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Media Boss for PSP Review |
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Written by Don Lee
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Wednesday, 06 December 2006 |
 Media Boss for the Sony PlayStation Portable helps users transfer files from their computer to
the PSP. Even though it only requires a standard USB-A to USB-mini B
cable to connect the PSP to your computer, transferring files to the
right location on your PSP’s Memory Stick Pro Duo can be a little
daunting. Don’t even get me started on trying to get video onto the
PSP. To save myself a whole lot of frustration, I decided to take a
look at Mediafour’s Media Boss and here’s what I found out.
Move and Convert Those Files with Ease
When you purchase the complete Media Boss package, you get a USB-A to USB-mini B cable and the Media Boss software installation for your Windows-based computer. Now if you already for the appropriate USB cable, then you can just purchase the Media Boss software so you can save a few bucks.
Once you have Media Boss installed on your computer, just connect the mini B plug of your USB cable to the port at the top of the PSP. Then plug the USB-A plug into your computer’s USB port. Then start up your PSP and select USB Connection from the PSP’s main menu. When you launch Media Boss, you should see an icon appear in the left side of the program saying “Removable Disk” which is your PSP. When you select “Removable Disk,” you should see four items appear below it denoting the music, photos, videos and game saves that’s currently available on your PSP’s Memory Stick Pro Duo. As you select each of those items, you will be shown any files that you currently have on your PSP’s memory stick.
To transfer files from your computer’s hard drive to the PSP, just click on the My Computer icon in the upper left portion of the Media Boss window. There you will see the default locations within your My Documents that Media Boss initially searches for files. Just click on the “Change watched folders” button in the lower left of the program’s interface and you can then select additional folders for Media Boss to search from. Once it has located some appropriate files, it will display them in the right side window of the program.
To copy any files, just highlight the files by clicking on each one you want to transfer to the PSP, then click the “Copy to my PSP” button located at the bottom right of the program.
Media Boss has a number of extra functions to improve file handling such as setting the music file transfer quality and grouping. You can save memory stick space by lowering the quality. Grouping will keep certain music files together as they are transferred to the PSP. You can even change the setting for video quality for those files that you transfer as well. You can choose from low (256kbps), medium (512kbps) and high (1024kbps) for the quality of video but there’s no setting for size.
The Final Word
Mediafour’s Media Boss for PSP does a great job moving photos and especially videos to your PSP but I was very surprised to see the support for podcasts. The Media Boss’ built-in search engine also works great so you can find the files you’re looking for without having the scroll through all of your media.
The program’s ability to convert AVI, MOV, MPG and MP4 video files to the PSP MPEG4 standard is an excellent feature. It makes the conversion but it also creates the necessary files for the PSP to recognize it as well as handle the file naming. This is a major problem with the PSP’s video playback capabilities but Media Boss handles it with ease.
The only issue that I have the product is that it doesn’t provide any ability to organize your photos into separate locations such as keeping your birthday party photos from your vacation photos. Other than that, the Mediafour Media Boss application works effectively and presents itself in a very easy point-and-click interface.
If you’ve grown frustrated trying to transfer and manage files on your PSP, then you should definitely take a look at Mediafour’s Media Boss. You will find it to be an invaluable program towards keeping your PSP’s files organized. The Mediafour Media Boss has earned 4 out of 5 stars. Good recommendation.
You can click HERE to purchase Media Boss for your Windows-based computer.
System Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP, 2000, Me, or 98SE with Internet Explorer 5 (or newer)
CPU: PIII 800Mhz (or equivalent)
RAM: 256MB
Hard Disk Space: 20MB (temporarily more for certain operations, such as video conversion)
CD or DVD drive
Available USB port
800x600 16-bit color video
Internet access for podcasts and updates, and Sony PSP
About Mediafour
Since 1994, Mediafour Corporation has focused on the development of software products that address cross-platform computing issues. Today, Mediafour is respected worldwide as a leading developer of software that simplifies cross-platform file-sharing tasks. You can find them online at http://www.mediafour.com
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