[Review] PlayTV

By Scazza
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Scazza

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Posted (edited)

So I picked up PlayTV for my PlayStation 3 today. I paid ?69.99 for it from GAME (it was the only place that I could find the thing?!).

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Any way, whilst I was at work I had a browse through the Manual ect......and I was looking forward to setting it up when I got home.

The Decision>

First of all I bought PlayTV because I spend most of my time when I am at home in my room as I have everything in there. My HDTV, PS3, 360 ect.... I will go downstairs to watch football on Sky Sports or for food.

We have Sky+ downstairs, but it is usually being used by my parents recording and watchign what ever they want, so I usually end up missing out things I want to watch.

So I needed something that I would be able to use to record my favourite TV Shows and this was reasonably priced and I can upgrade my PS3's HD.

The Purchase>

For in my room I have very little space (see photo below). So I wanted something that was small and wouldn't take up much room on my desk.

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So looking at other PVR's on the market I would be looking at having a bulky box sat in the middle between my PS3 and 360 which I really didnt want.

Now there are so many PVR's out there and they all range in price, now I paid ?69.99 for PlayTV and I plan on buying a 320GB (?40-50) so all in I maybe spending around ?110 for the PVR Experience via my PS3. Quickly looking on Google for a 320GB PVR I found that I would be looking at around ?200 which is money I wasnt looking to spend.

I have a PS3 already so why not make even more use of it I thougUnpacking/Initial Thoughtss

It comes in a box and is packed neatly, infact when you take it out you can actually put it back in there with out forcing it in.

So what is inside the box?

- Play TV BluRay Disc.

- PlayTV Tuner

- USB Cable (A - Mini B)

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The PlayTV Tuner is very light and tiny, it just sits next to my PlayStation 3. I wouldn't like to drop it, step on it or throw it because I am pretty sure it could break. (No Im not going try it).

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Inside the BluRay Case you get an overlay which is a sticker that sticks on to the PlayStation 3 BluRay Remote so you know how to use the remote when using it with PlayTV.

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Unfortunately I don't have the BluRay Remote so I am unable to use Installationn

Pop the BluRay into the PS3 and select PlayTV under the Game Section of the XMB.

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This will then load up and play you an Installation Video which unfortunately you cannot skip, you have to sit and watch the video go on about what PlayTV can do.

Once the video is completed it will bring up a status bar showing 94% of the installation is left.

Installation hits 100% and the PS3 will then verifies the PlayTV data.

We then have a 10 step set-up guide.

1. Welcome

Basically hit the X to continue.

2. Select Your Location.

Asks you to select where you are, you chose from UK, France, Spain, Italy or Germany.

3. Connect Aerial to PlayTV Tuner.

Do as it says.

4. Connect Mini USB to PlayTV Tuner.

Do as it says.

5. Connect USB to PS3.

Do as it says.

6. PS3 Detects the PlayTV Tuner.

7. Signal Check / Channel Search

The PS3/PlayTV Tuner will now search for the channels. My signal strength varied between 84-75%.

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8. Signal/Channel Results

I receive 89 Channels: 56TV, 26 Radio, 7 Others.

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9. Do you want to be able to Record Live TV whilst playing a BluRay game or watching a BluRay Movie?

Select Yes or No.

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10. Please Restart PS3.

Do it.

Once restarted the XMB now has a TV Section.

p><p>The XMB can be used whilst PlayTV i

So key points of the interface to look out.

1. Main Menu

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There are 7 options on the Main Menu when you load into PlayTV.

1. Live TV - Explains it's self really.

2. Library - This is where all your Recordings are stored. Go here to export to the Video Section of the XMB.

3. Schedule - This is where you view and manage your Recording Schedules.

4. Settings - Configure your PlayTV Tuner, such as Favourites, Parental Lock, Screen Size, Subtiles & Audio Settings.

5. Manual - A copy of the Manual found in the BluRay Case.

6. Find & Record - Does what it says on the time. Find a Programe and Set Manual Timers.

7. Guide - Your TV Guide.

So lets have a look at the guide.

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Like I said before it looks good, its set out like any Freeview Guide is but it looks modern. It has a gradient over the current time/program to show how far in the program is which is a nice touch.

It shows how much Space you have left on your Hard Drive in the PS3 which is good too, mine is currently sat at 11.2GB Available.

It has a one touch record button (button) so highlight the program you want to record, hit select and it will set that program to record.

You use the L2 and R2 buttons to view the guide - or + 1 day. L1 and R1 to go up or down the page of channels. Square to view all channels or just your Favourites.

It also has the highlighted program details so it will tell you what the program is about, its running time and the channel it is on. Also todays Time & Date is displayed tPicture Qualityy

Straight to the point, I can notice a slight improvement on my standard Built In Samsung Freeview (Using HDMI with my PS3). This can only be seen in new programs, so when I was watching an old episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S the picture quality was the same as the Built In Samsung Freeview, but when HollyOaks (a recently recorded program) was on the picture quality was slightly improved (see picture below).

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I am interested to see what Live Sports will look like as the pictures I saw posted on Stuff Magazine's website of PlayTV showing the Olympics on BBC1 looked also Library/Recordingg

Recording is easy and as it is a dual tuner you can record and watch a different channel at the same time. So once you record something it will then end up in the Library.

The PS3 will indeed record from Stand By mode, so you can set all your Recordings in the Schedule section, shut down the PS3 (keep it in Stand By Mode with the red light on) and go out. The PS3 will then turn on and start recording the scheduled programs.

Its interface is the same as the Guide just a different colour scheme. You can arrange recordings by date, channel, title.

If you wish to move a Recording to the Video Section of the XMB you select Options and then Move to Home Menu. This little takes 10 seconds to move the file.

Example:

I recorded an Episode of Scrubs (30 Mins) on E4. I select to move it to the Home Menu.

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So I leave PlayTV and there is my file sat in the Video Section of the XMB.

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I can copy it to a storage device but this needs to connected to the PS3.

When you hit Triangle and select Information this is what is displayed.

The file type is M2TS, the codec is MPEG-2 2.6Mbps and the 30 Minute File weighs in at 593mb.

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Once you have Moved the File to the Home Menu it is then removed from the PlayTV LibraConclusionn

So what do I think overall?

Overall I am impressed with PlayTV, I am happy I have bought it as I know it will get alot of use. I have missed programs on several occassions because I dont set the Sky+ Box. Now I can just do it all in my bedroom for shows such as My Name Is Earl, Family Guy, Match of The Day and alot lot more.....

The way PlayTV is presented via its interface is very modern and most importantly very easy to navigate. To be able to export recordings from the Library I do like, if I have a USB HDD hooked up to the PS3 I can also move and keep files there instead of clogging up my PlayTV Library or my Video XMB Section.

I look forward to purchasing a bigger HD as my 60GB isn't going to last long.

It will be interesting to see what Sony do with PlayTV in the future especially when HD Broadcasting becomes more popular.

But for now, if you need a PVR, short of space or dont want an ugly PVR player sitting around then PlayTV is an ideal purchase especially if you get a nice 320GB or even 500GB HDD for your PS3.

If you have a PVR or Sky+ which you use, your not gonna need this, but for people like me it is an ideal purchase and one I am happy of makiOverall Scoree 9/10

Edited by Scazza
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Grand Master

jerzdawg

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Posted
Ummm, good question lol.

I really can't remember the model number unfortunately. I bought it about a year ago.......and was pretty new when I got it.

I would look but dont really wanna take it down off the wall at the moment :)

its cool... there should be a sticker on the right side of the panel with the model #... but not a big deal.

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Scazza

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Yeh great review mate, been tempted to get one of these, shame it dont have topup tv support for my setanta ;)

I duno about that.

I have a Setanta Sports Channel and.....TopUp Anytime Channels 1 - 4.......I dont have TopUp TV or anything but it may work????

But it may not....just stating what is there.

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Grand Master

DrCheese

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Not possible for it to work with the pay channels, it would need a CAM slot which it doesn't have.

It's a nice piece of kit, but the EPG is missing the ability to sort by content type(going by the demo), eg even on my previous cheapo freeview box I could set it to show "All films in the next 24 hours"

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Grand Master

+Audioboxer Subscriber²

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Do you HAVE to plug the playTV adapter into the aerial socket? Or is there no inbuilt areal in the adapter?

99% sure you have to.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Grand Master

+Audioboxer Subscriber²

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Just picked this up off ShopTo for ?59 delivered.

Should get it tomorrow:))

Also grabbed a 320GB WD for ?49 delivered, and the Sony PS3 remote for ?14 delivered.

edit: Quick question. I know you can pause LiveTV and it buffers whilst you do, what I want to know is when you have finished watching and actually go back to "live TV", does it delete the cache? Or do you do that manually?

This is what I'm talking about

However, the length of time you are allowed to pause a live broadcast is limited to the space in your hard drive. The live broadcast is cached into the hard drive while you are paused, enabling you to watch what you might have missed on traditional broadcast system. You will need around 2GB to store an entire film of broadcast, or 0.5GB for a 30 minute TV show.
Edited by Audioboxer
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