2.80 Blowout: No more stupid file name format [Update 1]
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Jul 27th 2006 at 11:39AM }
Today at PSP Fanboy, I'm going to show you all the new functionality of the newly-released 2.80 firmware. Did you know that you no longer need to follow Sony's archaic naming format for videos now? Hell, you don't even need to put it in some weird folder, or encode it specifically for the PSP. Any good ol' fashioned (non PSP-formatted) MP4 video will do. Let's take a look:
When you connect a 2.80 PSP, you can create a folder in the root directory called "VIDEO":
Simply dump the file into that folder, and voila! You're done:
So, essentially, any video that's been encoded for a video iPod can now work on a PSP. Pretty sweet, right? But don't throw away your MP_ROOT folder quite yet... It appears that PSP-formatted videos will not work in the new VIDEO folder. You must still put those in the usual MP_ROOT folders. Lame! But, I'm pretty sure that's a small glitch that'll be fixed in a future firmware revision.
[Update 1: Added clarification.]
When you connect a 2.80 PSP, you can create a folder in the root directory called "VIDEO":
Simply dump the file into that folder, and voila! You're done:
So, essentially, any video that's been encoded for a video iPod can now work on a PSP. Pretty sweet, right? But don't throw away your MP_ROOT folder quite yet... It appears that PSP-formatted videos will not work in the new VIDEO folder. You must still put those in the usual MP_ROOT folders. Lame! But, I'm pretty sure that's a small glitch that'll be fixed in a future firmware revision.
[Update 1: Added clarification.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gonzo @ Jul 27th 2006 12:26PM
FINALLY
This was causing so many problems with the conversion software I was using. Hopefully this will solve it.
For a while it was easier to jack video into my gba-mp. Fine call me a blasphemer but I can't sit on the subway comfortably with either a psp or a ds. Well... there's probably no way to be "comfortable" on the subway.
Derek @ Jul 27th 2006 12:29PM
Thanks for the quick tutorial. I was being a retard and put the video folder in the wrong place at first.
Doc P @ Jul 27th 2006 12:38PM
these two sentences are inconsistent;
"Any good ol' fashioned MP4 video will do"
and
"PSP-formatted videos will not work in the new VIDEO folder"
I belive that the PSP formatted videos are .mp4 as well, so what is the deal
Andrew Yoon @ Jul 27th 2006 12:45PM
You can't place videos that you already converted specifically for the PSP into that new VIDEO folder. It's very strange. The naming scheme seems to make it appear as corrupt.
daniel-kun @ Jul 27th 2006 12:48PM
Thanks for the tutorial.
This is so stupid. I bet they had to pay the programmers double their wage to code something as stupid as this.
I mean, yeah, it's nice to have other mp4 files work on the PSP besides the hardcore-"standardized" PSP-MP4s (which I couldn't create on linux because you needed a hardcore-special ffmpeg version that I could not create). But putting other stupid-ass restrictions on it is soooo lame. Sony, you are I-D-I-O-T-S! Big time! I'm really done with you. I hope Untold Legends 2 will make me happy, which I ordered yesterday.
Teace @ Jul 27th 2006 9:52PM
I don't know what I'm doing wrong but my .mp4 files that work on my iPod aren't working on the PSP. I can see the files but I get a "This video cannot be played" message. Help!
jdub @ Jul 27th 2006 11:13PM
RE: #6 comments.
I have the same problems. I even reformated my memory stick to have the PSP create the new folders (VIDEO, MUSIC, PHOTO, etc.) I have a Powerbook and my mp4 files show the "This video cannot be displayed" message. Any other Mac user had success? should the extention be uppercase (i.e. MP4)?
Andrew Yoon @ Jul 27th 2006 11:25PM
I converted a personal film through Quicktime Pro, dumped it as an .m4v file and it played perfectly fine. Make sure that it's at the very least iPod compatible, around 320x240 resolution. ALSO: make sure that these videos aren't DRM protected. If these are shows that you bought off of iTunes, they're not going to work on anything but an iPod.
Teace @ Jul 28th 2006 10:51AM
The file that I added was one created by Handbrake. It's mp4 just like some podcasts I have on the PSP that do work, but for whatever reason I get the error message. And yes, it is formatted for the iPod (320x240). With the file extensions being exactly the same I'm really curious as to why the movie won't play.