Sony's PlayTV DVR for PS3 delayed to September 19th

Er, you know that September 10th, €99 (about £78) PlayTV launch announced by David Reeves? Well, turns out that the Sony Europe president jumped the gun or the product's been dragged through a trough of delay. Whatever the case, Sony Europe told Eurogamer that the PS3 TV tuner / DVR add-on will launch on the 19th of September now and cost a bit less at just 70 Quid. It's also said to be HD ready should local DVB-T broadcasters decide to throw that switch.

[Via PS3 Fanboy, thanks Jimb]

[Raheem @ Aug 13th 2008 8:10AM]

A Sony product delayed? Say it ain't so!

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Aug 13th 2008 8:47AM]

A press release detailing the reasons behind the date being pushed back was expected for 8:30AM, but was temporarily shelved for undisclosed reasons.

[dazepro @ Aug 13th 2008 9:54AM]

I would rather a product be delayed than put out something that isn't working correctly. Looks like Apple could take a few pointers.

[Temple @ Aug 13th 2008 10:49AM]

So it was delayed 9 days; big whoop.

[Raheem @ Aug 13th 2008 1:31PM]

dazepro, that's so very true. Good point.

[From My Cube @ Aug 13th 2008 8:11AM]

Sony has really missed a lot of deadlines with the PS3 for Euro. First the console was pushed back, home was/is delayed and now this...while only a few days off it still attributes to sony's credibility

[slarity @ Aug 13th 2008 8:12AM]

U.S.A Please!

[Phil Perman @ Aug 13th 2008 8:29AM]

Sure, you can have it. Probably wouldn't be much use due to DVB-T not being broadcast over on your side of the pond, but the box will look pretty nice

[slarity @ Aug 13th 2008 10:41AM]

Ya they would have to redesign it slightly, I understand that. I just would love to use the PS3 as a DVR.

[John @ Aug 13th 2008 8:20AM]

Sony has what, 3 things in development for PS3 that we know of? Maybe they should focus on working on things instead of on announcing them.

[Steve @ Aug 13th 2008 8:33AM]

Sadly most European countries are likely to use DVB-T2 for HD via terrestrial, not the 10 year old DVB-T system that the BBC, ITV,C4 and Five trailled in London in 2006 (and the Beeb continued with for a further 6 months).

SVT in Sweden are the only current DVB-T HD broadcaster in Europe AIUI, and I hear they are planning to switch this to a nationwide VHF DVB-T2 single frequency network quite soon? Australia is running a full DVB-T HD network - but they selected their HD standard 10 years ago...

As the DVB-T2 standard has only just been ratified, and production silicon (which is not something you can do a software upgrade on) is not yet available for DVB-T2 demodulation, I think the Play-TV will be DVB-T only, and thus SD only in most of Europe.

[gooftroop @ Aug 13th 2008 8:48AM]

I think you are wrong, the United Kingdom is the ONLY country that has given a firm commitment to the DVB-T2 standard so it could wind up being a UK only thing, Ofcom and broadcasting services have agreed to 'set aside' one of the multiplex's for DVB-T2 transmissions and can broadcast HD transmissions on both DVB-T and DVB-T2, when the BBC started their HD trials they managed it fine on DVB-T systems, many people were able to receive it fine on DVB-T only receivers who weren't in the trial.

There were several articles about the PlayTV development and I remember a few interview with the team saying they had spent lots of time (weeks) with Ofcom, DTV Services Ltd, the BBC HD team, ITV/Ch4/Ch5 with regards to the planning and specification of the PlayTV hardware, DVB-T2 wasn't dreamed up overnight so if all these sources of information told them they are all going to use DVB-T2 only I'm sure they would have taken that into account.

[avester @ Aug 13th 2008 8:55AM]

Damn digital TV scam, we got nothing new for buying those boxes, and to get HD, you need to buy a new box, money that is wasted even on the providers end by offering crappy shows.

[Das Boot @ Aug 13th 2008 10:00AM]

Sony, sony, sony. Sony prides itself in its excellent quality and brand but when it comes to releasing stuff, they suck. I agree with the person that posted that they needed to stop announcing things then delaying their release. Just dont say anything and the day you release it is the day you should announce it, that way fanboys like me won't get pissed or dissapointed. on another note, I will have to choke a bitch if this new expanded beta testing thing for ps home is delayed or if i am not chosen. I have played burnout paradise online for more than 250 hours. What more do you want from me sony? my soul?

[cub3 @ Aug 13th 2008 11:30AM]

Man i cant wait for hackers to take over this thing and allow us to stream everything in our computers to the ps3. I know you could already do this, but is just not the same.

[Jake @ Aug 13th 2008 1:55PM]

Slow news day, or pathetic editor?


Arn't you embarrassed about your constant PS3 hating by now?

[Pepsipoint @ Aug 13th 2008 2:02PM]

hmm.

Are not you embarrassed about your constant PS3 hating by now? is what you just typed.

Sony's reply:
No we be not upset 'bout nuttin.

[fuzzymemo @ Aug 13th 2008 2:30PM]

so the world is ending on Sept. 10th with the Hordon and yet no PlayTV to make the last day on Earth a little bit enjoyable. thanks a whole bunch Sony.

[Tavis Booth @ Aug 16th 2008 6:12PM]

YAY, On my Birthday :D

[andrew @ Sep 17th 2008 10:02AM]

play.com showing in stock now

[Rubber131186 @ Sep 18th 2008 3:25PM]

Play tv is DVB-T not DVB-T2 but it can still pick up HD if they broadcast it using the old standard DVB-T.
here is a link to an article by the magazine stuff

http://stuff.tv/Review/Sony-PlayTV/

Missing hi-def?
And on that subject: when first mooted, PS3 was supposed to offer high-definition viewing and recording capability. So what happened? Initially, its delayed launch was supposed to take account of DVB-T2, the recently ratified broadcast specification that will enable free-to-air digital terrestrial television.

But the finished PlayTV box sports DVB-T badges, with no mention of that all-important ‘2’. Sony has murmured of a future downloadable upgrade to enable HD recording in the future, but whether that’s technically possible is another thing altogether.