Sony Readies Pared-Down PSX

Sony has dropped several features from its upcoming PSX, a combination video and gaming device. The company has not been able to complete development in time for the year-end sales period, Sony said Monday.

The PSX is Sony's first attempt at tying the worlds of consumer electronics and games together and combines a hard drive-based video recorder, a DVD recorder, a music player, a photo viewer, and a PlayStation 2 game console in a single box.

A prototype of the product was displayed at the Ceatec 2003 electronics show in Tokyo in October this year, where Sony disclosed the PSX specifications for the first time. General product plans had been announced earlier this year.

Making Changes

Last week, Sony said it will launch the product in Japan on December 13 and again published specifications, although there are several major differences between those disclosed in October and those released last week.

Gone from the latest specifications are the abilities to play back DVD+RW discs, play back data CD-R discs (although audio CDs recorded on CD-R discs are supported), display TIFF and GIF format images, display movies taken with Sony's Cybershot digital still cameras, and play back MP3 files. In addition, copying of video files from the PSX's hard drive to DVD discs has been slowed down, from 24X speed to 12X speed, and the device also cannot connect to the PlayStation BB online gaming service.

"We have changed the specification," said Taro Takamine, a spokesperson for Sony in Tokyo. "Basically, as of October 7 we planned some features such as DVD+RW playback, CD-R playback, TIFF and GIF [image file] support, and PlayStation BB, but we decided to drop such features."

The features are gone for two reasons, said Takamine.

The first is to make the device easier to use, he said. He cited the example of browsing digital images and said that entry-level users, at which the device is aimed, will find it easier not having to select among JPEG, TIFF, and GIF formats.

The second reason is that development of some functions missed deadline and had to be left out.

"Also we are not able to complete testing of some formats before the holiday shopping season," he said. "Our priority is to launch before the year end."

Upgrades Available

Two of the features, the abilities to read DVD+RW discs and to connect to the PlayStation BB broadband Internet service, will be offered as a firmware upgrade for no cost via the Internet, said Takamine, although he could not say when Sony will offer the upgrade. "We plan to do it as soon as possible."

When launched next week, the PSX will support DVD-R/RW writable media, DVD-Video, Audio CDs, and all PlayStation discs, as well as the display of JPEG-format images. It also will support ATRAC3 encoded music, which is a format developed by Sony and used in its MiniDisc players and some other digital audio products.

The machine has also become heavier in the two months since it was previewed at Ceatec. At the time, Sony said it would weigh 12.4 pounds, but the company is now quoting a weight of 12.6 pounds for the DESR-5000 and 12.8 pounds for the DESR-7000 model.

"We do not disclose that reason," said Takamine when asked about the weight difference.

Hot Item?

Despite the lack of several promised features the machine is still likely to become a hot seller during the holiday period because of its price and heavy retailer promotion. The DESR-5000 includes a 160GB hard drive, while the DESR-7000 packs a 250GB drive; they carry prices of $730 and $912, respectively.

Combination hard drive and DVD recorders from competitors are considerably more expensive or offer less recording space for the same price. Toshiba's RD-X4, which has a 250GB hard drive and goes on sale in December, costs upwards of $1323. Hitachi's MSP-1000 combines a 120GB hard drive and DVD recorder for around $1003.

Combination hard drive and DVD video recorders have become popular in the last year, and the number of models available has risen sharply from a handful a year ago to numerous models from several manufacturers today.

Sony's PSX, like some devices from competing manufacturers, has one other potential shortcoming. It does not support CPRM (copy protection for removable media); that means it cannot record digital terrestrial television broadcasts, which began on Monday in Japan, unless the signal from an external digital tuner is first converted to analog.