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Sony To Ship Enhanced PSX Console/DVR Combo

Posted by simoniker on from the as-many-features-as-advertised? dept.

bluethundr writes "The Register has posted a story indicating that Sony will ship the new PSX models on July 1 (Japan first, Europe to follow, then - eventually released to us Yanks?) following the company's move to suspend production of the original model of PlayStation 2/digital video recorder hybrid, earlier this year. Apparently: 'The new models, the DESR-5100 and DESR-7100, offer the same storage capacity - 160GB and 250GB, respectively - as their predecessors, the DESR-5000 and DESR- 7000. What's changed is the introduction of a better graphical user interface and the ability to add DVD-style menus to content copied from the unit's hard drive to a DVD-R, DVD-RW or DVD+RW disc.' Sony also appears to have added a range of extra video recording modes to maximise the amount of programming that can be stored on the PSX's hard drive."

10 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Bit too expensive for what you get... by garcia · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just don't see it as being something that I would spend that much money on. $676 for the 160GB and $868 for the 200GB model... That seems like an awful lot of money for a device that doesn't look "sexy", doesn't do anything extraordinary over any other device of its kind, and is basically just a piece of bundled hardware.

    In a recent story (about the PSX's possible demise) someone noted that it was pretty expensive for something you could do for about $350 unbundled.

    I guess the reason that they are releasing it to Japan and then England before us Yanks is because most cable providers already offer PVRs, we have TiVO, we have rolled out our own based on various software packages (both OSS and proprietary), or we just don't care.

    I'll pass for now... Maybe if it was bundled with the PS3 it would be more attractive.

    1. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by garcia · · Score: 2, Interesting

      TV card is cheap. A large HD is cheap. A DVD burner is cheap. A mini-ITX MB w/CPU and case is relatively inexpensive.

      I guarantee it would be under the price that they give. It would also allow the user more power as they could do whatever they wanted with it (tailor it to their own needs) and they would be able to have a lot more options on how to expand the capabilities.

    2. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by Spyffe · · Score: 4, Interesting
      First, this is not an intermediate version. According to Sony's Web site (translated from Japanese):
      The PSX is not a successor to the PlayStation2, it is a HDD/DVD recorder designed with the capabilities of the PlayStation2 in mind.
      SONY Japan planned the PlayStation2 as a platform for digital media convergence; this is an outgrowth of that. The PlayStation2 was never supposed to be just a video game console, it was a technology for media processing.

      Second, this is an eminently sellable product for its target market: people who want not just a functional but an elegant PVR. The marketing campaign in Japan features yoko, tate, pi! - loosely translated as "across, down, beep!" - scroll across to the "videos" icon, down through your videos until you find the one you want, then beep! -- it plays.

      The interface is elegant, as is the design, and the box does what it should do with no fuss. Many consumers would pay for that, particularly in Japan where people are willing to pay more for good products.

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      Sigmentation fault - core dumped
  2. Could be better budget computer then the Xbox. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will the future PSX still run Linux?

  3. Re:Selling points by cbrocious · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The problem with that is that the current "marketing" seems to be targeting normal users... or that's the way the articles are making it seem.

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    Disconnect and self-destruct, one bullet at a time.
  4. Japan by jgman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I saw the original model in Akihabara two months ago. They seemed to be all the rage in Japan. However, I had difficulty convincing myself that it would have mass appeal in America with such a large price tag. I would think most people who want a PS2 probably own one already. For that matter, early adopters likely have a DVR/Tivo already anyways. I guess I'd like to know exactly who they are marketing this too.

    Cool device, but no market.

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    This is not the sig you are looking for...
  5. Sony (Uhmmmm...alias DRM) by burdicda · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Don't fool yourselves....Sony is the biggest DRM
    whore on the planet...anyone wanna debate this
    go buy an md player...
    Look at Sony carefully...
    Know any other electronic retail mfr's that also
    own record and movie subsidiarys ????

    These people are hook, line, and sinker after
    your file sharing, movie recording asses...!!!

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. Will it last longer than a PS2? by shepd · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Being that the laser in Sony's PS2 is so weak I've seen consoles less than 1 year old worn out, is there any chance this device will have a laser that justifies the pricetag?

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    If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
  8. cost and alternatives by DynamiteNeon · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I didn't already own a ps2, I might be willing to pay $600 for the combo presented here. Sure, I could build a pvr myself, but FROM SCRATCH, getting one that would be able to handle pvr duties well and burn dvds would cost at least $600 plus my time.

    What I really want to know is if I would be able to access the files across a network. Ps2 has the ethernet adapter you can buy, so it seems like a reasonable idea, but I imagine there's tons of reasons why sony might not want to add that capability.

    Since it's relevant and I haven't had time to hit google yet to research it myself, I'm just curious if there's any other products out right now that are a pvr, can burn dvds, and are accessible across the network. Heck, any two of those are cool in my opinion if they're decently priced.