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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."

18 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 Mz6 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      "Maybe if it was bundled with the PS3 it would be more attractive."

      I just don't understand why they don't focus more (read: release) the PS3 instead of this intermediate step with the PSX. I just don't see something so expensive taking off when the same things can be had for pennies on the dollar. No.. a PS3.. A think there would be a lot of people able to fork over some dough for that beast.

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      Hmmm.
    2. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by generic-man · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The PSX includes a TV recorder, a large hard drive, and a DVD burner to save recorded TV shows. Comparable products that don't require a full PC sell for over $800 -- and they don't play PS2 games, either.

      You can put together the hardware for $350, but you assume (rightly so, around here) that everyone has a free powerful computer to put it all in, and nobody minds a cheap uninsulated case sitting next to their TV to encode everything.

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    3. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by garcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well currently they are still winning w/their PS2 console. They can hold out for a while longer in comfort before MS may/may not beat them to the punch on the next generation.

      I'd prefer that they be working solely towards releasing the PS3 but that's just wishful thinking.

      Sure, enough people would be willing for fork over the dough for the PS3 but they seem to be betting on the possiblity that people will fork over the dough for this one...

    4. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by generic-man · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The 160 GB model of the PSX costs $676 with a pretty unfavorable dollar-to-yen ratio right now. An off-the-shelf x86 PC isn't designed to encode video, so you'll need a pretty powerful CPU to keep up.

      Price it out, including $x for your time. In the end, you'll see the same split as with TiVo: people willing to pay $600 for a solution that works out of the box, and people willing to spend $800 to build their own box and shout down everyone else.

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      For more information, click here.
    5. Re:Bit too expensive for what you get... by jasonbw · · Score: 4, Informative

      I just checked out bestbuy.com...a settop dvd recorder is about $300 on average (non-harddrive). add a $200 tivo and a $150 ps2 and you've hit $650.

      it's not a terrible price for a three-in-one device, considering that they want about $600 for a combo dvdr/pvr with a 80gig drive.

    6. 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. Selling points by cbrocious · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the major selling points of the original PS2 was that DVD players were still fairly expensive, but gaining popularity. For the price of a nice DVD player, you could get that and much more. I don't see that happening with the PSX, but only time will tell.

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    Disconnect and self-destruct, one bullet at a time.
    1. Re:Selling points by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It does it all - plays dvds, pvr's, plays PS2 games - all with one box sitting under your $10,000 plasma display.

      Believe it or not, this is not a lot of money to some people. Those same people bought Pioneer's LaserActive system back in the day.

      It's a niche product, hence the price tag (no loss leaders here). I don't see soccer mom going into wal-mart and buying one of these for her kids instead of a regular PS2. But I see Richie Rich buying one because it's better than a PS2.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  3. Can you mod these? by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Huh? Can you?

    If not I don't want one. What's the point of a DVD-R if I can't play the PS2 games I use it to copy, that is legitimately backup for educational purposes!

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  4. Don't be confused... by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 5, Informative

    Don't be confused by the name PSX. Many people took to calling the original Playstation the PSX, but that was not an official name for the console. This new PS2 supermachine is officially known as the PSX. It's a little confusing, but what can you do?

  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  6. Ouch by sinner0423 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Almost $900 for a PVR / Playstation 2? That's a bit pricey for a gaming console which i'm sure will be (already is?) obsolete.

    Acronym time : DIY PVR IMO. FU PS2/PVR DRM.

  7. 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...
  8. 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...!!!

  9. Re:Spendy, but innovative... by dancingmad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Definitely more than I would pay... but remember that space is more of a commodity in Japan than here in the states.

    I don't know where these memes get started but yes, Japanese houses are small, but they're not so cramped for space that an unbundled PS2 and DVD player or whatever would have them coming out the windows.

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    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  10. 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
  11. Screenshot of updated UI by doctor_no · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's the updated screenshot of the updated UI in the PSX. Seems to have a transparent menus over the TV show you're watching, and these screens show the customizable backgrounds for the menus.

    Screenshot

    Screenshot

    Screenshot

    PSX Official Site(in Japanese)