Game and watch: Video playback on your PSP

While it is primarily a gaming console, Sony has made the PlayStation Portable (PSP) powerful enough to allow not just playback of MP3s, but also to decode video files for viewing on-the-go. What's more, the large display on the PSP is a whopping 4.3 inches, as large or larger than some current dedicated PVPs--even though the PSP has already been around for more than two years. Add to the fact that 2GB and 4GB Memory Stick Duo cards are now very affordable, and you've a very attractive proposition for a video player in the PSP.

Universal Media Disc

Rumors hailing the death of UMD movies have come and gone, but these continue to exist, with studios occasionally releasing current movies in this format. One of the most recent releases is Casino Royale, which many will recognize to be the latest James Bond film. It is the simplest way to watch video on your PSP, but the range of titles is dependent on release dates by studios, similar to waiting for DVD releases.

Know your PSP
The display on the PSP has a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. This is a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is ideal for widescreen movies. The video codec supported on the PSP is h.264 and the files for playback bear the .MP4 extension.

To watch your own videos on the PSP, it is necessary to store them on a Memory Stick Duo. These have to be in a certain format with a certain way of naming them. So if you have a whole bunch of videos on your PC, there will be quite a bit of work. Don't worry about having to use complicated video-editing software to do the conversion. Free applications exist to help you convert videos into the proper format, and even rename the files so they will play on the PSP.