PlayStation 2 gets TiVo-like functions

Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console will gain TiVo-like video functions with software to be announced Monday by two start-ups.

Austin, Texas-based BroadQ is offering Qcast Tuner, software to connect the PS2 with a PC running SnapStream Media's video recording software. Houston-based SnapStream released its Personal Video Station software last year. The program allows a PC connected to a TV signal to record and play back programs using the PC's hard drive, similar to standalone devices such as the TiVo video recorder.

To date, playback of SnapStream programming has been limited to monitors and other devices connected to a PC. But the network adapter Sony released for the PS2 last month finally gives the company a pathway to television sets, SnapStream CEO Rakesh Agrawal said.

Analysts said the concept faces a number of challenges, including a nascent market for using PCs to record television programming. Microsoft is promoting such functions with its upcoming Windows XP Media Center software, but it's likely to be some time before consumers think of PCs as media devices.

News source: C|net