PSP video 9 FAQ/DVD to PSP tutorial

[Monkey Business]

There have been many posts regarding PSP video 9 and how people get error messages etc and how the video is corrupted etc so this is why i have made this tutorial so that people can read here and go away a happy bunny.

Q) Where can I download the latest version of PSP Video 9?
A) The most recent version should be available here:
PSP Video 9 - Download


Q) PSP Video 9 does not detect my PSP. How can I fix this?
A) The way that PSP Video 9 evaluates the devices attached to the system to determine which is the PSP is by checking for the presence of certain directory entries. That is, it looks for certain directories which are present on a Memory Stick Duo formatted in a PSP. If the PSP is not attached during this process, or the Memory Stick Duo is completely empty (without even these directories), this may fail.

The list of steps for resolving this are as follows:

1) Put the memory card in the PSP.
2) Format the memory card in the PSP (from the PSP's menus).
3) Put the PSP in USB connection mode.
4) Attach the PSP to the PC (using a USB "A to mini-B" cable).
5) Start Windows Explorer / My Computer. Check and make note of the drive letter of the PSP (e.g. E: or F.
6) On the PSP's drive letter, manually create a directory named "MP_ROOT" off of the root directory of the drive (not in one of the sub-directories; do NOT create it in the "PSP" directory).
7) On the PSP's drive letter, create a sub-directory named "100MNV01" off of the "MP_ROOT" directory.
On the PSP's drive letter, create a sub-directory named "100ANV01" off of the "MP_ROOT" directory.
9) In PSP Video 9, either use the auto-detect feature to detect the drive letter (Setup... Settings... PSP Drive... "Auto Find"), or manually change the drive letter setting, to match the drive letter noted in step #5 above.


Q) Is there a specific version of firmware which the PSP must be running in order to work with PSP Video 9?
A) The PSP must be running at least firmware v2.00 when used with PSP Video 9 "AVC" profiles. Unless one has specific reasons not to, it is recommended that one update to the most recent firmware version.

Firmware updates should be available here:
PlayStation.com

Q) I successfully transcoded a file, and it was copied to my PSP, but I can't find it on my PSP?
A) This is usually caused by files being in the wrong directories, or having the wrong filenames. The PSP requires that files have names of a specific format, so one cannot rename MP4 files to have arbitrary names (e.g. do not rename a transcoded file to "TheMatrix.mp4").

Files which are encoded using "AVC" profiles should have names of the format "MAQ#####.MP4", where "#" represents a numeral. In contrast, files encoded using "SP" profiles should have names of the format "M4V#####.MP4". These files must then be placed in the correct directories:

MP4-AVC -> MP_ROOT\100ANV01 Directory -> Named: MAQ#####.MP4
MP4-SP -> MP_ROOT\100MNV01 Directory -> Named: M4V#####.MP4

If need be, manually examine the contents of the Memory Stick Duo using Windows Explorer / My Computer while the PSP is connected in order to verify that files are correctly named and in the correct directory locations. Note that file extension hiding should be disabled in Windows Explorer to make this task easier; pick "Tools... Folder Options", "View" tab, and then uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". If that didn't work save the MP4 in the 'video' folder.


Q) I successfully transcoded a file, but when I try to play it from the PSP, the PSP reports that the file has "Unsupported Data" or that the file has "Corrupted Data". Why?
A) This can occur for a number of reasons, so please read this answer with care and check each of the suggestions.

1) Check the firmware version of the PSP. In order to play "AVC" files, the PSP must be running at least firmware v2.00.

2) Check the parameters of the profile which was used to do the encode, or the profile set for the "One-Click Profile" if one is using the "One-Click Transcode". The "One-Click Profile" can be found under "Setup... Settings" tab. Make note of this profile, then click the "Profiles" tab and select the same profile from the "Existing Quality Profiles" drop-down to examine its parameters. Verify the following:

i) The framerate should be 29.97 fps. While 14.985 fps may work in some cases, it can be problematic in others, and any custom values are liable to cause audio synchronization issues.
ii) The resolution should be a value such as 320x240 or 368x208. The total value of the height multipled by the width should not exceed 76800 pixels. Hence, custom resolutions such as 480x272 are not supported for movie playback from the Memory Stick Duo.
iii) The audio sample rate should be 24000 hz for "SP" profiles and 48000 hz for "AVC" profiles. Changing this value will produce files which do not play on the PSP.

3) Check the locations of the files. By default, PSP Video 9 copies everything to the "SP" directory, which is not a good match for "AVC" profiles. Previous PSP firmware versions were less picky about the locations of movie files, but with newer firmware versions, the PSP absolutely requires that movies be in the correct location. This means that "AVC" movies must be in the 100ANV01 or 101ANV01 directory, and "SP" movies must be in the 100MNV01 directory. Please make sure that any movies which won't play are located in the correct locations.

If using "AVC" profiles, check under "Setup" for the "Default Copy Folder" option and change this to "AVC". If using "SP" profiles, change this option to "SP". If this is not done, files can wind up in the wrong locations and will not be playable.


Q) I tried to transcode a file, but the transcode failed or completed immediately within a few seconds. What went wrong?
A) Transcodes can fail for a huge variety of reasons. The first step in troubleshooting this is to find the error message, i.e. what exactly the transcoder is reporting. By default, this is hidden, but can be viewed by picking "Setup", and then picking the "Console" tab. Under this tab, click "Enable Debug Console". Now attempt the transcode again, and after it fails, return to this section to view the error message.


Q) What video resolution should be used?
A) While one can certainly experiment with different resolutions, bear in mind that the screen of the PSP is 16x9 in aspect ratio. If one starts with a 4x3 video source (e.g. 640x480), the best output resolution is probably 320x240. If one starts with a 16x9 source (e.g. 640x360), arguably the best output resolution choice is 368x208. There are other options here as well, though, depending on whether distortion or "stretching" of the video is acceptable, whether the source video has rectangular (rather than square) pixels, and whether the source is "wider" than 16x9. Ultimately the use of different resolutions is somewhat up to individual user preference.

Note that the PSP "native" screen resolution of 480x272 is not a valid choice at this point in time, due to restrictions which are placed on the MPEG4 Simple Profile videos which the PSP can play from Memory Stick Duos.



DVD to PSP.

Assuming that you are already in PSP video 9, Click on the "Convert" button at the top of the screen. This should bring you to the PSP conversion screen.

Click on the "Convert New Video" button and navigate to the directory that contains your DVD files, and select the VOB file and press "Open".




Once you press "Open", the video/audio conversion process will start. All you have to do now is wait for the DVD to be converted. You can also click on the "New Job" to add more videos to convert to the queue.


Now that the movie has finished converting If you have QuickTime installed, you can open the MP4 file and play it back to test its quality. If you are happy with the converted DVD, you can now copy the file to your PSP. There are two ways to do this - one within PSP Video 9, and also manually. With either method, you have to ensure your PSP is connected to your computer using the USB connection.

To Copy within PSP Video 9: Click on the "Copy" button at the top of the screen. This should bring you to the PSP Video 9 copy section.



Here, you can select a file and click on the "Copy Video to PSP" to copy the video file to your PSP.


If you don't want to use the copy facility within PSP Video 9, you can copy your video files manually to your PSP. First, navigate to your PSP's storage drive. On your memory stick create a directory called "MP_ROOT" if it does not exist - go into this directory and create a sub-directory called "100MNV01" if it does not exist. Now copy your MP4 files that PSP Video 9 created to the above directory.


I really hope that this all help you guys stuck with PSP video 9.
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

"Settings"

This is the settings I use and I like them so I hope you will like them to.

Push "New Profile" and name it whatever you wan't

Under "Video Settings"
-------------------------------------------------
Resolution: 368x208 (it's an OK size and big picture)
-------------------------------------------------
Bitrate (Constant): 400kbps (good for music videos and movies 2hr-3hr)
Bitrate (Constant): 512kbps (good for movies under 2hr)
-------------------------------------------------
Framerate: 29.97fps (always)
-------------------------------------------------

Under "Audio Settings"
-------------------------------------------------
Bitrate: 32kbps (best for movies)
Bitrate: 48kbps (best for music)
(the rate of the audio doesn't change the quality... Ok maybe but you can't hear it with you ears)
-------------------------------------------------
Channels: Stereo
-------------------------------------------------
Volume: 130% (it's to much if you got 200% you can really hear the difference of the quality)

[Kernel Kev]

This is good monkey business.

This has been stickied.

Monkey business, may i suggest you reserve maybe 4-5 posts after mine for adding futer software, like new conversion tools may come around.



Kev

[Monkey Business]

Reserved........

[Monkey Business]

Reserved.........

[Monkey Business]

Reserved..........

[Campo]

Good work MB although i've never had any problems with PSPV9 and i've given it to heaps of people to use.....

[123paul]

I tried all things mentioned here..nothing worked. Finally, out of frustration, I saved the mp4 on the Video folder, voila! it worked! I even changed the suggested file name to the original video title, it still works. I'm runnning on 3.71. Anyway, I still appreciate this thread.

Is it possible to run my MS powerpoint presentation on the PSP? I'm a trainer, and it will be really cool to connect my PSP to the OHP for my lectures = )

Thanks in advance gurus!

[Kernel Kev]

No, you cant run powerpoint on the PSP.

The slim has tv out so may be possible to bodge something up to get them it to output to an OHP.



Kev

[VAMP]

Great work MB, hopefully newbies will go through this before asking the same question over and over and over and over and over and, you get my point.

[beatscience]

is it possible to preview the file you have selected to convert, if so how? also is it common for it to take a while for the conversion to kick in maybe even take a time or two of askin it to do so before it gets started properly? also, last one i promise, how long roughly should it take to conver roughly an hours worth of video in wisescreen at medium quality.

thanks for this post so far btw, great help!