Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the everyone-loves-tivo dept.
aagha writes "According to this story on CNET's News.com, two Texas companies will offer software to give your PS2, Tivo-like functionality." I'm all for anything that gets more people PVRs or PS2s ;) Course I think the next GTA and Tony Hawk will do more for the cause of the PS2.
It's not exactly turning your PS2 into a Tivo though, they've had software out for a while to allow you to use a PC to record programs, this is merely using the new network adapter for the PS2 to get that content from your PC to your TV screen.
That makes sense. I was wondering how the content would get onto the PS2, as it has no video in, and I don't know of any hardware addon that would add that feature either.
I was also going to comment that PCs are kinda loud with all their fans. But I can hear the PS2 across the room also. I bet I could build a quieter PC (not that I have a fetish for quiet PCs like the/. crew, I think the louder the better, shows you have power.:)
Most of the people I know, myself included, use their PC's in either a study room, or a bedroom. With a PS2 in the lounge next to your TV, you can now run Cat5, or even a wireless network into there, or wherever you keep your PS2 setup and have the functionality of a Tivo.
As with all technology, some will find it useless, some will find it wonderful. IMO, this technology does have the promise which some others just didn't have. (ie, Microsoft Bob, Fee-based file-sharing (at least while Kazaa is around.))
And if you're wondering how to hook the ethernet up to is, check this out.
Out can pretty much have a cable line into your PC in one room, for recording, a powerline network to connect your PC to the PS2 in the other room, and the PS2 hooked up to the TV.
I guess if you are really hardcore, you don't even need a cable line in your TV room. Depends on if you can stream programs as they are going (which I imagine you should be able to). With multiple PS2s, you could use this to have cable in multiple rooms.
The only thing I don't like about this is that I do enjoy being able to leave a game running for a day or so because it doesn't have convinient save spots, while switching over to cable to watch something. I guess the fact that the PVR is recording it makes it so I don't have to switch over, though.
Wouldn't the Harddrive addon be needed for this? i think it would possibly tip over the price of a Tivo on its own, so im thinking whats the point of reinventing the wheel with something that costs more?
--
"What do you mean you have no ice? Do you expect me to drink this coffee hot?" - Random Customer, Clerks
Wouldn't the Harddrive addon be needed for this? i think it would possibly tip over the price of a Tivo on its own, so im thinking whats the point of reinventing the wheel with something that costs more?
The title is a bit misleading. All this software does is that it allows you to stream video(with add-on network adaptor) from a PC and show it on your TV. There is no actual information stored on the system. The PC is the one that does the recording.
The system is more or less a video dumb terminal for your PC.
-- You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
Cool, but....
by
blues5150
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
When I saw this article I thought great PS2 being used as a PVR. Come to find out after reading the article that I need a PC with Snapstream too! Seems ridiculous to have the PS2 even in the mix. Yeah I know that playback on the TV has been an issue with the Snapstream/PC combo, but I'm sure better alternatives top this mongrel can and have been proposed here on Slashdot.
--
Another use...
by
youngerpants
·
· Score: 2, Funny
So, I currently use my PS2 for 1) PS2 Linux 2) DVD Player oh and 3) Playing games
and now its going to be a tivo
I cant wait for the coffee making functionality, mowing the lawn add on and DNA cloning plug in
PS/2 as a solution?
by
lucifuge31337
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I'm using SnapStream. It's problem is not output to a TV, it's lack of an integrated guide feature.
Is PS/2 software and a NIC really a better or even less costly alternative than a video card with an S-VIDEO out? No.
And I _DID_ read the article. This is stupid. It's a poor solution to a "problem" that doesnt' really exist.
I got the image of an 80's model IBM PS/2 with Transformers Armadda being recorded on it!
-- Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
Re: OT :Re:Another use...
by
youngerpants
·
· Score: 4, Funny
go to http://www.linuxplay.com/ and fork out £200 of your hard earnt money
wait 6 months
get kit
discover you dont have a sync-on-green monitor and spend a further £250 for a cheap one
install PS2 linux and discover you have deleted all your saved data from your memory card
easy
TiVo functions != PVR/DVR
by
Sc00ter
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
After reading some comments it seems like this doesn't even make the PS2 a PVR, but just because something records TV shows to a hard drive doesn't give it "TiVo-like functions". It gives it PVR/DVR functions.
TiVo is MUCH more then recording shows to a hard drive. It's got suggestions, season passes, thumbs up/down. This is stuff that ReplayTV doesn't have (well they have the season pass).
Just making sure that you all keep in mind that slapping a TV card in your computer and making it record the simpsons to you hard drive may be cool (and it is) and may make it a PVR, it doesn't come close to what TiVo can do.
Yeah, I mean TIVO will even record programmes that you don't even want to watch!
BBC attacked for TiVo ploy
--
--
This sig is inoffensive.
Micro Channel Architecture finally pays off...
by
dpbsmith
·
· Score: 4, Funny
(Oh, wait, they're talking about some OTHER "PS2.")
(Am I the only one to whom that initialism evokes the memory of the behemoth of personal computers, and the marvellous Micro Channel, with powers beyond imagination waiting to be unlocked by OS/2? Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Now PS2 means a game machine... and DEC, the Dairy Equipment Corporation of Madison Wisconsin, founded in 1947, lives on today, while another company of the same name is but a memory.
Re:Micro Channel Architecture finally pays off...
by
red_dragon
·
· Score: 2
The more anal-retentive amongst us would abbreviate "PlayStation 2" as "PSX2", continuing the usage of "PSX" to refer to "PlayStation" as in the original PSX. The fact that Sony chose to put a big "PS2" logo on the side (top?) of the PSX2 doesn't help, and those who've used PS/2s before (myself included) have a hard time reading "PS2" without associating it with a personal computer line from Big Blue.
-- In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
cool idea but ...
by
Mr_Silver
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
... they're going to have to work on it.
Personally I think a combined DVD player, console and Tivo in one would be a killer. I seriously don't fancy paying out for three items of kit and having three boxes sitting underneath the television.
But, this isn't really Tivo functionality. Hell, I doubt I'd need all the stuff Tivo has, but recording, time stretching, on screen programming and on screen television guides are pretty much a must.
I'll watch the space.
-- Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Snapstream appears to be taken a disproportionant ammount of credit for this. The real news here is the Broadq software which installs as on your PC as a media server which you can access thru a PS2 with a ethernet adapter. Supports MP3, MPEG1,2,4, DivX, and JPEG formats. Server side runs on Linux, Windows, or OS X.
The Snapstream software is just one way to get mediafiles on your server to watch. . . .
Closest Open Source project similar to this VideoLAN
Very true, I have a Tivo so I'm not in the least bit interested in Snapstream, but that broadq software looks AMAZING. Playing all my DivXs on the TV over WiFi, cool:) Only down side? No european version:( I think I'm going to cry.
--
----
Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
True, your Xbox has to be modded to run these, and they're harder to find, but they've been around for some time now.
--
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
I think you guys are missing the point
by
acksion
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I think this software is probably the best example of convergence I've seen in a while. It lets you stream mp3s and divx movies from your PC's hard drive directly to your Playstation2. The PS2 has built in digital out and there is a remote control add on available. They also mention Ogg Vorbis support as a possiblity.
I was already planning on building a HTPC to do the same thing but now I can use my PS2. Imagine how much easier it makes things for other people who don't want to deal with file shares and building a second PC to store all this.
The USB network adapter is connected to the PS2. The network adapter is connected to your home network. This gives the PS2 access to the PC's networked drives which contain the recorded video. The PS2 decodes and outputs the video to your TV.
The only advantage I can see to this vs. using a video card with S-video out would be having a TV in the living room with the PC back in the office. You could have a long run of Ethernet rather than a long run of S-video and audio. Also, I would imagine the PS2 controller would provide the ability to "drive" rather than trying to use some type of IR remote to control your PC that is in another room.
I don't know if a PS2 has an IP stack built in or if it is included in networked games, but games that supported play hook into home networks easily. I have my PS2 hooked into my router and can connect to net to play networked Madden 2003.
So I did something a little weird with my PS2 network connector.
On the place where it plugs into the PS2, there's another pair of holes that line up exactly to a standard IDE hard drive power and data port.
So I plugged in an extra hard drive I had and plugged it in.
Nothing happened.
But...there's no reason why something *can't* happen. We know this system is used in Japan for their hard drive/network connector kit (used in games like Final Fantasy X and XI). So hopefully the folks at Sony will get off their goddamn asses and release the HDD in the US so we can use it for TIVO things like this with just a DVD stuck in the tray.
Then again, they're probably making us wait until the PS3.
Ugh. Get over it! PS2 != PS/2
by
psxndc
·
· Score: 2, Offtopic
I am sooooo tired of seeing the "oh I thought they meant the old computer..." jokes, references whatever. I had a PS/2, I have a PS2. It was funny 3 years ago when SONY was naming the next Playstation. Now it's just as lame as "Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of...". It's old, it's been done, please move on.
...it only breaks 4096 patents, but with special "patent combinations" it can break up to 58,621.
--
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
This doesn't turn a PS2 into a PVR.
by
Animats
·
· Score: 2
This does not turn your Playstation 2 into a Personal Video Recorder. This turns a fast PC with a big hard drive into a PVR. The Playstation 2 is used to interface to a TV set, the Playstation's remote control, and a PC.
You probably need to dedicate a PC to the PVR function, since recording and playback will suck if other loads cause dropped frames. So you've got a PC, a PS2, and some cabling dedicated to the PVR function. This will probably cost more than a TiVo.
And if you have to tie up a PC, you may as well put a video interface card in it and lose the PS2.
It's good that the software is available, though. This has potential for other uses, such as business presentations. Put the TV in the conference room on a PS2 and use it to suck video off a server on the LAN. It can display images one at a time under control of the remote, so you could use it instead of PowerPoint. Plus you can show video. This could be useful for small multimedia shops, where you want to show clips to the customer in a conference-room environment but don't want to dedicate a lot of hardware to that function.
Plus, you can probably get the sales people to learn how to operate the PS2 remote, rather than having them tie up an editing bay with an operator .
The good thing about the Tivo
by
Colin+Smith
·
· Score: 2
Is the schedule service that Tivo provides.
A PC or PS2 which can record TV for me is no more use to me than a VCR.
Slashdot Mirror
Also, I'm sure it breaks at least 65536 patents.
It's not exactly turning your PS2 into a Tivo though, they've had software out for a while to allow you to use a PC to record programs, this is merely using the new network adapter for the PS2 to get that content from your PC to your TV screen.
Why not just buy a gfx card with a TV out?
Wouldn't the Harddrive addon be needed for this? i think it would possibly tip over the price of a Tivo on its own, so im thinking whats the point of reinventing the wheel with something that costs more?
"What do you mean you have no ice? Do you expect me to drink this coffee hot?" - Random Customer, Clerks
When I saw this article I thought great PS2 being used as a PVR. Come to find out after reading the article that I need a PC with Snapstream too! Seems ridiculous to have the PS2 even in the mix. Yeah I know that playback on the TV has been an issue with the Snapstream/PC combo, but I'm sure better alternatives top this mongrel can and have been proposed here on Slashdot.
So, I currently use my PS2 for
1) PS2 Linux
2) DVD Player
oh and 3) Playing games
and now its going to be a tivo
I cant wait for the coffee making functionality, mowing the lawn add on and DNA cloning plug in
I'm using SnapStream. It's problem is not output to a TV, it's lack of an integrated guide feature.
Is PS/2 software and a NIC really a better or even less costly alternative than a video card with an S-VIDEO out? No.
And I _DID_ read the article. This is stupid. It's a poor solution to a "problem" that doesnt' really exist.
Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
I got the image of an 80's model IBM PS/2 with Transformers Armadda being recorded on it!
Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
go to http://www.linuxplay.com/ and fork out £200 of your hard earnt money
wait 6 months
get kit
discover you dont have a sync-on-green monitor and spend a further £250 for a cheap one
install PS2 linux and discover you have deleted all your saved data from your memory card
easy
TiVo is MUCH more then recording shows to a hard drive. It's got suggestions, season passes, thumbs up/down. This is stuff that ReplayTV doesn't have (well they have the season pass).
Just making sure that you all keep in mind that slapping a TV card in your computer and making it record the simpsons to you hard drive may be cool (and it is) and may make it a PVR, it doesn't come close to what TiVo can do.
Free Mac Mini
(Oh, wait, they're talking about some OTHER "PS2.")
(Am I the only one to whom that initialism evokes the memory of the behemoth of personal computers, and the marvellous Micro Channel, with powers beyond imagination waiting to be unlocked by OS/2? Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Now PS2 means a game machine... and DEC, the Dairy Equipment Corporation of Madison Wisconsin, founded in 1947, lives on today, while another company of the same name is but a memory.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Personally I think a combined DVD player, console and Tivo in one would be a killer. I seriously don't fancy paying out for three items of kit and having three boxes sitting underneath the television.
But, this isn't really Tivo functionality. Hell, I doubt I'd need all the stuff Tivo has, but recording, time stretching, on screen programming and on screen television guides are pretty much a must.
I'll watch the space.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Snapstream appears to be taken a disproportionant ammount of credit for this. The real news here is the Broadq software which installs as on your PC as a media server which you can access thru a PS2 with a ethernet adapter. Supports MP3, MPEG1,2,4, DivX, and JPEG formats. Server side runs on Linux, Windows, or OS X.
The Snapstream software is just one way to get mediafiles on your server to watch. . . .
Closest Open Source project similar to this VideoLAN
I think this software is probably the best example of convergence I've seen in a while. It lets you stream mp3s and divx movies from your PC's hard drive directly to your Playstation2. The PS2 has built in digital out and there is a remote control add on available. They also mention Ogg Vorbis support as a possiblity. I was already planning on building a HTPC to do the same thing but now I can use my PS2. Imagine how much easier it makes things for other people who don't want to deal with file shares and building a second PC to store all this.
The USB network adapter is connected to the PS2. The network adapter is connected to your home network. This gives the PS2 access to the PC's networked drives which contain the recorded video. The PS2 decodes and outputs the video to your TV.
The only advantage I can see to this vs. using a video card with S-video out would be having a TV in the living room with the PC back in the office. You could have a long run of Ethernet rather than a long run of S-video and audio. Also, I would imagine the PS2 controller would provide the ability to "drive" rather than trying to use some type of IR remote to control your PC that is in another room.
I don't know if a PS2 has an IP stack built in or if it is included in networked games, but games that supported play hook into home networks easily. I have my PS2 hooked into my router and can connect to net to play networked Madden 2003.
So I did something a little weird with my PS2 network connector.
On the place where it plugs into the PS2, there's another pair of holes that line up exactly to a standard IDE hard drive power and data port.
So I plugged in an extra hard drive I had and plugged it in.
Nothing happened.
But...there's no reason why something *can't* happen. We know this system is used in Japan for their hard drive/network connector kit (used in games like Final Fantasy X and XI). So hopefully the folks at Sony will get off their goddamn asses and release the HDD in the US so we can use it for TIVO things like this with just a DVD stuck in the tray.
Then again, they're probably making us wait until the PS3.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
psxndc
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
The PS2 has Component output, and can support HDTV resolutions.
Where on earth can you get them that cheap?
Jeez - here in the UK they cost £229 (~$350) surely they're not a third of the price in the US?
...it only breaks 4096 patents, but with special "patent combinations" it can break up to 58,621.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
You probably need to dedicate a PC to the PVR function, since recording and playback will suck if other loads cause dropped frames. So you've got a PC, a PS2, and some cabling dedicated to the PVR function. This will probably cost more than a TiVo. And if you have to tie up a PC, you may as well put a video interface card in it and lose the PS2.
It's good that the software is available, though. This has potential for other uses, such as business presentations. Put the TV in the conference room on a PS2 and use it to suck video off a server on the LAN. It can display images one at a time under control of the remote, so you could use it instead of PowerPoint. Plus you can show video. This could be useful for small multimedia shops, where you want to show clips to the customer in a conference-room environment but don't want to dedicate a lot of hardware to that function. Plus, you can probably get the sales people to learn how to operate the PS2 remote, rather than having them tie up an editing bay with an operator .
Is the schedule service that Tivo provides.
A PC or PS2 which can record TV for me is no more use to me than a VCR.
Deleted