Nintendo DS gets 1seg tuner, too -- watch out PSP

Maybe you know the deal with 1seg, but in case you don't, it's Japan's new(ish) native-brewed broadcast digital TV service technology that devices like the PSP -- and now the Nintendo DS -- are rocking. Granted, we can't help but thinking the way this cartridge is going to jut out the back of one's DS is hardly elegant compared to Sony's much more densely designed solution, but the Japanese obsession with the DS knows no bounds, so godspeed, 'Tendo. This dongle will sell for ¥6800 (about $60 USD) when it goes on sale in Japan on November 20th.

[Via Engadget Japanese and Akihabara News]

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 25th 2007 5:04AM]

That's a pretty dramatic change in the design from when the device was originally revealed. The first iteration was a lot more compact.

[trancer @ Oct 25th 2007 5:15AM]

price is a bit high i think. i'm sure a 2nd (smaller) revision will replace this one.

[Jack @ Oct 25th 2007 5:41AM]

pretty cool, wish there was one for DVB-T in the UK

[Jon @ Oct 25th 2007 6:12AM]

1seg is a mobile version of Japan's ISDB-T digital TV standard. In the UK the mobile equivalent to 1seg would be DVB-H.

[Scooter @ Oct 25th 2007 6:06AM]

Might buy DVB-T when it comes.

[Jon @ Oct 25th 2007 6:07AM]

I love my DS for games, but 256x192 resolution just doesn't cut it to watch telly. If mobile digital tv rocks your boat, a better option will be to get the PSP version, a Sony A910 or a mobile phone with built-in telly (Nokia N77, N92).

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 25th 2007 9:38AM]

Broadcast TV is 480i, though, which is only 240 lines per frame. Going down to 192 isn't too bad, surely?

[Hax Or @ Oct 25th 2007 10:03AM]

I watch DPG movies all the time on my NDS. Shows like the Simpsons work great.

Wide-screen shows like "Arrested Development" look fine for the screen. I use Moonshell to watch DPGs on my R4.

[Jordan @ Oct 25th 2007 6:16AM]

This could cause quite a problem in Japanese mass transit - a bunch of people waving around DS's that have dual 5-inch antennas on them. It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye...

[DickHardknocks @ Oct 25th 2007 7:50AM]

SONY and Nintendo should work with Sirius or SM radio for a device that recieves their BACKSEAT TV.

And as for this model, those antennae aren't going to last 4 weeks in a typical kid's hands.

[AlexP @ Oct 25th 2007 8:01AM]

A lot more useful than Opera.

I can't believe I paid for that thing.

[James @ Oct 25th 2007 8:11AM]

Well, that basically says which 1-seg tuner I'm getting.

I'll get the PSP one thanks. (Rabbit-ears went out a good 20 years ago thankyou)

[James @ Oct 25th 2007 8:14AM]

Oh wait, the PSP one requires that I buy a PSP slim... whatever. I don't watch Japanese TV that much anyway.

[Isindil @ Oct 25th 2007 9:00AM]

Woah, huge!
Give me a cartridge with antennaes, and I'll be happy. This is just too fragile-looking and... ugly. Well atleast they kept it white, and not some sort of cheapish silverish grey.

[James @ Oct 25th 2007 12:59PM]

Umm, most of us don't have white DSes.

Mine is the Navy Blue version.

[Justin @ Oct 25th 2007 11:50AM]

are rocking have.

That's better.

[Jamesology @ Oct 25th 2007 9:16PM]

okay the reason why I used my DS more than my PSP wasnt b/c of the games. It was b/c of the compact design, and this is not compact. Sorry, but the PSP version looked and built better. This is another Nintendo trying to copy Sony and failed.

[Oswin @ Oct 25th 2007 9:28PM]

1-Seg On a DS screen? umm okay...