Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayTV PS3 PVR apparently has been ...
Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayTV PS3 PVR apparently has been delayed in Europe, for undisclosed reasons. The device, shown lasat summer at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, was to ship early in 2008 in the U.K., France, Italy, Germany…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
and Spain early, with other PAL territories following “in due course,” SCE Europe said then (CED Aug 23 p1). But the device has not shipped, nor has the company announced a launch date or price. The holdup may involve technical issues with codecs related to PlayTV’s ability to record HD channels, according to published reports. SCEE wasn’t immediately available for comment. Amazon.com’s U.K. Web site indicated Monday that release isn’t expected until Oct. 31. No price was given, but published reports said the site earlier listed the device for 59.99 pounds, almost $119, down from 80 pounds, about $158, with a July 31 release. The PlayTV twin-channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software will turn Sony’s console into a “state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV,” the company said in August. It said the two TV tuners will be HD-ready and allow viewing, recording and playback of HD signals in 1080p. PlayTV users will be able to record individual programs or whole series to the PS3 hard drive for viewing later on a TV or for transfer to a PSP, it said. The device will run on the DVB-T format, widely available in Europe, and use a seven-day electronic program guide, Sony said. The seven-day guide is expected to be possible only in the U.K. and Germany at first. SCE America hasn’t announced a similar offering for North America. Separately, Sony was listed as the ninth most innovative company worldwide by BusinessWeek, behind Apple (No. 1), Microsoft (No. 5) and Nintendo (No. 7). Sony finished just ahead of No. 10 Nokia, No. 11 Amazon.com, No. 12 IBM and No. 13 Research In Motion.