GC: Sony conference

[rabidrabbit]

Even if it recorded premium and cable or DBS content, I don't see the appeal.

My Direct TV HR20 has a 250 GB drive and has dual tuners. It's very quiet, much quieter than the PS3.

When it's off and does a scheduled recording, it records it without turning on the whole UI.

Remember when @Home came out and people calculated the electrical costs of running the PS3 24/7? I can't imagine leaving it on so it could record shows. Or having it come on when it records shows.

Besides, I'm often playing while my DVR records shows. I'm sure DVR will demand some RAM and CPU resources.

There was talk when the Xbox came out that it could be used for a DVR. Nothing came of it.

But can you watch the recorded shows away from home with a portable media device, or schedule the recordings from wherever there's a WiFi spot with any existing PVR?
Or even transfer them easily to a portable device for watching on the move?
There must have been reasons why the PVR for xbox360 never materialised beyond a rumour...

I agree though, the power consumption and heat generated could be reasons why I might not leave it running unless there's going to at least be a standby mode.
Anyway, with further revisions of the Cell and RSX the PS3 will run with less electricity and generate less heat.
I wouldn't be surprised if a "PSX2" would come to market some two years from now, with integrated DVB tuners, looking more like a traditional Hi-Fi component and with extended media hub capabilities (video editing and such...)

 

[patsu]

Even if it recorded premium and cable or DBS content, I don't see the appeal.

My Direct TV HR20 has a 250 GB drive and has dual tuners. It's very quiet, much quieter than the PS3.

When it's off and does a scheduled recording, it records it without turning on the whole UI.

Remember when @Home came out and people calculated the electrical costs of running the PS3 24/7? I can't imagine leaving it on so it could record shows. Or having it come on when it records shows.

Besides, I'm often playing while my DVR records shows. I'm sure DVR will demand some RAM and CPU resources.

There was talk when the Xbox came out that it could be used for a DVR. Nothing came of it.

It's an evolving picture though. The basic concept is appealing to me and the friends I spoke with (One is ready to replace his TiVo with something else, and is waiting for Sony to do something).

For hard drive, 60 or 80Gb is definitely too small for a serious PVR. I bought a 320Gb for US$120 recently, but my real intention is to eventually upgrade to a gigabit home storage (0.5 or 1Tb) that also acts as a iTunes and DLNA server for all my laptops. It costs around US$300 - $500 today. Will be cheaper tomorrow.

Energy consumption can go down as better power management techniques get implemented. The recent F@H client already lowers its power usage.

PS3 is also proven to be extremely robust. Mine has been folding for 8 months non-stop until I had to move.

I am especially keen in PS3 PVR because of PSP and RemotePlay. I can record and watch the media from anywhere on the net. I hope Sony keeps working on it. e.g., When PS Home launches, it's going to have more twist to the basic media sharing features.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I do hope that the image quality of PSP remote play with PS3 PVR will be better than what it is now, even with a good direct wireless connection between PS3 and PSP.
Now it's pretty blocky at times ...

 

[patsu]

Mine is wired.... so far so good. However, watching video over Internet can be choppy.

EDIT: I can save remote media locally via RemotePlay to alleviate unpredictable bandwidth issues

 

[wco81]

Those features don't exist for the DVR I have but they do for other models, particularly Tivos.

If I lived in Europe and commuted to work by metro, I could see the value of watching recordings on a PMP. But the other option that is available is Sling Box.

I prefer to watch HD recordings on my HDTV anyways.

The other thing is the business model here is more rental, specifically from the service providers. You can buy Tivos as standalones and use them for cable and over the air channels but Tivos cost more upfront and per month.

The DBS and cable providers, as inducements for you to stay with their service, give you DVRs with less upfront costs and on DirectTV, just $6 a month, regardless of how many DVRs you have. But the Tivo programming guide alone is $13 a month!

For this PS3 DVR, you have to spend $500 plus whatever the tuner module would cost. Then you have less storage than DVRs you get for less unfront money. Of course you don't get gaming and Blu-Ray with other DVRs but if you're mainly interested in TV, you're going to go for lower cost.

 

[Zassk]

But can you watch the recorded shows away from home with a portable media device, or schedule the recordings from wherever there's a WiFi spot with any existing PVR?

Well, this is what Slingbox gives you, isn't it? Only it works for all TV sources and all mobile devices, not just OTA and PSP. I'll be curious as to the relative cost of the PlayTV box vs. Slingbox.

 

[patsu]

For this PS3 DVR, you have to spend $500 plus whatever the tuner module would cost. Then you have less storage than DVRs you get for less unfront money. Of course you don't get gaming and Blu-Ray with other DVRs but if you're mainly interested in TV, you're going to go for lower cost.

Are you sure the tuner module will cost $500+ ? Ah... ok, I see what you mean. The solution would be mainly for people interested in gaming, high def movies, and PVR. It will become increasingly more attractive as the price drops and HDD size increases.

Storage on PS3 is easily upgradable at low cost too (unlike many CE devices). The downside may be the UI.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Even if it recorded premium and cable or DBS content, I don't see the appeal.

My Direct TV HR20 has a 250 GB drive and has dual tuners. It's very quiet, much quieter than the PS3.

It also costs an additional $300! Do you not see the appeal of simple PVR for people who currently use VHS and have or want a games console and can't really stretch to a separate PVR too?

Otherwise, a dull show. Download title sales look low to me, and perhaps the idea of cheap software isn't as viable as many hoped? Admittedly some of those titles aren't 'mainstream', but Calling All Cars has managed 30k in Europe (these are Europe only sales, right?). At £5 a pop, that's...okay, $300k. That's probably not bad. Once PS3 actually gets a userbase...

GPS on PSP sounds like, finally, it'll be worth having. One friend who bought a PSP 18 months ago did so intending to use it's GPS adaptor... Will make PSP the ideal GeoCacheing toy! Well, if the batteries last. What's the drain using GPS going to be?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's a very different industry in the EU. Most households only get terrestrial TV. Of those that get cable, PVR hasn't been included up until recently. So you have two choices of 'cable' supplier, with Sky+ at £100 installation, or Virgin's new clone at whatever price that is. PVR of terrestrial requires a standalone box.

 

[joker454]

Storage on PS3 is easily upgradable at low cost too (unlike many CE devices).

It's easier to upgrade the Directv hd-dvr. Just plug in any external 750gb esata drive and it uses it automatically. Some of the other features mentioned apparently are coming as well, such as the ability to share programs between all the Dircetv hd-dvr's in a household. Filling a house with hd-dvr's is fairly cheap, especially since you can just call and bitch at Directv and fairly easily get one or even two for free. Filling a house with ps3's is another matter entirely.

Not sure the dvr on console thing will ever be cost effective. They are fighting a losing battle there because they have to jam all kinds of tech into a game console, hence making them expensive and not very feasible in multi tv households. For someone like Directv this is simple to do though because their boxes are relatively cheap to begin with, and since they are already getting a monthly revenue stream from people so they can afford to keep giving away the boxes cheap.

Kudos for them trying it, but I can't see how they will ever compete with the tv channel providers in that realm.

 

[patsu]

Agree with your points but the angle is different. In my view, it is a mistake to look at a product feature by feature. It's the total package that closes a deal.

On PS3, PVR is an additional feature. It saves a PS3 owner money. It is more relevant to people who play console games. As the hardware falls in pricces, it will gain in audience. If people are looking for PVR only, then clearly they have to evaluate their needs against a plethora of standalone PVR offerings.

My comment about hard disk upgrade is in reference to older TiVo models. XMB includes backup and restore tools to save me trouble (Not sure about your HD PVR here).

Where service is concerned, I terminated my cable and DirectTV subscriptions long ago. Today I rely on OTA TV, radio and the Internet for extensive local and world news (Netflix/Blockbusters/Hollywood for movies). My friend is a Dish Network subscriber with a TiVo, but has recently got hooked on Blu-ray and MotorStorm.

I am sure we can find a bundled PVR from various providers these days, but this does not mask the fact that a PS3 is still a very viable solution for us (should it has PVR capability). We also don't have to change the PVR config should we change provider. e.g., He's looking to jump back to DirectTV again.

Moving forward, I'm more concerned with my Home network integration (e.g., Getting DLNA/SMB/iTunes server and other configs to work with my existing investments). My ideal solution is still a network storage (instead of a eSATA/Firewire 800 box which I already have).

Implementing a seamless set of service and components is non-trvial these days. Current PS3 DLNA compatibility still left much to be desired. My Windows PC bombed with advanced media capability. I am on a Mac (also running Parallels VM) now. So I hope, as I mentioned above, Sony continue to work on PS3 media capability to expand my options.

I also travel often. So RemotePlay is a godsent. In this area, PS3 works beautifully (Total set up time=under 1 minute).

My extended familes overseas also look forward to updated media about my young son every month. I am eyeing Sony's PS Home environment to see if I can easily export/share media via the web.

All in all, I think PS3 represents an interesting and viable option at this early stage. Sony still has plenty of holes to cover. They also have time to negotiate with the providers for subsidized subscriptions (i.e., The same deal for standalone can work for PS3 too). I believe MS has an existing contract with one of the providers.

 

[Zassk]

I also travel often. So RemotePlay is a godsent. In this area, PS3 works beautifully (Total set up time=under 1 minute).

I don't understand why you wouldn't already be all over Slingbox if this is the case. It would seem to be the superior solution and at a low entrance fee.

 

[patsu]

I don't understand why you wouldn't already be all over Slingbox if this is the case. It would seem to be the superior solution and at a low entrance fee.

Because I play games also ? I take MGS AC!D, LocoRoco and MGS Portable Ops on trips with me.

I considered a Slingbox earlier on but decided to wait to see if the company survive. After my iPod broke, I got a PSP (which also plays my music files) and the rest is history. It depends on your point of view what a superior solution is. We tried many options considering our digital needs, but none of them are perfect. I chose the combination that gave me the most and best coverage at the least cost.

 

[pipo]

It's a very different industry in the EU. Most households only get terrestrial TV.

I'm not so sure about that.

 

[joker454]

We also don't have to change the PVR config should we change provider. e.g., He's looking to jump back to DirectTV again.

Fair enough, I guess we'll have to see this play out. Regarding what I quoted above, I figure every provider has a different encoding scheme and/or interface to their data stream, so some kind of external box will be needed for each provider. Using DirecTV as the example, from what I understand they have been relatively resistant to piracy lately. I wonder how receptive they would be to providing an external "interface" box to Sony to get their service to work on say a PS3 dvr. You'd think that would potentially open them up to piracy a bit more since I imagine every hacker will be examining said decoder box in extreme detail.

Aside from that, DirecTV is pretty hardcore about providing their own hardware (they've been trying to cut ties with Tivo for example) so I don't even think they would consider providing an external decoder box to Sony (or anyone else really), especially when they could/will be competing with Sony at some point when Sony starts offering downloadable movies.

 

[patsu]

Doesn't TiVo distribute Windows software to transfer files to and out of the box ? Does it work for DirectTV TiVo as well ?

PS3 is a closed box environment. Sony is free to implement whatever DRM scheme it deems fit. So as long as the financial terms are attractive, it should be possible to work out some sort of policies amicable to both parties (actually 3 parties, including the consumers).

 

[Arwin]

I'm not so sure about that.

In the U.K. it's different, more like 50/50. In the Netherlands however it's more like 90/10, or maybe even 95/5. I have digital cable tv for instance, and I get hundreds of channels on it in very good quality. There's going to be differences across Europe, but I do think the majority would be on cable.

 

[one]

PlayTV live demo
http://kotaku.com/gaming/clips/play-tv-on-ps3-explained-292541.php

 

[Arwin]

PlayTV live demo
http://kotaku.com/gaming/clips/play-tv-on-ps3-explained-292541.php

I must say, it looks awesome. Would be great if our PS3 could become the device that can handle what our current digital cable device is doing now, because for one it looks like the interface is tonnes faster. Not to mention the option to hook up my PSP remotely, obviously.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

In the U.K. it's different, more like 50/50. In the Netherlands however it's more like 90/10, or maybe even 95/5. I have digital cable tv for instance, and I get hundreds of channels on it in very good quality. There's going to be differences across Europe, but I do think the majority would be on cable.

Do you get PVR's thrown in with your cable services? Is that the norm for Europe? Perhaps it's just the UK that's backwards in that respect and I'm behind the times!