Called the PlayStation Eye, the device is a camera-microphone hybrid that connects to a PS3 through one of its USB ports so that gamers can engage in voice and video chat as well as experience new gaming capabilities enabled by speech- and picture-recognition technology. Sony considers the newly announced peripheral the next step up from its EyeToy camera, which it sold for use with its PlayStation 2 console.
Pricing information for the Eye, which is slated for a summer release, has not yet been disclosed.
Sony is touting a number of next-generation features on the new peripheral that it hopes will elevate the device above third-party cameras and microphones designed for gaming. With a frame rate of up to 120 frames per second at a 320x240-pixel resolution, it's not exactly a high-definition camcorder. But it comes with some gaming-specific features--the camera is designed for low-light conditions, and has two zoom options, for close-up and full-body.
PlayStation Eye
The microphone, attached to the bottom of the camera, promises to eliminate the need for a headset through noise-canceling and speech-recognition technology designed to enable clear audio chat.
Additionally, the Eye comes bundled with a piece of software called EyeCreate, a basic photo- and video-editing tool that lets PS3 users save photo, video and audio content to their consoles' hard drives and add visual effects. Sony also said that future PS3 gaming titles and services will make use of the Eye's technologyC|Net
Better info:
Sony has announced that their next gen Eye camera will be launched in Europe this summer. Picking up where the EyeToy left off, the new device is custom built for the PS3 and works as an accessory for voice, video chat and online gaming. It's a pretty slick looking device as well. PlayStation say it's designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3. Key features of the PlayStation Eye include:
-A sophisticated microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and focus on the spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition and transfer
-The ability to capture videos and audio clips directly to your PS3's hard disk drive
-Engineered to perform well even in low-light conditions
-A range of different capturing modes, including slow motion and time-lapse
-Faster frame rate for improved tracking, responsiveness and smoothness
-Two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options
-A range of eye-catching visual effects to apply to photos and videos
-Bundled with EyeCreate (TM) editing software, which allows users to save and edit photos, video and audio clipsHere's some more specific info on the PlayStation Eye
EyeCreate software
EyeCreate editing software, bundled free with PLAYSTATION Eye allows you to save photos, video and audio clips to your PS3 hard disk drive and apply eye-catching visual effects to your images. Different capture modes like time-lapse and slow motion open up a world of possibilities to be explored further in EyeCreate's editing suite, where you can turn your media into professional looking movies.
New microphone functions
An all-new four microphone array, incorporating multidirectional voice location tracking, enhanced echo cancelling and background noise suppression allows for clear audio chat in even the most noisy of environments, without the need to hold or wear a headset.
Next-generation camera features
A frame rate of up to 120 frames per second allows for super-smooth video and sophisticated low-light operation means that the room doesn't have to be brightly lit for the camera to deliver crisp, perfectly exposed video. The adjustable zoom lens features a 56º field of view to capture head and shoulders action for close-in audio-visual chat, and a 75º field of view to capture the whole body for a fully physical gaming experience.-4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
-56º to 75º Field of View zoom lens
-2.1 F-stop
-640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
-320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
-USB2 high-speed data transfer
-Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression
-Not too bad at all now that better info has become available.
Not bad at all, actually. MUCH better than C|Net's initial diagnosis.
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