Sony's PSP Media Manager - BEWARE!

[ejai]

I've been converting video to PSP mpeg4 formats for several months now using programs such as PSP Video Converter, PSP Video 9 as well as others. Just recently I decided to try Sony's PSP Media Manager and I found it to be an extremely awesome video converion program, but not without issues.

First of all the video encoding format is mpeg4-AVC and that along paid for the purchase of $20 U.S. The video quality beats the hell out of all the other programs I've been using. The sharpness and image quality is by far on par with the Hollywood UMD disks. PSPMM has 2 video settings Low or High AVC, both settings are for the most part similar in appearance, it is extremely hard to tell which settings were used to encode the video. Hardly any noticeable pixellizaton on the lower setting

The interface takes some getting use to and can be a bit slow. It tends to redraw pictures in the photo gallery portion of the software everytime you move the slider, this can be extremely fustrating. The fact that you are unable to delete or rename videos from the source drive is rediculous and needs to be added. Also you are not able to create your own thumbnails, this is why I have to use another program to make these changes.

Also the AVC format takes double the amount of time to encode a video clip that most other programs render in half that time, for example: a 1 hour video clip can take 2 1/2 hours to encode using this progam. Dont get me wrong this program does an excellent job in most of the other areas such as backing up your PSP, viewing and encoding pictures and linking you to all your music on your PC as well as PSP

There are other features that are in this software that I haven't played around with yet due to the fact I was only interested in the video portion of the software.

You might be asking yourself then why bother purchasing a program that is so restricting in terms of flexibility and also time consuming? My only answer is VIDEO QUALITY. The quality is in a league of it's own, yet there is one thing that bothers me and that is it has a very bad audio sync issue. I've converted video using several other programs and have had no audio sync issues whatsoever. Yet when I use PSPMM to record the same clips the audio is all over the place. I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops and I keep getting the same results. Encoding with the audio sync problem has been hit or miss.

I'm still trying to get a response out of Sony to see if anyone else has had this problem and if so what to do about it. Even though I feel the video quality is supreme in all areas the audio sync issue is a big set back to me. For now I say stay away until this issue is resolved. If anyone else has had this issue please let me know what you did to resolve it.

Here goes a thread that I found interesting: http://www.psp411.com/forum/7914/1//AVC__H264_thread_cue_violins.html

[ejai]

I wanted to add that I decided to try another encoder so I downloaded "SUPER" and to my surprise it encoded my video clips with no audio sync problems whatsoever. I compared the quality of the clips taken using PSMM and Super, well Sony won hands down and the reason is that the PSMM showed too many video artifacts such as pixellated movement on smooth surfaces.

For example the walls in the background of a clip using Super would show color changes like small macro blocks where the area should be still and smooth. Whereas Sony showed a smooth surface and no blocks at all. Both encoders were set to high quality and the same bit rate of 768.

All-n-all Super did what it claims to do and more. Putting that aside Super is a very impressive encoder with very good video quality.

[clothesburner626]

What are the maximum specs PSP will accept? SUPER defaults to a 368X208 screen size - I can choose up to 480x160.

What about Bit Rate kbps for video? iPod goes as high as 768, what does PSP allow? Same for audio, what's the highest I can go there?

Thanks!!!

[Baldrick]

"Resolution of movies on a memory stick is limited to 76,800 pixels (320x240, 368x208, 480x160, etc.)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable

doesn't mention max bitrate.


ejai: super is based on free software like x264,ffmpeg and they are updated daily...so they will probably get better and it is probably possible to tweak settings.

[ejai]

ejai: super is based on free software like x264,ffmpeg and they are updated daily...so they will probably get better and it is probably possible to tweak settings.

Thanks Baldrick, I will continue to keep an eye on SUPER for future updates. I noticed that PSP Video 9 has updated their software to include the AVC format. I must admit that it gives Sony's Media Manager a run for it's money.

Video 9 renders a very sharp and richly colored copy whereas PSMM tends to bleach out the color. PSMM still has the top shelf when it comes to clean video because it does a more better job of filtering out noise yet causing a slight blur. PSMM reduces the contrast of the video to create a more smoother look.

Video 9 does have one issue that bothers me and that is a slight ghosting effect. After checking out Video 9's forum I've learned that it might be due to changes in frames rates such as going from 23-30 or eventually reaching 29.97. Some files that are downloaded from the web have all kinds of frame rates that when rendered present a slight ghosting effect.

After looking very closely to the files rendered using Son's Media Manager I can now see a slight ghosting effect. I don't feel this is a major problem, just and observation. VOB files taken from DVDs don't seem to have this issue.

I've been using PSP Video 9 because it's a bit better than SUPER but yet not as clean as PSMM. I'm still keeping an eye on SUPER because I love their simple yet powerful interface.

Just my opinion.

[BJ_M]

thank you on the report of quality of sony's psp app ...

i appreciate it

as for ghosting - i dont see any, but there is some antialiasing that goes on to prevent edge issues ...

the speed issue is the result of the base app used to handle the encoding (highly tweaked though) , under the hood so to speak ..

i cant speak of future versions though ...

sony vegas uses some of the same encoding btw for the psp and is being tweaked more and more each build that is released ..

[BJ_M]

the ability (or lack thereof) was i think decided on - to prevent sony from getting the blame of deleting files ..


this div of sony is totally not connected in any way to the sony music cd industry either for anyones info ... not even close ...

[ejai]

What I'm trying to achieve is a sharp yet clear picture, As you know due to the size of the PSP screen the sharper the image the less strain on your eyes.

When observing the videos that are purchased on UMD disks you can see a sharper and more detailed image. I know they are using more sophiscated equipment, yet the encoders we download are very close.....but not quite there.

Baldrick, Do you have a favorite in this area? I'm just curious.

[ejai]

It would be nice if the software creators added a sharpen control on the encoders.....maybe even a brightness/contrast setting.

Hey, while I'm asking I might as well shoot for the stars.

[BJ_M]

What I'm trying to achieve is a sharp yet clear picture, As you know due to the size of the PSP screen the sharper the image the less strain on your eyes.

When observing the videos that are purchased on UMD disks you can see a sharper and more detailed image. I know they are using more sophiscated equipment, yet the encoders we download are very close.....but not quite there.

Baldrick, Do you have a favorite in this area? I'm just curious.

better source files ussually is the only diff... and some color/balance correction specific to psp

[ejai]

Gotcha, thanks. 8)

[Scarpad]

What I'm trying to achieve is a sharp yet clear picture, As you know due to the size of the PSP screen the sharper the image the less strain on your eyes.

When observing the videos that are purchased on UMD disks you can see a sharper and more detailed image. I know they are using more sophiscated equipment, yet the encoders we download are very close.....but not quite there.

Baldrick, Do you have a favorite in this area? I'm just curious.

better source files ussually is the only diff... and some color/balance correction specific to psp

Not the Only Difference, the UMD's are encoded at the screen's Full resolution of 480x272, the stick video can only achieve 368,208, 400x192, 480x160 max. Lower resolution usually means less detail.

[ejai]

That is another reason Sony pisses me off and that is if you are going to give me the ability to create video for your system at least give me the tools to do a good job. There are people out there (like myself) who notice the desparity in quality and wonder why even bother. I admit I did find a way to make sharper video using 3rd party software, but why should I have to go to so much trouble?

Granted there are those who don't care as long as they see a picture they are happy.