The PMF movie player, CIntro, is back! Well, sort of. It's been updated to run for 3.xx kernel but is still in its test stage. The update comes from PSP homebrew stalwart, Coolj. More in the full article.

Download: CIntro v3.90

Mhorpheox has once again dropped a line on our forums informing us that Legend has updated his PSPModkit app to version 2.0. PSPModkit is a flashing app that runs on a PC instead of on the PSP itself. It needs the .NET Framework 2.0 in order to run, so we've also included a download link for that in case some of you guys don't have it yet.

Here's the changelog for PSPModkit v2.0:

• Now the program have an automatic installer  with desktop shortcut.
• Fixed bug that causing "Error path" in the flash menù.
• Added auto-open directory of processed file.
• Included pmf player in the tool menu (after patch MPS into PMF) and in the flash menù.
• Included rapid installation of pmf player codecs.
• Graphic restyled.
• Code revisioned.

Please read the included readme file very carefully before you try flashing your PSP using this app. Even though it creates a backup of flash0, bricking is still a possibility. For a closer look at the features that PSPModkit offers, check out our coverage of the first version.

Download: PSPModkit v2.0
Download: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Visit: PSP Development forum

Just recently, Jonny released a variant of his PMP Mod homebrew application for the PSP. Thanks to PMF Player author magiK's help, the AVC capabilities have been unlocked, allowing Jonny's now famous player to support AVC video format. By converting AVC files to .PMP movie format via the included muxer, firmware 1.5 users now have the power to play AVC movies without having to upgrade to 2.0+.

Jonny now comes with a new version of this PMP Mod variant. V1.01 still has a reduced set of options vis-a-vis the original PMP Mod, but Jonny promises to implement the full set of options on his upcoming releases. To convert files to the PMP format, there is still the included muxer where width, height, and fps of the video need to be specified. But since x264 has been patched to write a file with the width, height, and fps of the video, normally, you would not need to provide the info manually.

Maximum resolution is at 480x272, where width/height is divisible by 16. The latest version runs at 120MHz and 20% of battery is consumed for a 2-hour movie.

Just like any of Jonny's projects, the source code is also available so you can modify the application to your liking. If you'd like to give this a go, the downloads are below. Jonny provides the controls while playing:

triangle = exit
o = toggle osd

square = pause/play
left/right = rw/ff
x + left/right = faster rw/ff

up/down = change volume
select = cycle audio streams

left/right triggers = change luminosity
start = cycle aspect ratios
x + up/down = zoom up/down

Thanks Spaz for the heads up!

Download: [PMP Mod AVC v1.01] -> PMP Mod AVC v1.01, PMP Muxer AVC v1.00, modified version of x264
Download: [PMP Mod AVC v1.00 source code] -> AVC Mod, Muxer, and x264

Jonny has released a variant of his PMP Mod homebrew application for the PSP. PMP Mod AVC lets you play media files at full resolution on your PSP using the combination of videos converted into the .PMP movie format and a fully-functional homebrew media playing application on your PSP.

As you've probably guessed from the title, PMP Mod AVC supports the AVC video format - great for firmware 1.5 users, as they won't have to upgrade to 2.0+ to play AVC files! Jonny would like to thank magiK (the author of PMF Player) for unlocking the AVC capabilities. magiK has:

• Unlocked the avc decoding api
• Modified x264 to make the stream fully psp compatible
• Followed/helped Jonny with the decoding api

This is the first version of the program, and a little bit of knowledge about AVC files is required in order to get them to play correctly on your PSP. Here's what Jonny said:

Compatible streams can be created with x264, here are some command line examples:
x264 --crf 25 -A all --level 3 --pictiming --aud --no-psnr --thread-input --progress --output out.264 in.avs
x264 --bitrate 512 -A all --level 3 --pictiming --aud --no-psnr --thread-input --progress --output out.264 in.avs

In the PMP AVC Muxer you need to specify width, height and fps of the video. I've patched x264 to write a file with this information. If the muxer finds this file, information here will be used instead of the one specified manually (so, in a normal situation, you don't need to specify the info manually).

This special version is completely separate to the original PMP mod, and because this is the first version, has reduced functionality over the full PMP Mod, with reduced options. It runs at 222Mhz at around 67fps, with MP3 decoding responsible for the small amount of lag. AVC files need to be converted to the .PMP movie format using the included muxer. As with all of Jonny's projects, the source code is freely available to download and modify to your hearts content.

Download: [PMP Mod & Muxer AVC v1.0]
Download: [X264 v1.0]
Download: [PMP Mod AVC v1.00 source pack] - includes AVC Mod, Muxer and X264 sources

MagiK has done what was once thought impossible (or at least very hard) - allowing your PSP to play PMF files LEGALLY. A PMF file is an MPEG-2 Program Stream which contains AVC video and ATRAC3 audio elementary streams. Some PMF files have chapter information in their headers while some show traces of a psmf library used to interpret that information. A prime example would be the Gameboot.pmf, which is displayed every time you start a homebrew or UMD game. (You can use PSPSet to change this video as well.)

"The archive contains the scempeg lib stubs, the pmf player module and a test app. binaries for fw 1.5 are included as well. all the info was obtained by disassembly and sniffing with psplink, but some things are still missing, like finding the resolution of the movie. the test app will try to play a file named 'movie.pmf' from the root of the memory stick. it has no gui but if someone wants to make one, fell free to do so." as posted by developer, magiK.

Some of you might say that this has been done before. A similar pmf player from way back that can, for the most part, do the same thing may come to mind. But what sets this player apart is that it is not just ripped from some game, instead it is made from scratch and has nothing to do with piracy and/or ripping. Thus, letting you enjoy watching your pmf files guilt-free.

Thanks for the tip, Roberto D.M.

Download: [PMF Player 10]