Do I Need to Jailbreak My PS3 to Watch Live TV?

Sony claims that the PlayStation 3 is a video game console that "only does everything." The jailbreaking community has accessed several undocumented features on jailbroken PS3s, one of which is the ability to watch live-streaming TV through the use of Universal Plug and Play clients. Live TV streaming options are available for those who do not want to compromise their gaming console or their access to the PlayStation Network.


UPnP Clients

If you have a jailbroken PS3, you can access one of several Universal Plug and Play clients to stream live TV to your PS3. UpnP clients operate on a peer-to-peer format, where you directly connect to another media server that is streaming video content. The content offered by these servers ranges from free open sourced material to subscription services and many require proprietary software to use.

Play TV

Play TV is an official Sony peripheral designed to act as a digital receiver for your PS3 console. In addition to allowing you to view TV programming on your PS3, you may also navigate and control Play TV with the use of your PS3 Move motion gaming equipment. Play TV will also stream TV content to your PlayStation Portable and other Sony devices. The Play TV unit is only available for purchase in the United Kingdom as of this publication.

Livestation.com

Livestation.com is a free streaming service accessible via the PS3's web browser. Livestation offers a limited selection of streaming media content from TV news channels including BBC, Al Jazeera English and France 24. Accessing livestation.com on your PS3 will not require that you jailbreak your console, but does require an active Internet connection.

YuppTV

YuppTV is a live TV streaming service available for users interested in watching Indian TV. Yup connects through your PS3 or other devices including a Roku or smart phone to connect to it's live streaming content. YuppTV access is available for a 14-day free trial or may be purchased for a one-time purchase price of $9.95, as of the time of this publication.