Downloading free hi-res videos from P-TV

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 4th 2007 at 10:30AM }

The PSP has been capable of displaying full-resolution (480x272) AVC videos for a long time now ... the problem? Unless you lived in Japan, you weren't able to take advantage of it. The P-TV service in Japan allows PSP owners to purchase copyright-protected video for the PSP, and unlike user-created videos, these files are provided in glorious, full resolution.

nixice from IGN PSP has created an incredibly thorough walkthrough [IGN Insider only] of the store for non-Japanese users, and has even created a temporary account for you to browse through the store. With instructions in hand, you'll be able to browse through P-TV's selection of free videos and experience for yourself full-res video that only Motion-JPEG and UMD Videos previously provided.

Not everyone is an IGN Insider, and not everyone can read Japanese, so I decided to flesh out his experience for you.

Download via PC:
Note: This method has been tested with Internet Explorer 7. It does not appear Firefox is compatible.

1. Connect your PSP via USB.
2. Visit P-TV. To access the free content, make sure you click the second option in the header.

3. Scroll down to the bottom and navigate through the categories of content.

4. When you find something you like you click "More." You'll see the running time, the aspect ratio, and cost (you want it to cost 0 yen). Unfortunately, most of the programming is in 4:3. For the full visual experience, you'll want it to be 16:9.

5. After you click "More," you'll see a giant red "Download" button. In English. You know what to do.
6. Log-in with the following details:

7. First-time users will have to install an ActiveX control. Look at the top of the screen and choose "Install ActiveX Control...". If it asks you about sending data again, choose the Yes option. If things go awry, just head back to the P-TV home page and try again. As long as the program is installed, you'll have no problems.

8. You'll eventually reach a confirmation screen. Choose the right option to start the download.

9. Surprise! An English language dialog appears. Could this mean that Sony had ambitions for a US version of P-TV?

10. Voila! You're done. Once the download completes, you can enjoy your full-resolution video on your PSP. You should keep in mind two things: the videos will be in Japanese, and most of them will expire in 7 days.

Download via PSP:
The process is essentially identical to PC download. You can simply type in www.p-tv.jp/psp/ into your PSP browser and complete the transaction that way.

Recommended Free Videos:
These videos are available in 16:9 format.
恋する！？キャバ嬢　プロモーション
レモンエンジェル〈実写版〉　予告編
あまえないでよっ！！第1話
ノエインもうひとりの君へ第1話
2006 FIFA ワールドカップドイツ大会プロモーションムービー
B.PostPet

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

codess @ Jan 4th 2007 10:49AM

2 bad, we don't know where it says LOGIN!!
you say: okay then we login. WHERE WHERE WHERE!?

Junker @ Jan 4th 2007 10:50AM

I'm just about to try this but it looks cool. Credit to the amount of detail you've provided!

Andrew Yoon @ Jan 4th 2007 10:59AM

Ugh... codess. Did you even try to follow these steps? It asks for a log in once you press the Download button!

codess @ Jan 4th 2007 11:00AM

okay, it doesnt work in FireFox :(

Protome @ Jan 4th 2007 11:15AM

This is pretty neat.
I did it via my PSP browser and the process is slightly different, but not so much that it's impossible to follow these steps ^_^

Kichigai Mentat @ Jan 7th 2007 3:45AM

Figures, it requires ActiveX. No lub for OS X and Linux users then. Of course, that's typical of Sony. The CyberShot cameras, NetMD MiniDisc players, MSWalkmen, the Sony Reader/Libré, and now P-TV. I guess I should just wait until someone cracks the file formatting and I can produce my own full resolution video.

keith @ Jan 4th 2007 4:58PM

I get the same error through the computer and on wifi,
"the download could not be completed.(8050C005)". What gives?

Paresh Patel @ Jan 4th 2007 5:18PM

I take it you need to have 3.03 firmware, I am currently on 3.03 OE-A therefore it would not work.

I think when browsing on the PSP, it knows what firmware you have.

Don @ Jan 4th 2007 6:28PM

After about 4-5 tries using Internet Explorer, I finally got the Active X to install... man I hate IE. And Active X.

But thanks to Yoon's instructions, it was pretty straightforward from there. Interesting how it creates a new folder MPE_ROOT in the root of the memory stick, with subfolder 100AEV01. I've copied them back to my PC, I wonder if I can transfer them back & forth.

It's a bit cumbersome to have to have the PSP connected to transfer file, I'd rather have it on my PC, 'cause it's faster and when the PSP is in USB mode it really takes a lot of power.

And the transfers are slow... 12 minutes to download a 30 MB file....

So I hope that when larger files like PS1 games are available to download without a PS3, that we don't have to download them directly to the PSP.

Nice, this is what I like about PSPfanboy, dis is da good stuff!

Ice @ Jan 4th 2007 6:53PM

Heh...

For those hating on IE, it's easier (and more convenient) to download with the PSP browser. Just pop open this PSP Fanboy thread in another tab (or keep it open on your PC) so you can understand the Japanese. On the PSP, just remember that there's no top bar, it's all on the sidebar (the first pulldown is "Genre" where you choose Free, the second pulldown is category where you choose your type of video.)

Michael @ Jan 4th 2007 7:52PM

The activeX can't find my PSP. Would that be becuae of the custom firmware ;-)

Michael

Michael @ Jan 4th 2007 7:52PM

The activeX can't find my PSP. Would that be becuae of the custom firmware ;-)

Michael

Don @ Jan 5th 2007 2:05PM

Another thing to note, in the "information" of the file there's expiry dates... some of the files I D/L'd expire in a week, some in a month. It says how many hours are left... so I wonder if they'll self-delete or just become unplayable.

Arithmetic @ Jan 4th 2007 9:28PM

This is sweet! The walkthrough was a piece of cake and im d/l my first video via PSP and wifi in my room. Thank you pspfanboy and psp.ign

Arithmetic

TJ @ Jan 4th 2007 8:56PM

and most of them will expire in 7 days.

Wow, thanks for making that line at the end!
Mabe i can convert it and it'll last forever.
Downloading now. I pick one of the videos that is 34MB and shows a few hot women sitting down:)

TJ @ Jan 4th 2007 8:49PM

Michael @ Jan 4th 2007 9:41PM

Ice -> thx for the tip on direct to PSP downloads! While the ActiveX does not recognize my PSP - downloading files straight to the PSP (via built in browser) works just fine.

Michael

Michael @ Jan 4th 2007 9:43PM

Ice -> thx for the tip on direct to PSP downloads! While the ActiveX does not recognize my PSP - downloading files straight to the PSP (via built in browser) works just fine.

Michael

CT A @ Jan 4th 2007 10:12PM

Hate to ask. but what kind of videos are they? Crazy japanese people going through fire?

Michael @ Jan 4th 2007 11:03PM

CT A -> all sorts of stuff. Though unless you understand Japanese - this is not much beyond curiosity... There are videos about trains (the sort of thing train spotters would probably love), car reviews, electroincs reviews, anime clips (previews?) and all kinds of other things. BTW - if you don't feel like waiting forever while your PSP downloads this stuff - all of these videos and more are also available in stremed format (from a different URL: http://impress.tv/ ). Of course - if you skip the PSP - also skip the 'cool' factor. But in general - streamed videos are way more coveniant than super slow PSP downloads...

Michael

Ice @ Jan 5th 2007 12:20AM

CT A -> There are also some full-res videos of Japanese girls oiling up their jugs and having a giant beetle toy pinch their bodies with the pincers.

It depends on what genre you're in. (Near as I can tell, only the news section is mirrored because Impress is the provider, I don't see the trailers or anything.) There's nothing keep-worthy on the site, though, plus you can't keep them because they all expire. It's just a curiosity, that the videos are bigger than standard resolution.

AZ0 @ Jan 5th 2007 12:44AM

Unfortunately, my PSP simply shows up as a Disk Drive on my computer (was running 3.02 OE-B, just moved to 3.03 OE-A) so the little app for downloading video to the PSP could not actually find my psp. Oh well.

Blinker @ Jan 5th 2007 12:39PM

Works fine with 3.02 OE-A on a UK PSP through normal PSP browser.

Navigation is a little strange. Look at the graphical representation of what you want (free babes!) from the middle option after selecting Free (2nd option) from Genre and pressing Go.

Then downloads fine.

Doesn't download on a Japanese 1.5 running Devhook with 2.71 (for old times sake), even though P-TV shows as an icon. Gets an error of 850C005 at download.

CT A @ Jan 5th 2007 4:14PM

Thanks ice! I think i'll skip this one. I wonder if you do convert the files, will it take off the expiration date..

Alex @ Jan 6th 2007 12:01PM

I learned a neat little trick of how to translate web pages.

Type the address in a search engine (ie google) and when the seach results come up click on translate this page

me @ Jan 9th 2007 4:24PM

THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOUR MEMORY STICK SUPPORTS MAGIC GATE !!

to see if your memory stick supports it press triangle on the photo menu, if you get magicgate:unknown like me,
-=< this SHIT does NOT work >=-

please CRACK this, so it works on all memory sticks...