LocationFree Television In Tokyo

Jonny Marx writes "A hands-on review from Tokyo suggests that LoctionFree Television works at long last. There are also photos of it in action, streaming pre-recorded TV over the net to a mobile PSP." From the article: "Sony's previous LocationFree TV products required the use of a dedicated portable terminal -- essentially a portable LCD TV with Wi-Fi connection -- that not only added to the cost of the system but could also be a hassle to carry around, especially for people who already travel with a laptop PC. Recognizing this, or perhaps responding to competition from two U.S. start-ups offering similar products, the latest iteration of the technology, the LF-PK1, isn't so fussy and will stream to laptop PCs running Sony's LocationFree Player or to a PlayStation Portable (PSP) running firmware version 2.5 (a free upgrade to this version is available via the PSP's network update function)."

Comments

sweet, more sony DRM!

[cyber1kenobi]

I bet this software doesn't do anything evil to the PCs it touches.

A window into my living room?

[garcia]

The ability to use the PSP as a portable window to my living room certainly sounds like an interesting proposition so I test drove the system for a couple of weeks to see how it works in real life and the verdict is: pretty well.

It's a portable window into TV. I'm not quite sure that I understand the point and it seems like an awful waste of money and bandwidth. Why not just prerecord the content and then move it to the device and watch it? Is live TV that big of a deal?

BTW -- you have to upgrade the firmware on the PSP to use this... I wonder why that is ;-)

Part of the firmware update war

[aans]

PSP hasn't been out on the market long, and firmware updates are coming out as fast as hacks can be made for them.

To me, that is funny. The endless waltz of people releasing useful software for them(emulators), and then Sony does an upate soon after, with an incentive like a browser, wireless tv, etc.

Maybe I'll get a PSP when the dust settles.

Truly revolutionary.

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone has finally done it and made the major breakthrough of broadcasting television signals instead of passing them over cable or narrow WiFi connections. This is amazing and a great step forward.

I wonder what would be next? Someone might consider something that would enable music to be broadcast to special receivers wirelessly, using the new research-and-development IO (RadIO) technology. This could be the true innovation of the 21st century.

Re:Truly revolutionary.

[KingSkippus]

Well, that depends.

I don't think this is the start of a new era yet. I think that will come when content providers start skipping traditional media distribution channels (movie theaters and television networks) and distributing content directly to the consumers via the Internet. All this device does is extend the reach of traditional media distribution channels.

Frankly, I see this device as merely another tool that companies like Sony can use to try to control and observe where, when, and how consumers can watch content that they and their cohorts provide. I know, it sounds cynical, but this is Sony we're talking about here. You know, the same folks that thought installing a rootkit on your computer is okay because most people don't know what it is?

I share your enthusiam an excitement for the revolution. I just don't think this is it. Yet. Godwilling, it will happen before all innovation is completely outlawed, and it will happen quickly so that we can all enjoy it for a little while before the creator(s) get sued into submission.

Clarifying what the product is

[KingSkippus]

You're right. When I read the summary, I thought this was referring to IP TV, like television content being beamed to your PSP or laptop.

It is, but only sort of. The idea is that you have a base station set up at your house, and your PSP or laptop is a receiver for television from your base station. In other words, you're getting the IP "signal" from your base station, not from the content providers directly. The content providers are still using traditional means of getting tv to your base station (i.e. cable, broadcast, or satellite).

You have to use Sony's software (or hardware, if using a PSP) to access your base station. Frankly, I'm not so sure I trust Sony's software on my machine. Their record recently in this regard isn't too encouraging. Aren't there already open source alternatives that will let you have this kind of functionality already? I mean, maybe not on the PSP, but at least on a laptop set up as a MythTV front end or something?

And personally, Location Free televsision doesn't get me too excited, because I'm never away from my house for that long a period at a time. What I'd really like to see is Network Executive Free television.

Slingbox

[Belseth]

I've been curious about Slingbox for TV on the go. I was also wondering if you could run DVR software without hardware with one as well. It'd solve some problems at home as well as on the go. I'd be curious to hear from anyone familiar with Slingboxes? Seems like a good solution, just not sure if it works as advertised.

PSP Web Browser

[fwitness]

I'm glad I upgraded to 2.0 also. I'm using the web browser right now, and it is fan--OUT OF MEMORY--