Add on kit to include a DTVB decoder
According to the The Press the online side of a Kiwi newspaper, the PS3 is going to get a DTVB decoder, enabling it to act as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder).Warwick Light, of Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand, said that the PS3 is the most versatile of new gen consoles and can be adapted to fit the future needs of owners with one of them being a DTVB unit. Out in New Zealand digital broadcasts are due to start in March 2008... so there’s plenty of time for Sony to get the decoder ready and out over here.
Light is quoted as saying “We're also hoping next year – about the same time that Freeview launches its terrestrial broadcasting service – to release a digital tuner for the PS3, turning it into a programmable TV recorder,".
For a while now one of my criticisms of the PS3 has been its lack of media connectivity compared to the Xbox 360 and it really does appear that Sony are clawing back the lead the Xbox 360 has on features. With this decoder add-on, Sony are bringing more value to the PS3 which can only help sales which are lagging behind the Xbox 360 and Wii.
It’ll be interesting to see what Sony’s decoder looks like and whether it’s small and discrete enough to make a PS3 the preferred choice over a much cheaper dedicated PVR with freeview built in.
