Looking for a video converter app to play movies and other media on your PSP, huh? I know video converter apps are a dime a dozen out there, but that doesn't mean there's no more room for this baby. It's from the Red Kawa team, and they just rolled out PSP Video 9 v4.05. Ooh, blast from the past eh?

Thanks to Animaster for the heads up!

Download: PSP Video 9 v4.05

Guys who frequently use the PSP Video 9 converter will be happy to know that the development team has just announced the release of v2.24. The latest release of this homebrew app hosts several new updates, at the forefront of which is support for custom firmware 3.30 OE and above - unlike the previous release -  and increased options for both legacy (MAQ/M4V) and regular video files.

As Red Kawa explained, v2.24 users can now manage, convert, and rename either of the two video file types.

Also new to this release is a setup wizard to help users unfamiliar with the differences between legacy and regular  files. As for the rest of this application's changelog:

• Added: Older FFmpeg for Legacy PSP Files
• Added: PSP Library Legacy File Support
• Added: Renaming Title of PSP Videos
• Added: PSP Intital Setup Wizard
• Added: PSP VideoWizard Support
• Updated: FFmpeg rev9133
• Updated: MediaInfo 0.7.4.7
  

Red Kawa further advises frequent homebrew users to have their units running on at least PSP firmware 3.30 OE-A or higher. This will ensure that they unlock all of the PSP's video playback functionality, while retaining their ability to run homebrew apps and games. Just be careful - installing PSP video v2.24 to your PC will overwrite any older versions you've got loaded, resulting in you losing your old settings and profile. You can't back up your old settings either, as v2.24 carries tweaks that won't allow you to carry them over.

Download: PSP Video 9 v2.24

The PSP Video 9 Development Team sent us an email about the latest update to their PSP Video 9 homebrew app. It's a video-converter, much like what we just posted moments ago, but one of the biggest differences here is that PSP Video 9 v2.14 supports PSP Firmware 3.30 (and only FW 3.30). So, if you haven't updated your FW yet, this isn't going to be much use to you.

In their public site, Red Kawa reports that this is not only a beta version, but a very early beta version. Aside from FW 3.30 support, only the bare essentials are here.

Some parts of the GUI were changed. It looks different from what you might be used to, but still, the Convert button is there, of course. Here's the changelog for PSP Video 9 v2.14 Beta:

Added: PlayStation Portable Support
Updated: FFmpeg rev8435
Fixed: Audio Bitrate Units

As video converters go (this is to be installed on your PC BTW, if you still haven't caught on), once your file is done, all you gotta do is manually copy it and transfer it into the VIDEO folder in the root of your PSP's memory stick. Right now, there's a bit of an issue regarding some "squished-looking" vids when you play them on your PSP. To work around this, just change the screen settings and display it as full screen (hit the Triangle button when the vid is playing).

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Update: We just got word from the developers of PSP Video 9 that they have updated this application. Only minor bug fixes were made, still, that's something really helpful. Here's the release notes from the PSP Video 9 Developement Team:

Image thumbnails are now created along with converted videos. Make sure to copy over the JPG file as well to the VIDEO directory to make them show up. We have also determined what was causing 16:9 video to appear all squished initially. We have fixed this so now 16:9 videos will look fine in 480x272 by default.

Download PSP Video 9 verison  2.15 now by following the link below.

Download: PSP Video 9 FW3.30 Beta (v2.15)

For some people it was the promise of PS2 caliber games on the go that got them to take the PSP plunge, for others all they needed to know was that it was a portable PlayStation, personally the multimedia features of the PSP played a huge part in warranting its exotic price tag. Sure it was a sexy piece of kit that played the latest games, but I love me some movies and television, and the idea of a portable device that allowed me to watch all my favorite shows and movies on the go was rather attractive. Some say the PSP failed on this promise, me, I think Sony failed the PSP. The problem wasn't that the PSP was incapable of playing back high resolution full motion video, it was that Sony schtupped it with the UMD proprietary disk format, saddled it with an aboninable and arcane naming convention required to play video, and gut punched users by not providing a simple way to get video to the darn thing.

You could say the functionality of the Neuros Video Recorder should have been built into the PSP, though I don't know if that was a viable option given cost and size constraints. You could also say the Neuros Video Recorder should have been built by Sony, I don't know about that either, (can you say DRM conflict of interest?). The bottom line is that the NVR is here, and if you don't feel inclined to go through the entire review to find out what it is and what it does, you can stop here knowing that it's a quality product that does what it promises to do and does it damn well at that.

If however you'd like to know more (and what informed consumer wouldn't?) I urge you to read the entire review to get the big picture.

I'm not sure about you, but no matter how many PSP video converters I've used, I can't seem to find one that's just right for me. PSP Video 9 is probably the most popular conversion tool besides homebrew solutions such as the PMP Mod. It has a great interface, is easy to use, and has great customization. The problem is, it's a bit hit and miss.

Some videos I converted with version 1.74, currently the latest release, just wouldn't play on my PSP for no apparent reason, while others would. I wouldn't mind too much, but the last PSP Video 9 release was v1.74 in October last year. Well, the PSP Video 9 team have posted some news about an upcoming PSP Video 9 release. PSP Video 9 is not dead! Here's what they said:

"Unsatisfied with the current state of PSP Video 9, over the last couple months we have been slowly rewriting the application to make it more extensible and easier to maintain. Today we have come to the point where we are able to release something that is usable.

Until this new version is ready for general consumption, we will be referring to it as Videora IC2. This is alpha software and is intended for computer enthusiasts who wish to help us fix bugs. We DO NOT recommend using this version for your daily conversion needs as it has not been tested as thoroughly as 1.74 and has fewer features like no language support and no installer."

This is great news for PSP video conversion, and hopefully PSP Video 9 will become a much more stable program for everyday use. Despite the above warning for the PSP Video 9 development team, if you would still like to beta test the new version of PSP Video 9 (now referred to as "Videora IC2"), please tell us how it goes.

Download:[Videora IC2 alpha]