PSP: The Definitive Verdict (Page 8)

After two weeks of intensive handheld gaming, we offer a comprehensive and detailed review of PSP, along with an extensive photo shoot, all-new high quality videos, and market analysis.

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Movies and Music

Ah. MPEG4 files, eh? Don't have many of those hanging around, right? Most PC users are using those normal MPEG files aren't they, or maybe WMV. For the time being, PSP only supports MPEG4 for video, so you might want to look into converting videos for playback on the PSP using this this handy software - it's going to be essential for viewing actual movies, which will require a large Memory Stick Duo (preferably 1GB as discussed before) to play back the MPEG4 file which you can rip from a DVD - eventually - using this software.

It's pretty daunting stuff at the moment, and the manual is pointless at explaining any of these kinds of features. The best guide we've found concerning MPEG4 creation and playback on PSP is this one at Engadget, so if you're trying to figure it out now, you should certainly check that out. On a related note, it emerged just before Christmas Day that you can already download movie content in Japan straight to the Memory Stick, thanks to a firm called PDA Cinema Contents, which is offering some of its own productions for download after a small credit card payment.

Figuring out all of this stuff has literally only been achieved by reading web forums and reports, revealing the results that clever people have worked out. Even the MP3 playback has its problems with no kind of database support like you'd find in the iPod, which lets you organise your songs comprehensively, and you can only go as deep as one subfolder in your Music directory. The promised ATRAC audio playback support is a bit of a mess right now as well (not that we have much of a clue what ATRAC is to be honest) but hell, these are all things that Sony should aim to have cleared up by the time the PSP launches in the west, if it really wants PSP to be a viable choice for wider media delivery. Or, it could just ignore the problems and remind people how great the screen is. That would probably also work.

In fairness, Sony is already showing signs it is prepared to go the extra mile in the media department for PSP; preorders in Japan were delivered with a PSP demo disc that featured, among other things, music content that offered not just the music, but the music video to with it - giving a sneaky glimpse at what the planned strategy for this sort of content might be. Of course, there is always the plan of releasing the full movies and music releases on the UMD format itself (after all, UMD stands for Universal Media Disc, since it's supposedly going to deliver all this content on the same format) but the direction, and indeed support for this remains a little vague at the moment.

Will You be My WiFi

The media capabilities go beyond the playback of these file formats though; in addition to WiFi enabled gaming, which allows for games with people as far as 100 feet, it is already possible to take PSP online in Japan, and it's only a matter of time before some kind of thirdparty web browser is released for the system - or perhaps Sony will have the good sense to release its own. Needless to say, the possibilities for true online gaming are also opened up through PSPs Internet abilities, putting the machine on an even playing field with Nintendo DS as far as multiplayer fun is concerned.

Flick the WiFi switch to play wireless multiplayer

Continue Through Feature:

• Page 1: The Hardware Buzz, Hot Property
• Page 2: Two Weeks, Inside the Box, Build Quality
• Page 3: Secret Screen, Ergonomics, Triggers
• Page 4: Sleeping, Useful Buttons, Faulty Units
• Page 5: More on UMD, Make Some Noise
• Page 6: Thanks for the Memory, Battery Power
• Page 7: Full Whack Value Pack, Just Browsing
• Page 8: Movies and Music, Will You be My WiFi
• Page 9: It Plays Games Too - Performance
• Page 10: PSP vs DS, Final Thoughts

See also: Full Launch Report from Tokyo
               PSP Set for Launch in Japan
               PSP Launch Could be a Disaster