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 2)
1-04-2007 @ 10:49AM
codess said...
2 bad, we don't know where it says LOGIN!!
you say: okay then we login. WHERE WHERE WHERE!?
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 10:50AM
Junker said...
I'm just about to try this but it looks cool. Credit to the amount of detail you've provided!
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 10:59AM
Andrew Yoon said...
Ugh... codess. Did you even try to follow these steps? It asks for a log in once you press the Download button!
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 11:00AM
codess said...
okay, it doesnt work in FireFox :(
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 11:15AM
Protome said...
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 ^_^
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 4:58PM
keith said...
I get the same error through the computer and on wifi,
"the download could not be completed.(8050C005)". What gives?
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 5:18PM
Paresh Patel said...
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.
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 6:28PM
Don said...
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!
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 6:53PM
Ice said...
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.)
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 7:52PM
Michael said...
The activeX can't find my PSP. Would that be becuae of the custom firmware ;-)
Michael
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1-04-2007 @ 7:52PM
Michael said...
The activeX can't find my PSP. Would that be becuae of the custom firmware ;-)
Michael
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 8:49PM
TJ said...
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:)
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 8:56PM
TJ said...
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:)
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 9:28PM
Arithmetic said...
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
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 9:41PM
Michael said...
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
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 9:43PM
Michael said...
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
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 10:12PM
CT A said...
Hate to ask. but what kind of videos are they? Crazy japanese people going through fire?
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 11:03PM
Michael said...
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
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 12:20AM
Ice said...
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.
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 12:44AM
AZ0 said...
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.
Reply