Play tv

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Is it any good? I like the sound of it but the hardware looks very cheap and nasty. Anyone confirm if it does the job good?
Thanks, Cus

[Stringent]

It does do the job. I don't have one personally, but my friend does. The interface is pretty neat as well. However sometimes it doesn't always record the program, or it stalls in the middle of recording it. It didn't happen a lot though, and there has been a 1.02 update for it ironing out some bugs. At £50 to make your PS3 into a PVR why not?

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Yeah it does sound quite cool, but i ain't willing to pay £50 for it TBH! I am being a skin flint and trying to get one for around the 30 quid mark from flea bay. Seems to be plenty of them for sale on there so i guess a lot of folk have been a bit disappointed with it or have just got bored with Freeview TV

[Figroll]

Its good if you don't have free view built into your TV, i have it but don't use because i can do PIP with the inbuilt free view in my TV.

[HSK]

^ which TV do you have?

[roorooroo]

It does the job just fine..excellent interface and guide..very smooth. Stock up on hard drive space though as recording do takes up a lot of space. (1 movie approx 4.5gb).

[jamena]

I got my ps3 largely as a media frontend / blue-ray player. Picked up a playtv unit in-store for either £40 or £50 - there used to always be a deal somewhere. Works well, and has recorded and sorted everything I've asked it to. Interface seems pretty good, although I sometimes forget which button on the controller does what (I really should get one of the remote controls!). The freeview picture seems very crisp and I only notice the occasional stutter, which could of course just be down to signal "blips". I guess if you're an avid tv-watcher and recordings-hoarder you'll need more harddrive space but for a few shows it's just great (think I have about 5 movies I keep meaning to watch taking up room!).

As a bonus Sony E are bringing out a phone (Sony Aino I think?) imminently that should interface with the ps3, and playtv in particular (rumours even suggest you might be able to log in to it over the 'net and stream the playtv picture back to the phone!). I happen to be thinking about getting a new phone...

[Figroll]

i have a cheap tesco tekenia or something, i can't remember how u spell it but it does the job rightly

[HSK]

I need to get my self a LCD screen! or LED? as it seems a few more are popping up now. I still don't have HD :$

[pigmond]

I cant believe they didnt build in the freeview tuner into the new slimmer ps3 it is about the only thing it lacks. I think for the small increase in production costs it would have been another reason for people to buy the ps3 over the other consoles. I havent used one but i would like one but when you can pick up a digi box for about 20 quid, 50 seems a bit steep and especially now when the they are launching hd freeview in october.

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Originally Posted by pigmond

I cant believe they didnt build in the freeview tuner into the new slimmer ps3 it is about the only thing it lacks. I think for the small increase in production costs it would have been another reason for people to buy the ps3 over the other consoles. I havent used one but i would like one but when you can pick up a digi box for about 20 quid, 50 seems a bit steep and especially now when the they are launching hd freeview in october.

They were looking for things to cut from it not add something that would have lumped another £30 on to the asking price of the new console. As folks have mentioned in this thread freeveiw is standard with most new TV's so the fact is most casual gamers would not see it as a plus point, they would just see the higher price tag. A problem sony have had since day1 of the PS3. All the cool things it has going for it but the casuals were just not happy until it reached that magic £250 mark and now they are flying off the shelves.

[pigmond]

Yeah agreed but to intergrate it would only Have cost a few pounds per unit, and would have been another one over the xbox and wii, it could have made it a true home entertainment hub, you are right most tv's have freeview but this would have made it a standalone pvr which I think would help people justify the price over the wii and xbox, as let's face it the truely price sensitive would get an xbox or wii anyway. I would be interested to know if Sony have plans for a HD version when BBC HD etc is launched on freeview in October I assume current play tv can not do HD?

[Tina2009]

since it has deficient ,why not make another choice? buy new one ,it also has good sound

[Figroll]

Not everyone wants a tv tuner in their ps3 anyway, ps3 already has too much extra stuff to bump up the price!

[khalabuth]

play tv is cheap in tesco and argos i think its 39.99 if anyone wants it

[MJBrooky]

PlayTV user here - been using it now for a good 6 months, mainly for recording MotoGP. Simple to use, nice layout / presentation of menus - definately worth it if your after a pvr but don't want another bulky box sitting under your tv. Need to upgrade the hdd though 40gb is no way near enough space