This doesn’t really affect most of the world aside from my own little corner of it. But Sony today announced that the PlayTV unit is available in the Czech and Slovak Republics. That means that PS3 owners in those countries can now watch and record HD TV.

PlayTV will be available in the countries from 21 December for a suggested retail price of 2 499, - CZK (~$146 USD, 88 GBP).

PlayTV will offer the opportunity to watch, pause and record terrestrial TV broadcasting, which will strengthen the position the PS3 as a hub for home multimedia system. With two HD tuners, PlayTV will allow you to watch one program while recording another program. Recording can be also used when playing games or watching movies from media Blu-ray Disc.

PlayTV also using Remote Play allows you to watch TV programs on the fly on the screen PSP or on-screen mobile phone Sony Ericsson AINO interface using WiFi or 3G.

Now this is very cool and certainly will be popular in many parts of the world. But given the prices of the PS3 here in the Czech Republic, a 2500 CZK add-on is probably out of the picture for most Czech Families. For reference, the national average monthly income is around 21,000 CZK ($1,223 USD). WIth PS3 prices hovering around 8,000 to 9,000  CZK ($465 to $525 US) it’s already half that average monthly income and another 2,500 CZK is out of the reach of the majority of the country. Though this could certainly appeal to those foreigners living in the country and earning British Pounds, US Dollars or Euros. In my opinion, those are the people that own 90% of the PS3’s here anyway.

The PlayTV unit seems to be a mostly European phenomenon as the PlayTV website main page asks you to choose your language (German, Spanish, French, Italian and UK or Aussie English).

The whole thing is laughable when the unit is available in the UK for 39.98 GBP or roughly 1,142 CZK, yes, less than half, of the price here. So I don’t really see it being very popular here. Many of us have friends in the UK and could simply ask them to get it and mail it to us for less than the price of one here. I’ve emailed Sony to try to get an understanding of their pricing policies for the region.

PlayTV also offers to find the best personal video recorders:
 
Two HD TV tuners: both allow for monitoring and recording pause TV broadcast in HD and in SD resolution. The possibility of recording a TV broadcast during games or watching movies on media Blu-ray Disc or DVD.

Electronic Program Guide: an incredibly friendly interface with a television program for seven days, which allows among other things, the program recording function of PlayTV - it is quick and easy to use. To control you can use the SIXAXIS  controller, or remote control DualShock3 Blu-ray for the PS3.

Compatibility: PlayTV service is operated in a widely available format, Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T).

Simple operation: Intuitive controls, helpful features available by pressing a single button, instructional videos and simple navigation - thanks to the use of the service PlayTV complete comfort in comparison with the complex control of other personal video recorders.

Optional on-screen graphical user interface offers a wealth of information on the status of PlayTV and services enables fast access to programming information, stored TV programs and controls to pause or record live TV.

PlayTV service for the smooth tracking also determine the correct setting to display images on a standard SD or high resolution HD.

Monitoring on the road through the PSP: Seamless PSP connectivity allows you to record, watch live TV and use the WiFi interface to play recorded TV programs to a remote location (using Remote Play feature).

Monitoring on the road to the display of the mobile phone Sony Ericsson AINO: Using the Remote Play via WiFi or 3G.

Promise for the future: PlayTV service will develop over time - through the PlayStation Network will be new services and improve the existing ones.