ViodiTV


The Sony PS2 – an Inexpensive Set-Top Box?

With 140+ million units in the field, the Sony PS2 has been a workhorse in the gaming world. Could a sub-$50 piece of software turn this consumer-owned device into a mechanism for pulling content off the Internet, as well as USB-enabled storage devices?

The above video, filmed at Digital Hollywood in August ’08, demonstrates an offering from Austin TX-based BroadQ which turns the ordinary PS2 into a fully-featured set-top capable of decoding various video formats.


Updated on 9/10/2008

[Subsequent to the above post, I was able to exchange emails with Stacy Cook, President & CEO of BroadQ, and he provided more detail as to BroadQ’s latest offering.]

Cook reports that they currently support most video formats: MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX (720P HD), WMV, XVid, MJPEG, MOV, H.264 and FLV. He also suggested that they will support Digital Rights Management and are determining whether or not they can use software decryption on the PS2. The other option they are looking at is a USB smart card that would perform a hardware decode, decryption and content caching. He suggests the trick is for the DRM is to be transparent so that it does not impact the user’s experience.

He says they are targeting the 25 million US households with a PS2 and broadband.* They intend on using channel partners and likened BroadQ’s distribution approach to what Netflix is doing with Microsoft’s X-Box 360. He says that they have, “had a great response from content providers,” and that they will be announcing their content partners in the near-future.

They will be rolling out the product in the next couple of months.  BroadQ is accepting pre-orders for a 30 day free trial of the service and the pre-order price is $29.95.

* One report suggests there were 41 million PS2 households at the end of 2007, so it is not a stretch that some 60% of these would also be broadband capable

One response to “The Sony PS2 – an Inexpensive Set-Top Box?”

  1. playstation 2 systems Avatar

    A pretty interesting article, this could pump more life into the PS2. Its longevity is amazing, and now that you can get a brand new one for $100 and a great library of games I can see it sticking around for a couple more years.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.