Sony PlayTV Recordings Are DRM-Free After All?

Sony's PlayTV started off as a great idea – who wouldn't want their PS3, as well as letting them play games and Blu-ray discs, to record and pause live TV? – that was let down with delays and an attack of DRM.  ComputerAndVideoGames.com have been testing out the PVR peripheral, however, and the biggest surprise is that recorded shows are not, in fact, DRM encrypted.

In fact, any recorded footage can be exported as MPEG-4 video and then transferred – whether that be to your PSP for later viewing, your PC for archiving or anywhere else.  RemotePlay still works, allowing recordings to be streamed to a PSP across the internet.

Reviewer Mike Jackson still isn't entirely convinced, however.  While PlayTV does very well at recording shows, with intuitive and straightforward control, the absence of HD digital terrestrial potential is, for him, a deal-breaker.  Given that such transmissions aren't due until the end of 2009, however, and that the PlayTV costs a relatively low £70 ($124), I can see quite a few people interested despite that.