Guys, if you want the coolest toy around check out the Sony PSP.

This is a hand-held game machine that also plays movies, MP3's, and is a photo viewer too.

As far as games, they are pretty much PS2 quality. And the screen is like having a mini plasma screen in the palm of your hands - totally amazing.

It also has built in WiFi for wireless connection for online play and even internet web browsing. They are coming out with a new SOCOM for it - so wireless online SOCOM in a portable!

Check out the MLB Baseball game that just came out, I can't belive they can pack all that into something so small.

Serious, this thing is very neat. If you travel at all you can take movies, games, music, and photos in a device that fits in your pocket.

I convert my DVD's on my home computer and then play them on the PSP.

Tons of new games will be coming out and I can't say enough about it.

Steve

It sure does rock....when you're playing someone elses and not having to spend $250 on it plus another $50 or so a game! You're right, it is nice, but to me, not $250 nice, I dont even know if i had that much extra money I'd spend it one one.

Technologically speaking yes, its awsome, what we can do with electronics these days is brilliantly displayed in the Sony PSP. I'll stick with my computer.(I can access armorama with that )

Well, if you consider that a decent portable DVD player is $200, an MP3 player anywhere from $75 - $400, and other hand-held game systems are $150, the PSP is not that expensive.

Add to that wireless Internet access and other features soon to come in firmware updates and it's a great toy.

Having what is essentially a portable PS2 I can take on a plane and even catch a movie on, I have no problem with the cost.

And since Sony has sold a million of them in the three or so weeks they have been out, seems like other people don't mind the cost either.

Oh, they are now releasing movies on the mini UMD disks that fit in the PSP (like a mini DVD) too. And they cost the same as regular DVD's.

I got three of these things (Daddy can't have one if the two kiddies can't...) and they are great. I myself don't play games much at all, but I got it for all the other cool reasons; picture storage and wi-fi capabilities.
As far as movies, I'll still stick to DVD's.
I don't know why Sony calls then UMD's , since they are the only ones using this format?...
Games are pricey, and the selection ain't that big yet.
Hope it stays that way. Kids will break my slush fund
Surprisingly, I thought it would be hard to get these initially, but I guess the price tag was pretty high, I was able to get them at Target altogether. I went back a few days later, and they still had about a half dozen left.

Be sure to get a big (512 or 1 gig) memory card to put movies and shows on.

I can easily fit a 2 hour movie on a 512 card, good quality, with room left over for some music and photos.

If you need any help doing this, let me know. The programs are free and you can transfer existing DVD's.

Steve

Please do! Btw, how long does it take to download a typical 2 hour flick?

I believe for a limited time Playboy is giving out free images!!!

Tell us more, WE ALL love pretty girls

Bring on the babes

Sopmod,

Here's what I got fromt he web that told me how to do it. It is very cool and I watch movies on mine all the time. On a 512 card you can easliy get a good looking 2+ hour movie.

The only difference is I use a free program called PSP Video 9. It is much easier (and better) than 3GP. Just do a Google and you will find where to dowlnload it.

Step By Step Coverting DVDs To PSP
If you're interested in converting your DVDs over to your PSP this is important for you.

The first thing you need to do is download DVD Decrypter (you can get this free - do a Google search). This allows you to burn your DVDs onto your hard drive which in turn allows you to transfer them into the PSP format. From here all you have to do is put in the DVD and go to Input and Stream Processing to decide what video you want and then hit DVD to Hard Drive.

Next you need to download 3GP Converter (like I said, use PSP Video 9 - do a Google). After doing that, unzip the 3GPC.zip file into a directory of your choice and run the setup.exe. There will be a bunch of foreign characters, but that is ok because it is in Japanese. To fix this, go to the bottom of the 3GP Converter Setup and select English, then select Customized MP4 for PSP (Direct renamed) then press apply. This is what you need for conversion of your DVD files into MPEG4 format.

Now that you have the 3GP Program selected there should be a screen that comes up that says Drag and Drop and below that it says Select. Click on Select to choose where you want your MP4 files to go after the conversion. In this menu you can also choose the quality of video you want in the middle. You are given the option to choose from 15 or 29.97 frames per second, obviously the higher is much smoother. Then you can choose from the video bitrate which is the third option over the highest being 1500kbps. Finally the last two are audio options. So choose which ones you want and once that is all set, drag and drop your burned DVD files into the blank area. One important note the higher quality you choose, the more memory it will take up, something important to take into account.

Once the file is done you will find it where you selected it to go and it should have a name like M4V05873.MP4. Currently you can not change the file names, so you must leave it along like that so the PSP can read it.

Now you must create the correct folder name for video files. In the main root directory of the memory stick, create a new folder called MP_ROOT than make a folder in there called 100MNV01. Your MP4s should go into E:/MP_ROOT/100MNV01 where E:/ is the drive letter of your memory stick. From here setup the USB connection with your PSP and copy your .MP4 files over to the folder your just created. You do not need to keep the .THM files that 3GP Converter creates.

Now in the main menu of the PSP scroll to Video and select the file you'd like to watch.

One final note you can adjust from four different screen modes on the PSP. Press the triangle button to change between them, then on them you can press the O button to scroll between Normal, Zoom, Full Screen and Original modes.

Now you've converted files over to your PSP, enjoy.