Gaming
Sony has revealed that consumers will be free to export TV recordings taken with its forthcoming PlayTV digital receiver as the device will carry no copy protection.
PlayTV software chief Mark Bunting, a producer at Sony’s Cambridge Studio, has explained how TV recordings downloaded onto the PS3 can easily be moved to another device such as a hard drive or PC, adding that there's no time limit on how long the recordings can be kept.
When asked what users can do with their recorded TV files, Bunting replied: "Anything you like, really, as long as you do it legally. It's in its raw format.
"We've talked to our legal department about it," Bunting told Eurogamer. "All we're doing is moving it out of PlayTV and to the cross-media bar as if it was any other recording. So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it.
"If I'm prohibited from getting the recording off and storing it somewhere else because some other dude is making money out of selling it, then I'd rather they brought the law in to catch those people."
The news is certain to worry TV bosses, who are keen to end the current problem of pirated TV programmes being shown across online peer-to-peek networks.
PlayTV, which was announced at last year's Game Convention, will feature two high definition TV tuners capable of recording and playing free TV channels as well as supporting standard definition.
No release date for the PlayStation 3 device has yet been announced, though it is expected to be launched this year.
PlayTV software chief Mark Bunting, a producer at Sony’s Cambridge Studio, has explained how TV recordings downloaded onto the PS3 can easily be moved to another device such as a hard drive or PC, adding that there's no time limit on how long the recordings can be kept.
When asked what users can do with their recorded TV files, Bunting replied: "Anything you like, really, as long as you do it legally. It's in its raw format.
"We've talked to our legal department about it," Bunting told Eurogamer. "All we're doing is moving it out of PlayTV and to the cross-media bar as if it was any other recording. So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it.
"If I'm prohibited from getting the recording off and storing it somewhere else because some other dude is making money out of selling it, then I'd rather they brought the law in to catch those people."
The news is certain to worry TV bosses, who are keen to end the current problem of pirated TV programmes being shown across online peer-to-peek networks.
PlayTV, which was announced at last year's Game Convention, will feature two high definition TV tuners capable of recording and playing free TV channels as well as supporting standard definition.
No release date for the PlayStation 3 device has yet been announced, though it is expected to be launched this year.
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