launched - but it is only now that those promises are being met.
Later this year Sony will launch an add-on that will let PS3 owners watch digital TV via their console: PlayTV is a small black box which connects to a USB port on the machine and has an aerial port in (and a pass through port) to pick up digital terrestrial signals.
I had a chance to play with PlayTV at Sony's UK offices on Wednesday. The hardware itself is uninteresting - it's the software and features that are worth talking about.
It's a very slick piece of user interface design. The Electronic Programme Guide and menu systems are well designed and laid out and the whole experience is certainly simple enough that PlayTV could be used as a main Freeview system in the home.
Just like a PVR, you can pause and rewind live TV, as well as record programmes. The PlayTV has a dual tuner so you can record one channel while watching another.
At the moment you can't record TV in the background while playing a game on the PS3 but I'm told the software developers are working hard to add the feature. If it isn't available at launch, the feature could be added later as a software update.
But the really interesting feature is the ability to watch TV on your PlayStation Portable from anywhere in the world using PlayTV, turning the PS3 into a Slingbox on steroids.
RemotePlay allows PSP users to access their PlayStation 3's over a wi-fi connection, either on a local network or over the internet.
You can already watch videos stored on your PS3's hard drive - but with PlayTV you can now watch live TV, programmes you've recorded to the hard drive or schedule programmes to be recorded in the future.
Cleverly, if you know you are likely to stick with one channel for a period of time - if you are watching live sport or a film, for example - you can increase the buffering on the PSP to improve picture quality. And it makes a real difference.
The developers have worked hard to keep the whole operation as simple as possible so that even casual users can get live TV up and running on their PS3 quickly.
It will be interesting to see how much marketing effort is put behind PlayTV because this kind of feature is a real competitive advantage over Xbox 360, which offers nothing remotely similar.
It is also another strong feature for the PSP which is beginning to flourish as a handheld device once again.
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Rory Cellan-Jones is the 成人论坛's technology correspondent.
Maggie Shiels is the 成人论坛's tech reporter based in Silicon Valley.
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Comments
i think that you will soon find out that you are very wrong in saying that the xbox 360 offers nothing remotely similar. if you actually bothered to research your work you would have found that microsoft and bt have linked a deal to actually bring iptv to the xbox 360, not only that, they already have the ability to stream content from a media centre pc by using the 360 as an extender!! so how about actually giving this artical space to someone who actually knows whats going on
tis tis tis
All very impressive, especially the ability to stream to a PSP.
Unfortunately a PS3 and a PSP are still both very much on my wishlist, not my own list.
PSP-streaming aside, is it any better than Windows Media Center on Vista? I use that as my main TV system and have to say it's excellent, apart from in the last ~8 months it's broken a few times and I've had to do clean installs of Windows (surprise, surprise...) and also the PS3 one looks a bit fast moving around the menus/guide etc. than WMC... or that might just be my slightly antiquated hardware.
I wonder what format the PS3 records TV programmes in... you might need an external hard drive if you're limited to the 40GB version and it records in MPEG2!
This feature is brilliant - end of story. I saw a demo of this at a show before christmas which is why I bought the new slim PSP to go with my PS3. It's a fantastic idea. More importantly, I've you cost up a Blu-Ray player, Hard disk recorder, Freeview tuner, etc the PS3 is the most cost effective way of doing this. I know I'm fed up of having 3 or 4 boxes under my TV, but the PS3 truly eradicates the need for that. If pushed and advertised correctly this could be the nail in the coffin for the 360 and the PS3 could overtake it in sales evenmore so.
"multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 3"
That statement is a joke i take it considering you have to add hardware to make it work. Im sure if hardware for the Wii or 360 are made they would have all the "multimedia capabilities" which you are describing. The bit about the psp is interesting though, but why would you want to watch tv when your out and about on a tiny screen, but im sure some one will.
Nice gadget, well it would have been 5 years ago. Maybe Sony hasn't realized that the future points to downloading TV shows, and the death of terrestrial broadcast.
Anyway I'm sure this will be a success as Sony(like Apple) have a knack of marketing old technology really well.
As long as I can record straight onto my HDD then I'm sold. Especially since my 拢250 HDD recorder died recently.
I'm definately getting this as long as it's priced right. Sub 拢30 should be fine.
@ 1
You talk as if you know it all.
Read the article in the link and you will see huge drawbacks such as:
"Unlike the dedicated set-top box the Xbox will not be able to receive or record live TV."
"People have to sign up to a 12 month broadband contract [with BT] and not all Xbox owners may want to do that"
and of course the lack of being able to stream to a hand held device.
I think this is going to be excellent. I wonder what sort of price tag it will have on it?
@ Si H, Post 3.
You can get a digital tv dongle for your pc for about 拢15 and if your like me and have nearly a terrabyte for harddisk space, think of all the tv you can record all the tv you want, also if you have a decent console like a 360 for instance you can stream it to your tv straight from your pc via the 360, no one really wants to watch tv shows on a small screen.
The ps3 is a nice bit of kit and features like this do make it more desireable than others. Its also a benefit to not have to pay a subscription service to use this feature.
Re: the future being download content. For HD content no. Thats why it has blu ray. Xbox doesn't have anything like this as it doest have a portable device or let you access the REAL internet.
Jack of all trades, master of none...
Can't record while playing a game = not interested.
Balor
I'm afraid you need to get your facts right. Most xBox's have a 20GB built-in HDD which is not expandable whereas the PS3 is totally expandable and changing to a 拢80 500GB HDD does not affect the PS3 warranty.
Also, having to sign a contract with BT and having to purchase their set-top box is not the same as getting it all on the same system without contract for a very low price.
And your other comment is pointless, because the PS3 can already stream content via PC's and Media Servers too.
This is adding Sky+ functionality in a do-it-all, blu-ray hi-def games machine/media centre with the ability to watch/record/control from a handheld device. Xbox cannot do this and the systems they have now are not capable of doing this in the future.
Nelson
Death of Terrestrial broadcast; are you kidding? It's the end of analogue broadcast but digital will go from strength to strength. This is not a bash Sony and Apple thread, even for the ill-informed Microsoft fan-boys out there. It's just to show the capabilities of current hardware and I'd be impressed, whoever the manufacturer!
"Balor",
If you think what MS/BT are offering comes close to this then you are the one in need of information.
"Me",
90% of the functionality is already in the PS3 or will come with a free firmware update. The box mostly handles the old fashioned aerial connection. The Wii is not capable of any such thing without another box as big and as complicated (and probably as expensive) as the console itself. As for the 360, well, that wouldn't stay alive long enough to record a full length movie.
Face it, the PS3 is fast becoming the first true non-PC convergence device. If Apple made the PS3 it would sell well at 拢1,000+ ......
Freeview (terrestrial) is a bit 'old skool'.
Sony please catch up.
We'll all be using FreeSat (from the 成人论坛/ITV in Spring'08)!
@balor
xbox360 will not be getting live iptv only BT on demand content from the Vision box. Vision box is freeview - not iptv.
I suggest YOU do your research before opening your gob
Balor - The article is correct; The 360 offers nothing remotely similar. IPTV is coming to the 360 but it doesn't as far as I'm aware offer the standard 'free to air' channels which are an expanded set of the traditional channels (which I'm assuming is what people want as they are familiar with them). You can attach a media centre pc to the 360 but that involves...attaching a pc to your 360. Easy yes but not as convenient as having a small box that plugs into your PS3 and just works.
Trouble is, this doesn't really take on slingbox does it. Slingbox routes directly to my Sky box, therefore I'm not restricted to the VERY limited offering of Freeview.
Just a quick note on the 360 / BT Vision implementation vs. this. The 360 version is based upon only the video on demand aspects of BT Vision, effectively giving on demand. The full BT vision experience would be possible if there was the right hardware for the 360 but at the moment no plans for that have been announced as this would take a major software effort to do.
BT visions software is based upon but divergent from Microsoft's media room and the live TV aspect of BT's solution is bespoke to BT and designed for BT's hardware. Microsoft's media room runs on the 360 very well but it's core build includes the video on demand functionality but not the live TV aspects which would have to be ported to the 360. In short it'll be expensive and complicated to get BT's live TV to work on 360. BT vision is not IPTV totally as it relies upon terrestrial for live content and BT's network solution would mean it'll be very expensive to stream live TV although technically straightforward (dependent on server back-end being worked out).
Lastly the user experience of BT Vision is good but will never by anywhere near the slickness of the PS3 version, this comes from having worked on the BT Vision user experience.
Wow, the media capabilities look amazing. Being able to stream to a psp anywhere in the world looks damn good, and im sure it will be with future developments in Wi-Fi and Wi-Max, not just slingbox on steroids, try slingbox on viagra. But the big question is would you be able to remotely power your PS3 up from standby using the PSP? Ive got an Xbox 360 but i will seriously consider re buying a psp and a PS3 combo as a media hub, lets just hope sony decides to do a deal with all the bits included, then it will sell like hot cakes!
Nelson and your downloading syndicate should see that this is the ultimate downloading TV show technology. Instead use your bandwidth and hours to download Tv shows. Now u can copy the show in realtime from freeair and shared the love on the internet by computer, PSP or Ps3. Don't u just love that?
Gee guys, such negative comments!! The PS3 video format now supports most codecs so this shouldn't be a problem for it.
Downloadable TV shows/content is Microsofts goal and will be yet another part of our digital technology controlled and monopolised by a very greedy and poor quality corporation.
The 360 can only stream media from windows media centre whereas the PS3 can stream from other sources.Also you need a 360 with a hard drive and wireless adapter (more money again for overly expensive peripherals) to run this feature and you cannot access it from anywhere in the world. So the answer to Balor's post is NO 360 does not have anything similar to this.
Nelson, narrow minded there. Both Sonys and Apples products are superior to often very poor quality and Microsoft software/hardware and the difference is the PS3 is a future proof machine whereas the 360 is looking dated unless you want to spend the 拢200+ required to bring it up to the PS3 spec level. Also Apple MAC is 100 times more user friendly and faster than any MS drive PC/Laptop FACT.
Also "ME" PS3 is a TRUE mutltimedia machine which comes in one neat little (well big box) that you pay 拢299 for and you get everything there. 360 would cost around about 拢400 + to be at the spec. Also the multimedia is open and not locked down as it is on the 360.
@balor: so, if MS & BT have 'inked a deal', then nothing's been made yet. Therefore the blog is right: the 360 doesn't have these capabilities. It may do in the future but, then again, so could my fridge but that doesn't mean it needs to be worthy of comparison.
@me: I was really sceptical of the PS3's abilities and had been happy with using the 360 in my setup. However, giving up smoking, some extra cash & bullying from the kids meant I took the plunge and run the PS3, 360 & Wii alongside each other. Sure, they're all different but when eldest son goes to Uni later this year, he sure isn't taking the PS3 with him.
The PS3 is superior in many ways - for starters to watch a HD disc, everything's already incorporated into the machine. MS on the other hand created a truly awful mechanism to watch HD-DVDs using a set up that doesn't actually have the capability to deliver all the data that HD requires.
Play TV external box is due to hit market at 拢99. End April i believe. Read it on some random gaming website. great to hear the interface is looking solid.
As for Comment No2, if your gonna be saving the tv programs to your hard drive, you`l need to get a larger internal drive. 150GB should do the job nicely. 2.5 inch drive NAT type i think. Laptop specifications anyway`s.
The Playstation 3 can already stream music and video stored on your PCs hard-drive. The remote play facility is also a current feature. What the author is trying to get across is that an additional piece of hardware turns the ps3 into a Freeview HDD recorder, and using the existing functionality on the ps3 you can do much more with your recording.
@5 the future might, when we all have 50mb or more internet connections, which is years off.
@6 - the ps3's hard drive can be swapped for any 2.5" sata drive, external hdds are not required.
Nothing like a pro-ps3 story to kick up a fuss!
its nt really sub 拢30, its about 拢99.99
This now means that I may never miss another TV footie match whenever I'm dragged off to another country! Perfect, just need to get my PSP and special TV box now.
Balor
I'm afraid you need to get your facts right. Most xBox's have a 20GB built-in HDD which is not expandable whereas the PS3 is totally expandable and changing to a 拢80 500GB HDD does not affect the PS3 warranty.
Also, having to sign a contract with BT and having to purchase their set-top box is not the same as getting it all on the same system without contract for a very low price.
And your other comment is pointless, because the PS3 can already stream content via PC's and Media Servers too.
This is adding Sky+ functionality in a do-it-all, blu-ray hi-def games machine/media centre with the ability to watch/record/control from a handheld device. Xbox cannot do this and the systems they have now are not capable of doing this in the future.
Nelson
Death of Terrestrial broadcast; are you kidding? It's the end of analogue broadcast but digital will go from strength to strength. This is not a bash Sony and Apple thread, even for the ill-informed Microsoft fan-boys out there. It's just to show the capabilities of current hardware and I'd be impressed, whoever the manufacturer!
Its starting to make the XBOX look a bit behind the times!
I really see the PS3 making great strides into our homes.....Going to buy in March!!!!!!
To those people who are complaining about the PS3 and moaning about how it is behind the times as the future is downloads - I think you'll find there is (and will be for some time) a lot of people on broadband connections that simply cannot stream IPTV effectively enough.听 Then there are those people with capping limits on their broadband accounts (e.g. 2GB per month cap on Virgin Media's basic option).听 Downloading a couple of HD films a month will take them over that limit.
This add-on from Sony offers a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a PS3 to rationalise their media equipment and have one device for everything they need.听 Not to mention get digital TV for free (OK so basic channels), record and then stream to the PSP anywhwere in the world.
Incidentally - the BT IPTV option on the Xbox 360 is only going to be available to those people with a BT broadband account.
听
听
This sounds fantastic. I have a 360, PS3 and a PSP, and the PS3/PSP combo is by far the best media and allround hitter, it's gaming capabilities have recently come into focus, with some great games pre-xmas, and a shedload more this year.
The PlayTV sounds nice, and the fact I can upgrade my PS3's harddisk with a standard laptop HDD, without voiding my warranty makes it even more promising.
This is why the PS3 is the best (and franklu only) choice as the 500GB PVR/Games console/Blu-ray/MediaStreamer/SACD "all-in-one" under my TV.
@ Slacky
拢30? Your having a laugh aint ya? According to play.com, its gonna be 拢100.
This console war is getting me annoyed. Ok I own all the next gen console (PS3, X360 and Wii). Firstly whichever console you own your going to think its better than the others (just because you own one) but the PS3 is clearly the best in every way. and this just proves that its capable of even better things aswell. Not to mention the PS3 has been used in medical research and astronomy calculations. This is a great idea to introduce a TVPlus feature, (which cannot be done by xbox, believe me i've checked and I would have rather have got one for the xbox because I use it more.) But this should be good for PS3 sales. Xbox is regarded by some to be good (and although I play my xbox more) PS3 is a better console FACT and this will help people realise that. Look at the stats if you dont believe me.
Sorry but has no one used the media centre on the xbox? #If you have a media centre or vista PC (which half of the country have!) then you can use the media center extender to do all the things the PS3 can and a heck of a lot more besides. Is Sony buying a lot of media coverage these days?
This piece of hardware looks great and increases the appeal of PS3 beyond just gamers. Does anyone know if you'll be able to connect your Sky Digital connection to the Play TV box and stream SKy onto the PSP, or is it just Freeview that'll work?
I really believe this small add-on will be a great addition to the PS3s vast multimedia abilities.
The PS3 already receives media streams (from for example WMP11 or TVersity) so I can already play the contents of my PCs HDD on my TV- video, music and pictures, it's DIVX certified and plays Blu-ray discs, DVDs and CDs out of the box. And now live TV viewing and recording.
Being able to watch live or recorded TV from home whilst anywhere on Earth (ok, with a wifi connection) is awesome. It's certainly is a feature that sets it aside from the other 'multimedia' machines out there.
Yeah so the 40 or 60Gb HDD's may seem a tad small, but as almost any off-the-shelf 2.5" SATA HDD can be installed in the PS3 without invalidating it's warranty (Sony even urge you to upgrade) storage issues aren't issues anymore (apart from the cost of the drive!). And don't forget USB drives will work too, should you wish to take the external route.
Hopefully it's a feature they may be able to incorporate into the case of future PS3s.
To those people who are complaining about the PS3 and moaning about how it is behind the times as the future is downloads - I think you'll find there is (and will be for some time) a lot of people on broadband connections that simply cannot stream IPTV effectively enough. Then there are those people with capping limits on their broadband accounts (e.g. 2GB per month cap on Virgin Media's basic option). Downloading a couple of HD films a month will take them over that limit.
This add-on from Sony offers a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a PS3 to rationalise their media equipment and have one device for everything they need. Not to mention get digital TV for free (OK so basic channels), record and then stream to the PSP anywhwere in the world.
Incidentally - the BT IPTV option on the Xbox 360 is only going to be available to those people with a BT broadband account.
Nelson ? It's for digital terestrial, what decade are you in ?
The PS3 will also stream media from your pc using windows media player library, the foundation library for windows media centre's content. I use it on my 360 and to be quite honest, its buggy as hell, and my pc is only 6 months old. A poor show IMO.
Balor, IPTV is not quite the same as this, that concerns downloading video via the internet, not recording video from a digital aerial.
拢100 is around about the price for this unit, steep IMO.
Nelson ? It's for digital terestrial, what decade are you in ?
The PS3 will also stream media from your pc using windows media player library, the foundation library for windows media centre's content. I use it on my 360 and to be quite honest, its buggy as hell, and my pc is only 6 months old. A poor show IMO.
Balor, IPTV is not quite the same as this, that concerns downloading video via the internet, not recording video from a digital aerial.
拢100 is around about the price for this unit, steep IMO.
#34: Yes but then you always have to turn on your computer, in fact Xbox 360 is just a client which connect to the server.
This solution is great, because it's a all-in-one solution.
But yes you can customize Media Center.
i own 360/wii/ps3
to all the people that posted on this blog.
have you forgotten one thing the xbox 360 was to rival the ps2 and it done a very good job of it the new xbox 360plus is out of this world
i found a site in china demonstrating the new unit it looks very stunning blu-ray and hd built in. built in digital sat and tv receiver and the ability to connect to a mobile phone for remote internet access 500gb hdd a 7inch removable lcd display built in wifi/wimax
i like the ps3 but games are expensive and not much to choose from
Does anyone know if it can play and record high defintion material over freeview? That would be very good as high def is soon to be released onto freeview.
just a note to all people who posted on this site.
that the xbox 360 was a rival to the ps2 and it done a very good job of it
i own a xbox 360 and a ps3 and just got a wii for the kids all three do a good job.
but i found a site in china showing off the new xbox 360plus wow!!!
watch out sony this is good!
built in 500gb hdd blu-ray + hd-dvd
twin tuner sat and free view receiver
ipod and mp3 dock wifi and wimax
built in audio amp and able to run a operating system of your choice and the ability to run your internet connection from a mobile phone
when this comes out i just might trade in my ps3
games are expensive and not much to choose from
Wireless on the PSP???!!!
How can video be stream using the PSP's 802.11b wireless protocol. It's barely good enough to download a webpage let alone TV.
Maybe they've brought it up to date since buying mine??
@ web pirate, are you high?
The PS2 and Xbox were rivals of the same generation, the PS3 and Xbox360 are rivals of the same generation. The 360 was out first but the PS3 has better spec (esp the 60G model) and although it's been more expensive it's got everything included in the box so under your telly doesn't look like Steptoe and Sons.
Is this how Sony is going to make its money back from the PS3?
Firstly when the PS3 came out it cost them $800 each to make. Losing money in the USA and about breaking even in Europe.
Now by altering the internal workings the 40Gb machine cost $400 to make, meaning they now make $200 (currently selling at 拢299) on each machine in Europe.
Now they release a 拢100 box that costs $35 to make!
All the people yammering on about the 360 and IPTV are forgetting/don't know that in other regions (such as Korea) the PS3 already has an IPTV service up and running since June 07
To web pirate
You are wrong, xbox 360 was to rival ps2? The first X-box came out after ps2. That was the one to rival ps2, and it lost big time.
360 came out a year ahead of the Wii and Ps3 so it can win. Yet again, it fail.
Do your homework next time before you talk. Ps3 sells is catching up and its tech is improving everyday, wii sells are still good. But 360 is having problem selling outside of america.
You also mention that the next xbox will have blu-ray drive and hd built-n? What's so special about that? You have no idea what microsoft said back then do you?
They say they hated blu-ray, and also hd. Why you think the 360 didn't come with any from the start? They diss on sony's idea and now they want a piece of it? Give me a break.
to balor
by remote he means the PSP dumbass,pluss the 360 will overheat if u use it for more than 3 hrs.
and to "web pirate"
the 360 has a yr over the PS3 and the PS3 has more games if u realy think about it,and almost all of them are HITS,ace combat 7 is coming to ps3 ONLY and it will be bigger and better.
First, I certainly no fanboy of Microsoft.
I get all of my TV content via bitTorrent, on a RSS downloader, that automatically downloads the latest episode as soon as it becomes available. Then within a couple of hours it is downloaded and available in Media Portal. That way I can watch the content when I want, in a compressed but good quality format.
Media Portal has had an excellent TV engine that lets you have multiple TV cards for multiple recording. I used to use it, until I found torrents much easier to use. I had MCE 2005, but it was awful. It had very little customization and nowhere near the number of plugins that MP has.
MP definitely has a few bugs but is open source. But this goes to show that this technology has been around for years, is nothing special, and just because Sony are marketing it first means that it looks like they came up with the idea.
I understand that torrents are illegal and so a lot of people wouldn't want to use them but, it is the open source and illegal technologies that seem to be the ones with all of the best ideas. And then we have to wait a few years until a big corp decides that it needs a new product. It's all about serving their own needs not the customers.
xbots just want to hate on the ps3 but that is a position which is getting much harder to defend, hence the obvious "chip on the old shoulder",lol. just wait till next year, the xbot community will fall silent.
I doubt the PS3 will ever be able to record TV and play games at the same time.
When a game is started, it must be able to guarantee a certain level of CPU ticks to the games. The PS3 is not a PC running a multi-tasking operating system whereby any addition can just have a bit of CPU. It is a streamlined console optimised for games. To allow other apps to suck a bit of the juice up would seem a decision I doubt Sony will make.
I have to admit that this is the sort of thing that could make me want to buy a PS3. I quite like the PSP devices as they can play video but this device looks like a great way to add content to the device. But my question has to be are Sony planning a DVD recorder for the PS3 as this would expland the idea even further.
Amazing that with all these new features media streaming etc, still Nintendo kicks both their behinds at the sales counter with a machine that even fans accept is, processor wise, underpowered.
Maybe the future isn't media streaming or IPTV, so what if I can watch TV on the bus, beach or on the top of Everest, why would I want to?, aren't consoles and handhelds supposed to be about gameplay?
Sony and Microsoft are chasing each other up the same blind alley.
As far as the PS3 vs X360 argument is concerned there will always be fan boys (and girls) on one side or another.
However just looking at the bare bones of it if you want a multimedia device for your bog standard home user as well as gamer the PS3 wins in pure usability and ease of use. The interface is simple and the setup process to run any of the services are simple enough for non technical people to use.
The PS3 like the X360 allows for Media server streaming (I currently run a LinkSys 2 TB NAS with Twonky running on it so no need for PC) it plays Blue Ray as standard, DVD all formats and DivX so all your basic needs.
I stream content to my PSP regularly very successfully via WiFi as I travel for work a lot and have not been let down once. All these features have been available on a PC but it has required sufficient knowledge to set it all up (and probably more cash). If you want an out of the box solution which is pretty to look at to run all your music/film/TV/Gaming needs you couldn't really do any better - one improvement I could see a benefit for is an improvement with the web browser and the content it supports.
Hi
Great news about this, one point though is that this and the slingbox are both appealing - there are cons to using the PS3.
I actually own a slingbox, a PS3 and a PSP, and so will have both options, but I'm not sure I'd want to leave an expensive and hot running games console on all day while I watch and record TV for hours, or watch TV on my lunchbreak at work like I do. My slingbox is a cool running and totally silent box that sits under my TV and lets me stream TV today, and cost me a grand total of 拢200.
This is considerably less than the cost of the PS3/PSP/tv tuner combination.
The other thing is that I wont be able to watch TV from the PS3 on any PC, like I can with the slingbox - I would have to run the battery down of a remotely connected PSP (smaller screen too) and worry about wireless network signal degradation - my slingbox is wired all the way to my work PC.
Good option though simply for the flashiness of it all.
Michael Clark
Have you any idea as to how Sony's cell processor works?
Its a multi core processor (7 cores) that can easily handle the multi tasking you mention wheras you are speaking about dual/quad core PC's.
So in fact the PS3 surpasses these PC's capabilities in multi tasking ability.
Have you wondered why networked PS3's are being used by academic establishments as a super computer?
This is a great idea, people say its old technology, maybe so, but in the end ill buy one, cause call me old skool/fashioned i still watch TV... downloading certain tv shows... and movies is all good.. but sometimes me and the family just like to sit back and watch TV... crazy idea and all that... sometimes flicking through is the fun of it ;)
I can't wait for this to come out.. with the PS3 divx playback... lets hope it will record TV to divx format too.. saving room on the HDD.. (got the 60GB version)
and I have had no problems at all streeming from my vista laptop to my ps3 (audio, movies, pictures... they all stream great via the media connection built in)
I have found the PS3 to do all and more for my needs...
Ill soon be getting rid of all my other setop boxes from under my TV...
result.
It's so funny to read fan boys' comments from both sides of the camp. I own all three 'next gen' consoles although only PS3 and 360 can claim to be 'Next Gen'
For me, I am really dissapointed with the PS3. If you like playing games, then this console is not for you. Installs that take up to 22 minutes, it can hardly warrant the Next Gen status (my Spectrum was 20 times quicker!). The interface is clunky, online experience terrible and multimedia functionality mediocre.
For me, the 360 wins hands down. I stream all my media from other rooms to my 360, download the latest movies, play the best games (even multiformat games look and play much better on 360). And later this year BT vision will be on board.
Everyone here, you are missing the point - the PS3 is a GAMES CONSOLE. Who cares i it has good 'multimedia features"? Sure, they're a nice extra but the PS3 seriously lacks good games (only a few exclusive games are actually good for the PS3). The Wii and the Xbox however has a large amount of great exclusive games.
oh dear ohh dear .on the subject of ps3 vs 360.im not anti ps3 but ps3 owners need to get off there high horses. ps3 sales way down on xbox360 even allowing for the fact xbox360 has been out way longer i work for game and its also on ign.com. xbox 360 is out selling ps3 in ever country (apart from japan and asian where its sales figures are shocking))all the talk of ps3 being more powerfull is half rubbish aswell let me explain . although it is more powerfull they dont use this power most of the time. 90% of games are made the same for 360 and ps3 as its cheaper to do this for programmers the only games better on ps3(graphics wise etc) are the other 10% that are made by sony for sony or deals sony have with third parts to make a game exclusive for them .fact
@ mike day,
well for starts you work at GAME so you don't have a clue what your talking about! The reason why the ps3 isn't using its power is because games are being ported to it from the 360 and because of this the ps3's games are not not showing the consoles full potential, a dev for EA's Burnout has come forward and said 'developing the game on ps3 software and porting to the 360 actually makes for better gameplay on the 360 because of the ps3's technology!'
At 58. PS3 has been outselling Xbox360 for the last few weeks worldwide. Only in the US is the 360 still selling more than the PS3 as a region.
PlayTV is digital only, so no analogue channels.
If and its a big if Ofcom come up with specs for DVB2-t as the HD standard for freeview then the box may be redundant anyway as it has DVB-t tuners. Only way round this is in new software.
The PS3 could play games and record at the same time. One of the cell's is always redundant in case one fails but could be brought into service if new FW where added. You can download demos of the PSN in the background while playing offline games or playing a movie etc. The background function is already there.
The PS3 is locked out when using remote play so if your away from home no one else can use the PS3 unless they override the remote play function.
The PSP can remote turn on and off the PS3 and has been able to do this since 2.0FW.
My PS3 has been on almost constantly since I got it a year ago. When I have finished gaming I run folding@home and never has my PS3 died from overheating. The fan kicks in but that's all.
At 拢99 I'd say the PlayTV is a bargin. There are no HD freeview boxes out yet so no-one knows how much these will cost when they arrive.
The PSP slim now has AV/component out which means if your traveling you can plug your PSP into a normal TV and get DVD quality playback from what is on your Memory stick or streaming from your PS3. For some people this will be the application which they will buy the box for. You can watch your footie live or recorded instead of waiting until you get home days/weeks later.
For the people who would just use it at home then I think a normal freeview PVR box would be a better option but for those who travel a lot its worth having.
I think the largest 2.5 inch SATA drive is now 360GB for internal swapout and the USB external is as big as they come for PC's.
How bitter are the Xbox 360 users over this!
Sony may have not sold as many units as Microsoft, but I have only one thing to say.... Who ended up winning the HD battle? Sony Blue-Ray!! Watch out xbox lovers ;)
My god!, So many XBOX fanboys spreading FUD on these comments, im an Elite owner and 60gb Launch PS3 owner, and the ps3 is bar far the superior multimedia console.
Yeah the 360 has more quality games currently, and probably will do for the forseeable future, but claming the 360 even has any features like the ps3 is just stupid.
Anybody reading these comments, take it from me, if you want a low cost alternative for a gaming pc buy a 360, it has great games like Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass effect, Halo 3, Fable 2 ect.
However if you want an all in one media solution that has some ok games for now and some great ones on the way, such as Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy buy a ps3.
Bolar, he did do his research which is why he is totally right where he says Xobx360 offers nothing simular.
IPTV is mid-to-poor quality internet TV which most people in the UK will not be interested in and it cannot be streamed Live while you are riding the Kumba rollercoaster in Florida, USA. PlayTV can do this!
PlayTV offers the ability to "record" TV (be it SD or in the future HD) direct to the PS3's upgradbale Hard Drive. It also offers the ability to record one channel and watch another.
It also offers around the clock service where Xbox360's IPTV is susceptable to slow internet speeds when so many people are online as well as hoping the internet server does not fail, meaning PlayTV is as reliable as you TV in the livingroom.
How on earth can you compare Microsoft's IPTV to Sony's PlayTV?
This article is flawless.