The Sony Torne is a digital tuner and recorder for terrestrial television broadcasts for the PS3. It makes the PS3 a DVR with full tunning and scheduling capabilities. The Torne device is USB, and has enough number crunching power to record shows even while you’re gaming or playing PS3. What’s cool is that your recorded media can even be dumped to a memory stick and played on your PSP. It will cost 9,980 yen, or roughly $100, when it is launched in March.
And seeing as how recording HD content takes plenty of space, Sony has announced a new PS3 pack. PlayStation 3 Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Recorder Pack doesn’t roll off the tongue, but it will contain a PS3 with a 250GB hard drive as well as the tuner. This pack hits shelves in Japan in March for about 42,800 yen.
I would love DVR functionality in my PS3. I remember back in the day when Sony was in talks with Tivo. Too bad nothing ever came of that.
- Easy to use interface
Applying the expertise acquired from game development, “torne” offers user friendly interface, allowing users to swiftly and intuitively operate the application using DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller*2. Users will be able to search through the electronic TV program guides or play back recorded content comfortably as if they were playing games.
The colorfully designed 24 hour TV program guide can be zoomed in or out by pressing L1/R1 buttons, allowing users to easily find and select their favorite TV programs by a simple touch of a button. - ● Recording and playing back
TV program search function on “torne” application can sort the TV programs by genre or by keywords and will instantly list up the corresponding TV programs for users to simply select and record out of the list. Additionally, “torne” will automatically start recording pre-programmed content even when the PS3 system is in Stand-by mode or when users are playing games or using the application on the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) such as the Blu-ray/DVD player*3. Users can also connect external HDD*4 via USB cable to record TV programs directly on to the external storage instead of on the HDD of the PS3 system. Additional useful features include quick playback and scene search for viewing recorded TV programs. - ● Connectivity with PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
Seamless connectivity with PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) allows users to transfer recorded TV programs to its Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (Mark2)/Memory Stick Micro™ for high quality viewing on the go*5. By using the Remote Play feature of the PS3 system, users at home*6 can connect on to their PS3 system using their PSP and remotely access the application to view or record TV programs. - ● Various Online features
“torne” also offers online functionalities, such as the Internet browser which can be used simultaneously with the application, and unique “Toru-Miru feature” which can display the number of users who have pre-programmed the TV programs*7 through “torne” as well as the user trend of which program is being most watched.
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