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Sony PSP Media Manager Review |
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Written by Don Lee
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Tuesday, 16 May 2006 |
 The Sony PlayStation Portable is a great entertainment device. It allows you to play games, movies, music, store photos and even has a built-in web browser. While the hardware is very impressive, users grew frustrated in trying to transfer files to the device. To help solve this problem, Sony Media Software developed the PSP Media Manager to help users manage and transfer files from their computer to the handheld device.
Using a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, I was ready to transfer lots of videos, music files and photos to my PSP. Now you would think that transferring files to the PSP would be just like copying them to a hard drive but not so. Since the PSP uses a particular file structure, you need a file management program to ease the pain of moving all those files to their proper location.
Luckily, Sony Media Software developed the PSP Media Manager to help transfer and manage all of your files. The program is only supported in Windows XP, which is a great disappointment for other Windows users.
To get started with using the PSP Media Manager, plug your USB A to mini B cable into your computer’s USB port. Then connect the mini B plug into the top of the PSP and select USB connection from the device’s main menu. Once you choose USB connection in the PSP main menu, your computer should now recognize the PSP. Launch the program and you will notice that the upper left of the application window will now display the name of your PSP and the capacity of your memory stick.
The program offers eight specific sections (Photos, Music, Video, CD, Feeds, Game, Backup and Settings) to manage your particular files. This is an excellent way to keep your multimedia files separate.
Under Photos, you can scroll over each image to see a large thumbnail of each. You can click on any image to open the file up in your default image application. To transfer files, you can either drag and drop them onto the PSP’s window display located at the lower half of the application screen. You can also select multiple files and press the transfer button to the left to move them to the PSP. This process is similar to all of the other compatible files.
The Music section of the program offers users with the ability to rip files from audio CDs and transfer them to the PSP. You can given the ability to choose the quality of the audio output from 32kbps to 320kbps. You can preview the audio files in your default audio player. PSP Media Manager does not offer any feature to customize the audio files with cover art, which is a shame since the PSP can display that information. You can accomplish it by using Apple’s iTunes software and then transferring the audio files to the PSP.
Video section offers users an easy way to transfer PSP compatible video files to the device. The program supports MPEG4, AVI, MPEG, QuickTime MOV, Windows Media Video and more. Transferring video files is probably the most difficult thing to accomplish because the PSP requires a THM info file for the device to display the file information.
The CD option provides audio CD ripping capabilities. Just choose the audio track from your CD and press the extract button. Once the extraction is complete, you then have to switch back to your music file directory that you set up earlier and transfer it to the PSP.
The Game section is for you to manage all of your game saves and other game information content. The Backup section offers users with a quick and easy way to backup their PSP data to your computer.
The Setup option contains some extra features that you can set up. Networking, audio and video encoding can be set here so you don’t have to manually change it every time you use the feature. Settings gives you to opportunity to set up feed updating, backup options as well as some additional audio file features.
I highly recommend the PSP Media Manager because it offers a complete, inexpensive file management tool for your PSP. The program will save you tons of aggravation in trying to move your files from your PC to the PSP. Sony Media Software’s PSP Media Manager earns 4.5 stars out of 5.
PSP Media Manager System Requirements
· Windows XP Home or Professional SP1 or later
· Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and Service Pack 1 (SP1) (included on CD-ROM)
· 1GHz processor
· 200 MB hard-disk space for program installation
· 512 MB RAM
· QuickTime 7 (for .mov, Sony AVC/AAC (.mp4), H.263, and H.264 playback)
· Windows-compatible sound card
· CD-ROM drive (for installation and CD extraction)
· USB 2.0 cable and port
· Internet connection (for Gracenote and software activation)
· Internet Explorer 5.0 or later (included on CD-ROM)
· PSP System Update 2.0 or later (for Sony AVC/AAC video playback on the PSP™ system). You can find the latest PSP system update from the PlayStation website (http://www.us.playstation.com)
You can click HERE to learn more about Sony Media Software’s PSP Media Manager.
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