Playstation will soon become DVR

Thursday, August 23, 2007

PlayStation 3 users in Europe will soon have the ability to record and playback digital TV on their PS3 consoles as well as PSP handhelds.

Sony has unveiled a TV tuner which plugs into the PS3 and turns it into a digital video recorder (DVR).

At a press conference at the Leipzig games show in Germany, Sony highlighted the key multimedia apabilities for both the PS3, as well as the popular PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld console.

PlayTV for PS3 is a twin TV tuner that will launch in early 2008 in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, with other countries to follow.

Recorded TV programs can be streamed over a wireless internet connection to the portable PSP or transferred permanently to the handheld console via a USB cable.

David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said PlayTV would extend the "broad entertainment credentials of PS3".

This is the first time a game console has been given PVR capabilities. Gamers will have access to free channels that are delivered over digital terrestrial.

No price details for the PlayTV tuner were available at this time.