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Torne (ps3's DVR for JP market only) a success?!?

"It's been a few months since we've had one of those "line" stories, where the big Japanese sites send their correspondents out to cover the launches for major games. Famitsu.com came through with some sweet line pics today... although the lines were not for a game.

Today was the release date for three major game products: Yakuza 4 for PS3, Gundam Assault Survive for PSP, and torne for PS3. The first two are games. The last one is a sub ¥10,000 kit that converts your PlayStation 3 into a digital video recorder.

Over the past few weeks, there has been some indication that torne would end up being a hit product. Famitsu has been covering the product extensively, with multiple print features and, most recently, a rare peripheral box review. The magazine's editors scored the device three 9s and a 10 and offered it tremendous praise, with the person who gave it a 10 saying that he wanted to give it a 20.

There's also been indication that the product would be hard to come by. Last month, retail blog Famicom Plaza reported an initial shipment of just 30,000 units.

Famitsu.com sent its reporters out today to cover the launch hoopla in Akihabara and Ikebukuro, and they came back with pics and details indicating a torne craze.

When the site's reporters arrived at the giant Akihabara Yodobashi Camera before 9:00, they saw a line of over 100. The shop had handed out tickets to those wanting either torne on its own or bundled with a 250 gigabyte PlayStation 3. The early morning line managed to grow so big even though the shop had been taking pre-orders.

..."


continue at the link, via andriasang

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why is this thing so successful in Japan, if the news is to be believed? Can some Jgaffers enlighten us?
 
Yeah I couldn't think of a single thing I would want to record on japanese tv. I guess it would work with satellite and internet tv too....
 

Brofist

Member
supermackem said:
I would guess there arnt as many dvr type devices in japan.
And why would you guess that?

The price is very attractive for current PS3 owners, can't do better than 10,000 yen for it's functionality.
 

vercity82

Member
Did any you guys pick it up if so please shed some light on things :)

and whats the trophy list kinda baffled how it has trophies...
 

SmokyDave

Member
I can imagine the PS3 being the highest end piece of kit in a lot of setups so the idea of squeezing extra functionality out of it is very appealing. I have PlayTV and it's received a shit-load of updates to the functionality and become a nice little set-top box.
 

Fersis

It is illegal to Tag Fish in Tag Fishing Sanctuaries by law 38.36 of the GAF Wildlife Act
So whats the deal? You can record game footage from the PS3 with that?
Thats pretty awesome then.
 
SmokyDave said:
I can imagine the PS3 being the highest end piece of kit in a lot of setups so the idea of squeezing extra functionality out of it is very appealing. I have PlayTV and it's received a shit-load of updates to the functionality and become a nice little set-top box.

I keep meaning to get that, i missed a few of those good offers when it was going for £30 i guess ill wait till i see it again for that price.
 

Rich!

Member
We've had this in the UK for years now.

playtv.jpg


:lol

It is a damn useful piece of kit - considering I only have a PC monitor (no tv), it's pretty much essential for myself.
 

spwolf

Member
supermackem said:
I would guess there arnt as many dvr type devices in japan.

there are actually shit load of dvr devices in japan, even built into their tv's, and dvd players, things you will not find in USA (you will partially in Europe).
 

SmokyDave

Member
supermackem said:
I keep meaning to get that, i missed a few of those good offers when it was going for £30 i guess ill wait till i see it again for that price.
I'd definitely recommend it but ideally not at retail price. Keep an eye on play.com, they've had it on sale a couple of times. If you have a PSP then the Remote Play can be a killer feature for Top Gear on the loo.
 
SmokyDave said:
I can imagine the PS3 being the highest end piece of kit in a lot of setups so the idea of squeezing extra functionality out of it is very appealing. I have PlayTV and it's received a shit-load of updates to the functionality and become a nice little set-top box.

How does it work? Does it act as a tuner? Whats the added functionatlity you're talking about?

My TV has a nice built in tuner, but we don't go Digital in my part of Bath until the end of this month. We've been living on crappy 4-channel terrestrial... we're in the dark ages compared to the rest of the country. Feckin' Mendip transmitter!
 

Zoe

Member
I saw this demoed at the Sony headquarters. It actually looked pretty nice, and the quality was great.

Edit: According to wikipedia.jp, this isn't really PlayTV. It's been in the works since the beginning and has always been Japan-specific.
 

spwolf

Member
radioheadrule83 said:
How does it work? Does it act as a tuner? Whats the added functionatlity you're talking about?

My TV has a nice built in tuner, but we don't go Digital in my part of Bath until the end of this month. We've been living on crappy 4-channel terrestrial... we're in the dark ages compared to the rest of the country. Feckin' Mendip transmitter!

yes, it is digital tuner... it can record tv while you are playing games... you can also play recorded videos from PSP via remote play (i think also schedule recordings).

In Japan, they have a lot of DVR's, thats probably why it is selling "well" there. They even have Bluray players/recorders there (DVRs).
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
I've never actually seen Play TV, but I'm pretty sure torne is a completely different product. It's a pretty big deal in Japan... the buzz is just ridiculous right now. DVRs are frightfully expensive, so this thing is going to be a boon for a lot of people. Apparently the interface is lightning-fast and super intuitive. With torne you can record TV programming while simultaneously playing games, and there's even functionality for automatically encoding + transferring your recordings to PSP. The report that only 30k would ship for launch has only served to stoke the fires of torne madness to new heights.
 

dofry

That's "Dr." dofry to you.
spwolf said:
yes, it is digital tuner... it can record tv while you are playing games... you can also play recorded videos from PSP via remote play (i think also schedule recordings).

In Japan, they have a lot of DVR's, thats probably why it is selling "well" there. They even have Bluray players/recorders there (DVRs).

If it's the same style as PlayTV, you can schedule too from the remote play function very easily. EDIT: It actually is very much the same. You can start the program and use it normally through the PSP. Very handy.
The UI seems to be very japanese style, which to us might seem like a strange UI to have, but it is functional and that's what they are used to.
Torne is easier to implement for Japan as the HD tuner is a fit for everyone. Not like in Europe where the HD material comes in various types and formats, so the PlayTV was not widely sold. It did work very well on those parts it could show.
Cheap, very functional DVR is always welcome.

Aokage said:
I've never actually seen Play TV, but I'm pretty sure torne is a completely different product....
Based on the videos and the web pages for it, not much. Mainly the UI style is different, but the functionality stays the same.
 

Zoe

Member
spwolf said:
yes, it is digital tuner... it can record tv while you are playing games... you can also play recorded videos from PSP via remote play (i think also schedule recordings).

For Torne you can transfer it directly to the PSP.
 

VOOK

We don't know why he keeps buying PAL, either.
If it's the same as the PlayTV it's rubbish, cannot record two things at once.
 

spwolf

Member
VOOK said:
If it's the same as the PlayTV it's rubbish, cannot record two things at once.

it is.. there is no dual tuner.

However you can record while playing games and bd movies, so thats why functionality is there.
 

spwolf

Member
Aokage said:
I've never actually seen Play TV, but I'm pretty sure torne is a completely different product. It's a pretty big deal in Japan... the buzz is just ridiculous right now. DVRs are frightfully expensive, so this thing is going to be a boon for a lot of people. Apparently the interface is lightning-fast and super intuitive. With torne you can record TV programming while simultaneously playing games, and there's even functionality for automatically encoding + transferring your recordings to PSP. The report that only 30k would ship for launch has only served to stoke the fires of torne madness to new heights.

they probably adapted same technology to Japanese market and Japanese HDTV standard, which is why it seems so well done.

many companies just reuse same interfaces and then cry at lack of sales.
 

Somnid

Member
I will say that in Japan they don't really have cable so they don't get DVRs for free which makes the basic concept useful.

As to why they want it so badly to watch shitty variety shows, I'm baffled.
 

spwolf

Member
Haunted said:
What's wrong with Japanese TV?

Besides the obvious, I mean.

i never understood that - it is supply and demand, right? People want those crazy shows, otherwise something else would be on TV?
 
Haunted said:
What's wrong with Japanese TV?

Besides the obvious, I mean.

nothing.

for us it's shit (rightfully so) as we have different standards and cultures (different, not better, mind you), but for japanese it's a good way to escape from the repetitiviness of normal life.

it's pretty comical tv with cats and dog doing tv presenters, just to give you a glimpse.
 

Brofist

Member
Somnid said:
I will say that in Japan they don't really have cable so they don't get DVRs for free which makes the basic concept useful.

As to why they want it so badly to watch shitty variety shows, I'm baffled.

:lol there is cable TV in Japan, not really sure what you are trying to say here.

Not really sure why all the hate on Japanese TV either. There are dramas, sports broadcasts, and other programming on TV besides crappy variety shows.
 

Haunted

Member
kpop100 said:
:lol there is cable TV in Japan, not really sure what you are trying to say here.

Not really sure why all the hate on Japanese TV either. There are dramas, sports broadcasts, and other programming on TV besides crappy variety shows.
That's what I've been thinking. Every country has shitty, worthless TV shows and channels, but there's always some sort of worthwhile show to be found in my experience (even if it's only imported from other countries).


I was mainly asking because two JGAFers insinuated it was all shit in the first place.
 

manzo

Member
°°ToMmY°° said:
nothing.

for us it's shit (rightfully so) as we have different standards and cultures (different, not better, mind you), but for japanese it's a good way to escape from the repetitiviness of normal life.

it's pretty comical tv with cats and dog doing tv presenters, just to give you a glimpse.

For Japanese housewives maybe. Ok, I enjoyed Ai nori and watched K1 on BS2, but otherwise it was shit.

Edit: This actually is a very nice thing for college students. DVRs are pretty damn expensive there. I wonder if this supports WOWOW etc. pay channels?
 
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