I believe that March 24, 2005 is the most anticipated date for many people like me. Sony has previously announced that PlayStation Portable (PSP) will be launched outside of Japan on March 24. If you haven’t pre-order one for yourself, rumor has that it is already sold out in pre-order shipment. We are lucky to get a hold of a Japan import version of PSP and since then, I have problem focusing back on my PC game anymore. The gaming value of PSP is unprecedented, especially when you factor portable element into the equation. What is better than playing a PlayStation 2 quality game when waiting for an often delayed bus at a bus stop? For those who follow the PSP closely, you have probably read dozen of PSP reviews for its gaming functionality. Here is just a short list of them.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000510024287/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/01/review_sony_psp/http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3545&lsaid=295872I want to take you into a different aspect of the PSP console, to explore the multimedia entertainment value of this gadget. We will look at how PSP stack up as a digital photo album and MP3 music player this month. Next month, we will look into playing DVD quality movie on PSP.
Equipped with a 4.3 inch 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD and a pair of build-in stereo speaker, PSP can easily put other brand name 3.5 inch PMPs in shame. The brightness and clarity of the screen is simply brilliant and jaw dropping. It automatically makes PSP a very good digital photo album. Image rendering is very high quality, to some extends, it is even better than my PC. I found colors are better blended and smoother on PSP LCD than on my PC. The Sharp made LCD (rumor has that American version is built with Samsumg LCD instead) has a very wide viewing angle, which make it very visible to all people in group viewing events. The response is generally fast and you know it is working on the Memory Stick when the side light is flashing.
PSP supports JPEG image viewing and all of the images are stored in Memory Stick PRO Duo. Thanks to its native USB 2.0 connection support, you don’t necessary need a Memory Stick reader in order to transfer your images. You can simply plug the PSP into a USB cable (small USB mini-B plug) and it shows up as a removable storage under your Windows PC. The USB cable is not supplied, but if you already have a Sony digital camera or camcorder, you should already have one. Drag and drop works nicely with PSP when connected via USB, but I always suggest you to use Sony Image Converter to transfer your collection. This software can optimize the size of your photo files and to import other image file formats such as GIF, Bitmap, PNG, PictureGear Pocket and TIFF. But most importantly, it automatically places the images into proper folder structure (Yes, the folder name does matter. Otherwise PSP will not recognize your files. Consult the manual here (PDF file)). After the files are properly transferred, they will automatically be stored into Memory Stick Duo.
PSP is a full featured photo album, with some interesting extra. You can view your photo in thumbnail mode. Pressing circle button (which usually means Enter, America version may use X button instead) will take you to the full screen mode. You can navigate between images using the Left and Right buttons at the top of the device, a very smart idea I found. But this is not all. Pressing the triangle button will bring up an overlay option menu, where all functions are represented by icons. You can zoom in, zoom out, navigate between images, rotate the images, pan the images (more about this later), and to display additional information (using the [i+] icon). Additional information is file name, date, time and index of the images, which are also overlay on top of the current photo. You can also run an automatic slide show, which display from one photo to the next one with 5 seconds pause in between (the speed is configurable in Photo Settings menu).
Another surprise I found is the usage of the analog stick. Moving the analog stick will allow you to pan across the image when it is zoomed and it gives you a little thumbnail to show you the current pan area. It is, once again, very intuitive and well thought out. And if you current already have a Sony digital camera, you will get an extra feature. That is to view your photo taken by your digital camera directly in your PSP. Simply take the Memory Stick Duo out of the camera and slide it into the PSP to take advantage of the big screen viewing. If you use other brand name that doesn’t use Memory Stick Duo, you will need to transfer the photo to PC first and move them back to PSP using Image Converter.
Direct MP3 playback is another big draw of PSP multimedia feature. Before PSP was released, many people anticipate that PSP will only support ATRAC3 format, a Sony proprietary audio encoding. Sony realizes how important MP3 is today and pushes it further with native MP3 playback. You can listen to the music via its stereo speaker which located at the bottom of the device or enjoy your music privately with a standard 3.5mm stereo plug headset. Supplied with the Value Pack is a headset with a remote control.
Once again, dragging and dropping MP3 onto PSP is very easy with USB connection (and yes again, folder name does matter). The supplied 32 MB Memory Stick Duo will not get you too far on transferring your collection. Realistically, you should get a 256 MB MS Duo, or an one GB storage to effectively replace your current MP3 player. Once the music files are transferred, playing it is a very simple task. Just select the file and press Circle button under the Music screen. PSP will not disappoint you as a MP3 player, with all the standard features such as skipping tracks, fast forward, fast backward, repeated mode, shuffle mode and A-B mode. The only common playback mode missing is scan mode if anyone cares about that at all. PSP can also playback in several preset music tones (equalizer mode), and they are Heavy. Pops, Jazz and Unique (suppose to generate strong bass). An independent test shows that PSP can play continuously for over 10 hours when the screen is turned off. I think that is a little short, but a daily recharge will solve that problem.
Sound quality is fair and acceptable with the open speakers and very good with the Value Pack headset. In fact, I found the Value Pack headset produce better sound than my other Sony headsets. The Value Pack headset also has a remote control that let you control the tracks, and volume. The remote control is actually more difficult to use because the buttons are arranged in a circular way. It is not easy to tell which button you are pressing unless you are seeing what you are pressing. But at least the best part of the headset is the PSP logo imprint on the ear pieces.
PSP doesn’t have the concept of playlist, an organized list of music files. Instead, PSP organizes music files in groups, which essentially are file system directories on your Memory Stick storage. To create two different groups of MP3, you create two different directories, and copy the MP3 into each directory. I personally am not chill on this idea because I cannot mix and match different music on different playlist and I cannot rearrange the playlist unless I connect it to the PC again. Nonetheless, it does serve the purpose of a simple playlist when you are playing in Group mode. Group mode allows you to play the music only belong to a selected group. On the other hand, when the Group mode is turned off, PSP ignores the group structure and play all the MP3 continuously.
The biggest draw back of using the PSP as a MP3 player, if I have to name one, is that wearing it around your neck strap is not a very good idea.
PSP is not only an excellent gaming console, but also a very well-rounded entertainment device. Next week, we will look at another stunning feature of PSP, video playback. Stay tuned….
