How to get more out of your PSP

Do not let your PSP screen go to waste. Load up some movies. Now.

Tip 1: Get with the right program
Tip 2: Find the video-quality sweet spot
Tip 3: Rename your files

Tip 1: Get with the right program

If you're going by the book, the "official" way to get videos onto a Memory Stick Duo (and by extension, your Sony PSP) is to go to Sony's Web site and purchase Image Converter 2.0 for AU$36.95.

Originally designed for use with Sony's CLIE handhelds and Handycam camcorders, Image Converter 2.0 performs the basic function of converting movies into the proprietary MP4 format used by Sony's gaming system. But because it wasn't designed for use with the PSP, Image Converter 2.0 won't detect your hardware when you've plugged it in via USB, and it won't know to create the right folders on your Memory Stick Duo so that the PSP will recognise your media. It also doesn't support conversion into wide-screen formats, thus wasting what may be the PSP's most compelling feature as a video playback device. Finally, it'll set you back AU$36.95, when there are better options (we'll show you the best one) available on the Web for free. In the final analysis, this is a case where it doesn't pay to follow the company line.

In the wake of Image Converter 2.0's inadequacy, it didn't take long for a slate of freeware PSP video programs to crop up for download. In terms of video quality, customisability, and overall ease of use, the best of the breed is Videora Labs' PSP Video 9.0, available for download here.

PSP Video 9.0 supports a wide variety of source formats, including MPEG, AVI, MOV, and WMV (if your source video is coming from the Internet or a digital video recorder) as well as VOB (if your source video has been ripped from a DVD). We leave it up to you to ensure that your source videos are attained through legal means.

Unfortunately, PSP Video 9.0 is currently a Windows-only program; if you're a Mac user, you'll want to check out PSPWare (US$15) or iPSP (US$20, and also available for Windows). Both programs offer conversion and syncing features similar to those of PSP Video 9.0. If you want to preview your converted videos before transferring them to your PSP, you'll also need the latest version of Apple's QuickTime player. Once you have all the necessary software installed, connect your PSP to your computer via USB, wait until your computer detects the new device, then start up PSP Video 9.0, which should detect your handheld automatically. You're ready to convert your first video!

Tip 2: Find the video-quality sweet spot

In most cases, formatting a video for use on your PSP can be as simple as loading it up and running it through PSP Video 9.0's default conversion profile. But if you go with the defaults, you'll be stuck with a 320x240 video that may not be optimal for the PSP's wide 480x272 screen; besides, if we wanted to go for the default, this wouldn't be much of an Insider Secret.

	Getting video onto your PSP doesn't have to be a complicated exercise.

The first step in achieving optimal PSP video quality is determining the aspect ratio of your source video. In all likelihood, this will be one of the following (aspect ratios are listed in increasing order of how many steps it will take to achieve optimal quality):

1. Standard 4:3 format (screenshot)
2. Wide-screen 16:9 format (screenshot)
3. Letterboxed 4:3 format (screenshot)

Due to limitations in the PSP's firmware, the maximum standard resolution recognised by the PSP is 320x240, and the maximum wide-screen resolution is 368x208. PSP Video 9.0 comes equipped with several preset conversion profiles at both of these resolutions, and so if your video falls under No. 1 or 2 above, all you'll need to do before converting is choose your desired and audio quality setting, by going to Setup > Profiles and choosing an Existing Quality Profile.

Higher bit rates such as 1,500Kbps will look better on the screen but will also take up more space; lower bit rates won't look as good but will allow you to fit more movies on your Memory Stick. Variable bit rates, denoted in the profiles dialog box as "QBnumber," can be more efficient than static bit rates because they analyse your source video to determine when higher bit rates are necessary and when a lower one will do. When setting a variable bit rate, the overall quality and size of your output will be inversely proportional to your QB number; for instance, 4 yields a large but high-quality file, while 10 results in a lower-quality file that takes up less space. Quick tip: Check the properties of your source video to determine its bit rate, and don't go any higher when converting; this will save on file size without affecting overall quality, since there's no benefit to exceeding your source bit rate. When you've chosen your quality profile, hit Apply, navigate back to the Convert menu, and skip the next paragraph.

If you have a letterboxed source video, you have some cropping to do. In PSP Video 9.0, head to the Setup menu and navigate to the Profiles tab. Choose an existing 368x208 profile, since you'll want your output to be wide-screen, then click the New Profile button. Enter a new profile name and check the "Crop Input Video (by pixel)" box. To determine how many pixels to lop off the top and bottom of your source file, we recommend taking a screen capture from the video (using Alt + print screen) and measuring the length of the black bars on either side of the frame using Photoshop or a comparable image-editing program. Once that's done, hit the Apply button, head back to the Settings tab, and set your newly created profile to be the default. Now, you're finally ready to convert your first video.

This is the easy part: click the Convert button at the top of the program's interface, then click the Convert New Video button. If your desired source video isn't showing up, you may need to expand the Files Of Type field to include All Files. And that's it! While your movie's being processed, you can queue up other movies that you'd like to convert. When the process is finished, it's time to transfer your newly minted videos onto your PSP. Tip 3: Rename your files

One of Sony's many brilliant moves in crippling the PSP's video functionality was to insist on an opaque and inflexible file system for movies on the Memory Stick; if a video file isn't named "M4V1000number.mp4" and located in the \MP_ROOT\100MNV01 directory, your PSP will pretend it doesn't exist. Luckily, PSP Video 9.0 allows you to customise the titles of your converted movies, so you can tell them apart without worrying about sifting through a sea of random letters and numbers.

To customise and copy your movies over to your PSP, make sure your device is connected, then click the Copy button on the top menu bar. In the left field, select the file that you'd like to rename, then on the bottom of the screen, click the File Info tab. Then, edit the Title field to your specifications and click the Apply button. Once that's done, simply drag the video from the left field into the right field, wait for the transfer to finish... and you're done. Unlink your PSP and start enjoying video!