Rarely mentioned Sony subsidiary Sony Media Software has today announced a release for the PSP that will enable users to better manage their PlayStation Portable media files via PSP – the answer to many a prayer, one might imagine.
Imaginatively entitled PSP Media Manager Application, the software promises “…quick navigation and thumbnail previews to easily identify photos and videos to move from the PC to PSP system, and even lets users select among different quality settings (bit rates) for the transferred media.”
The press release continues, “The PSP Media Manager application supports most popular video and audio formats, and also makes it simple to locate and subscribe to a variety of RSS feeds including podcasts, video blogs, and PSP- formatted magazines for automatic downloading to the PSP system. The software also provides a one-click option that lets users back up game saves, images, videos, and music files from the PSP system to their PC,” a direct affront to the idiot-proof media market stranglehold of Apple, we reckon.
"Since its inception, the PSP system has quickly become the device of choice for portable entertainment. Whether it's games, music, movies photos or Internet access, no other portable media device provides as much functionality and entertainment as the PSP system," said John Koller, senior product manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "PSP Media Manager software enables consumers to easily manage and move their favorite media from their PC to their PSP. The PSP system, coupled with the new PSP Media Manager software, provides a complete solution for truly enjoying the PSP system's portable entertainment capabilities."
Key features release by SMS today were listed as:
General:
Extensive video, audio, and image support
Easy drag-and-drop transfer to PSP
Photo and video thumbnail preview
Background processing
Video:
Video support for .mp4, .avi, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, and more
High quality, Sony AVC (H.264) video encoding
Customizable target encoding settings
Music:
Automatic album name folder creation
Audio support for .mp3, .wav, .wma, and other formats
Gracenote CD album identification
Customizable bitrate options for encoding and playback
Images:
Automatic photo album name folder creation
One-click transfer of entire PSP-formatted magazines
Image support for .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .png, .tif, and others
Feeds:
Built-in directory of popular RSS feeds including ACIDplanet.com podcasts
One-click refresh to get the latest podcast episodes on the PSP
Feed subscription, import, and export
Game Saves:
Back up game saves on your computer or PSP
Move game saves between Memory Stick(TM) Duo media
The bad news is that you’ll be asked to stump up $20 for the tool, widely seen as ‘a bit rich’, given many users believed SCE should have offered such functionality for free in various firmware upgrades.
We’ll let you know when an official European release is announced. Interested PSP users can
check here for Sony’s official page on the update.