PlayTV is Sony's latest attempt to turn the PlayStation 3 into an all-in-one home entertainment system. Due for release in Europe on September 19, the package comprises a simple device that connects to a standard aerial, and software that decodes the digital TV signals. The result is a method of watching and recording live TV via your PlayStation 3, and a way of watching from all over the world via a PlayStation Portable.
We managed to get our hands on PlayTV ahead of its release, and while it has some weaknesses, we were impressed with what this 90-euro (£70) package has to offer. Here's our breakdown of the hardware and software, and what it all allows you to do.
PlayTV Hardware
The packaging for our press kit differs slightly from the retail package, but its contents are exactly the same. It contains the PlayTV box, a USB cable to connect to your console, and a software disc which installs to your hard drive. The PlayTV box is about the size of a glasses case, which seems excessively big--equivalent tuners for the PC and Mac are not much larger than a USB memory stick. The construction of the box is light and plastic, and its matte finish is at odds with the glossy PlayStation 3 exterior. Luckily, the supplied USB cable is long enough for you to tuck the box round the back of the console, and no other power source is needed to power the device.
The only thing missing from the package is an aerial antenna splitter--we imagine a lot of people will want to leave their TV connected to an aerial when they know they don't want to record anything. Finally, there's also an overlay sticker for the official Sony Blu-ray Disc Remote Control, which adds tags for the guide and recording features not present on the original remote.
PlayTV Software
Disclaimer: The PlayTV software we used was not final. Sony let us know that there wouldn't be any major software upgrades or changes between our test time and release, but there was a chance that any bugs we encountered could be ironed out by the time PlayTV ships.While the hardware may be disappointingly plain, the PlayTV software is beautifully engineered. As soon as you pop the disc in, a short, snappy video launches to introduce you to the features and setup procedures. The system software then installs 450MB of total data--it's a sizeable memory footprint, but the installation allows you to launch PlayTV from the Xross Media Bar without the disc.
Once it's installed, the program walks you through a 10-step setup process to set language, country, and system settings before scanning for available channels. The scanning process is the longest stage of the setup, taking around two minutes, but our unit managed to pick up all the available channels on its first go. Your results may vary depending on area and aerial type--in the UK, head over to this site to check your coverage.
The final part of the setup is permitting the system to record programmes while you're playing PlayStation 3 games or Blu-ray/DVD movies. The system warns you that performance may be affected if you enable this feature, but in our tests we found no detrimental effects from performing either function. There are occasional hiccups if you move to the XMB while watching live TV, but you'll find no effect on the recording. A more important decision is whether or not you want to buffer all live TV as you're watching--a feature that allows you to rewind all the way back to the moment you started viewing. This feature is disabled by default--a decision Sony's Mark Bunting told us reduces the amount of strain placed on the internal hard drive over time.
The software takes a while to load up, at somewhere around the 25-second mark. All said, though, PlayTV is easy to navigate and gorgeously presented. While it doesn't have the power or the features of the Sky+ system, it's certainly one of the best Freeview interfaces that we've seen.
Watching Live TV
The default option in PlayTV is to watch live TV, which presents whatever's being broadcast at that point in time. You can navigate through the channels using a DualShock3 or Sixaxis controller, both of which work well, but the Blu-Ray remote control is a more efficient way of jumping between channels.
When watching TV, you can hit pause at any moment, leave the room, and come back where you left off. You can also record any programme as you're watching it, and it will automatically be stored with its title and information in the library. Once it's recording, you can change channels and watch something else (although you can't record the second channel).
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