Sony to Add TV Tuner, DVR to PS3

pjhenley writes "Sony has announced that they will add digital TV and DVR capabilities to the PS3 in Europe. TV can also be watched on a PSP using 'remote play' over WiFi or via downloaded recordings. 'The new box will feature two 1080p tuners, which utilize the European Digital Video Broadcasting system (DVB-T) -- which should dash any US hopes for the time being. The system will allow you to store recorded broadcasts on your PS3 drive, and also transcode and transfer the saved files to your PSP.'"

So what is the PS3 again?

[Yvan256]

We keep hearing Sony about how the PS3 is the best game system, but so far the only arguments we hear are that it's a Blu-Ray movie player, a Linux computer and now it's also a PVR. Mind you, if the american PS3 had a PVR to begin with, maybe it wouldn't seem too expensive.

Even as a non-Sony fanboy (I'm a Nintendo fanboy), I do wish Blu-Ray wins against HD-DVD, if only because this isn't a Sony-only attempt at pushing their own crap (Memory Stick, miniDisc, ATRAC, etc) but it's even better than HD-DVD in capacity (especially future potential capacity).

US doesn't have real standard yet?

[amigabill]

While we've heard a lot about cablecards and cablecard2's and mcards, the Tivo-HD compatibility problems show that we in the USA don't have a good standard yet. It works in some places but not in others. Would Sony face the same problem? Are they just avoiding this fiasco until there's a better guarantee that their tuners will actually work for all buyers in America? How is it that Europe gets better defined standards to work with (GSM, DVB) to ensure compatibility while we in America are rolling the dice with cablecards without knowing if we have the switched video stuff or not that might prevent my cablecard device from working? Or that vastly reduces choice in what phones I can use on my cellphone network?

Re:Before anyone starts to complain

[Rosyna]

We europeans pay around 700-900 USD for the PS3

Before you start complaining about the US price vs the European prices, always remember to remove the VAT from the European prices. Why can't Europeans bother to remember such a simple thing? List prices in the US do not include tax.

it slices, it dices

[conspirator57]

it prepares food ten different ways! Don't forget, we just added the kitchen sink!

Seriously, though. I like having discrete devices because stuff breaks and I like to:
1. amortize the impact (cost, etc.) of a breakage by having less expensive components
2. get components that do fewer things, but do them better
3. have a DVD on while playing a game. PiP, you know.
and several other reasons i'm forgetting just now.

Company comparison

[Philotechnia]

Sony = style, but no content Microsoft = content, but no style Apple = the perfect fusion of style and content Personally, I'm holding back my hard earned dollars until the iGame comes to market...

Re:Company comparison

[GammaKitsune]

Try Nintendo. And don't hold your breath for an iGame. Even if it did come out, it would no doubt go the way of the N-Gage. Apple and gaming have never gotten along.

Re:What's this about!!!

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

I believe the number of Sony Fanboys in the US is higher than that in any other country. Our dumb consumers buy that crap even when it doesn't work.

But wouldn't it be funny if Sony's announcement of a better PS3 on the way gets people to stop buying them?

On a semi-related note, I've talked with 3 middle-aged people who are trying to find Wiis for themselves and can't, while I see Best Buy has 20 PS3s in stock. Good work, Sony.

Re:US doesn't have real standard yet?

[Captain_Chaos]

How is it that Europe gets better defined standards to work with (GSM, DVB) to ensure compatibility while we in America are rolling the dice with cablecards without knowing if we have the switched video stuff or not that might prevent my cablecard device from working? Or that vastly reduces choice in what phones I can use on my cellphone network?

I'm actually really interested in whether anyone has some genuine insight into that, as I've often wondered the same thing myself. Why is it that the US, which is one country, apparently has so much more trouble to deploy some decent standards than Europe, which is a pretty loosely held together bunch of countries which couldn't be more different from each other?

Re:I gotta say

[Mr_Silver]

Now, if there aren't lots of quality games to choose from by this time next year, there will be problems without a doubt.

Agreed, but the PS3 is actually doing pretty well - it is the Wii owners that should be worried.

Assuming a good game is one that has an average score of 80% or higher - then current figures from Metacritic [metacritic.com] are:

1. PS3 = 19 out of 61 = 31%
2. Wii = 7 out of 78 = 9%
3. Xbox 360 = 59 out of 232 = 25%

I've no doubt that the innovative controller of the Wii could revolutionise gaming and make it more appealling to the masses and that there are great games coming in the future - which is great, but doesn't really mean much if the developers are unable to make and sell games right now which use it well and produce what people consider a "great game".

Re:I gotta say

[bateleur]

Nintendo had the "People want to play fun games and don't want to have to take out a loan to do so" attitude and they're winning.

At least, they are if you're an investor.

From a gamer's perspective, I'm a bit puzzled by the way everyone seems to love console wars. Personally I dislike exclusives. If they're on a console I own that leaves some of my friends unable to share in my enjoyment of the game. If they're on a console I don't own that's just annoying.

The Wii's great for gaming in general, because it reminds people in the industry that actual gameplay matters. Unfortunately there are downsides too - by making what would once have been a custom peripheral into the standard controller, Nintendo ensure that most Wii games will never appear on other platforms. That's bad news for game studios, because it means less revenue per title. And anything that reduces the profitability of titles is ultimately bad for gamers too.

But there is one lesson I really, really hope the other manufacturers take away from the Wii's success: keep the costs down!

Re:Why 1080p?

[tmarklund]

I was under the impression that the receivers didn't handle 1080p, since no receiver has ever claimed it in the specs.
However, when I now look at one of the specs for one set-top box, it says "MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 HP@L4" which would mean it could support 1920x1080 in 30 fps at max 25 Mbps if I read Wikipedia correctly. But it would output it in 1080i probably.
So probably I was wrong then.

Re:Before anyone starts to complain

[Anonymous Coward]

The difference is that VAT is included in listed prices whereas taxes in the US are not. They are both taxes and conceptually the same. The difference is that paying VAT means you pay exactly what's listed on the price label. In the US, the sales tax is added at the register.

So if you go buy a $499 PS3 in the US, you'll pay roughly $540 at the register (including ~8% tax). In VAT countries, that price is already figured into the quoted price. So if you buy a £399 PS3 in Britain, you'll pay £399 at the register.

Therefore, to compare apples to apples, you have to remove VAT from the price and compare to the listed US price. Although you'd also want to remove any import tariffs Sony pays in each country too.