Sony has confirmed a number of the new features that will be added to its PlayTV service - and also suggested it will be charging for the new features.

When asked by a user if the update would be free PlayStation Network Product Manager, James Thorpe, replied the update will be available 'on PS Store at a reasonable price'.

Currently those in possession of the PlayTV hardware can pause, record free-to-air digital TV on your PS3 and access these features from a PSP or VAIO laptop.

Sony's upcoming update will add a number of significant changes to the service. The biggest of these new features is 'Chat TV', which allows users to text chat with friends while watching TV through an on screen overlay.

The update will also introduce a new premium programme guide, which allows you to plan your TV viewing a week in advance. PlayTV will also be getting a 'Series Link' feature, however this is exclusive to the UK.

Finally, the service's social network integration will be receiving tweaks. Users will now be able to send recommendations to Facebook and PSN friends, as well as access the 'Community Favourites', which lets you see what your friends and the PSN Community are watching.

Sony has said it is 'exploring' Online Pass equivalent for first-party games.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=265723

I kinda think catch-up TV, endless repeats, Freeview in TVs and so on makes this more irrelevant as time goes on

Do. Not. Want.

Honestly, they bugger about with Facebook integration (why??) and on screen chat - which won't in any way get in the way when you're trying to watch the programme behind it - when what they should be doing is stuff like improving the lamentable start up time and giving us some idea when there'll be a hardware upgrade to Freeview HD.

Paying for this kind of inconsequential crap? Not likely mate.

Yes but with many people using laptops I can see this being useless. Most people I know use the laptop in front of the TV so for them it would be unnecessary to have it on the PS3 as well.

Surely most TVs connected to a PS3 will either have Freeview built in or be connected to a Sky box?

So... ...what they've done is combine a crap, obsolete Freeview PVR with facebook?

This is surely a candidate for "Worst Feature Update Ever".

Not entirely. The PS3 does a very good job of upsampling SD channels for a HD TV. I've got a Freeview TV, a Freeview DVD recorder and the PS3 and the PS3 gives the best picture of the three, especially on channels that have been allocated low bandwidth. Plus the digital teletext is incredibly fast - it's the only platform I've got where it's actually usable. A proper Freeview HD tuner would be better but in fact it's a pretty good 'standard freeview' recorder, just lacking a few useful features like dual tuners. It's just a shame they're mucking about trying to charge people for completely useless updates, rather than doing the things PlayTV users have been telling them they want for months.


You're not far off there.

Jon

All I can hope is that they are updating the hardware with an HD Freeview receiver.

I don't understand where the aerial is supposed to go?

You get a small box - one end plugs into a USB port on the PS3, and the aerial plugs into another port. That’s how it works.