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General discussion

Many questions about PSP, Any help on any would be great!!!!

May 25, 2007 8:25AM PDT

Okay, so I think I'm going to buy a PSP. I was wanting to get one last year, but decided to go with a DS lite instead. I really like the DS Lite, but with the new price of the PSP it is hard to pass up. But, before I do I have a few questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


1). My DS Lite saves the games right on the game, so I don't need a memory card or anything, do I have to have a memory stick in to save games on the PSP?


2). I'd really like to use this for like a stereo in my house. I know it would not be the best, but is the sound quality good enough just to listen to and enjoy?


3). Is there any dock or anything that is good quality for listening to music at home on the PSP?


4). How is the battery life? I read 8 hours.


5). On the Ds you have to unscrew the battery cover to change it, is this the case on the PSP as well?


6). How hard is it to get music on it? I have a little cheap MP3 player now and basically nothing is compatible. Mainly I would be ripping CDs. I have a few downloads from iTunes and then a few from Rhapsody.


7). In the core kit, is anything included such as the charge, memory stick, etc? I remember they used to have a kit with several things, but since they don't offer that anymore, I wasn't sure what else I would need.


Cool. I read a lot about the dead pixels on the PSP. Originally I thought that it was something that you just need to check for when you first get it. However, I read a review and someone said they had to return several because they kept getting dead pixels. Can you get dead pixels even after you have had it for a while.


9). I know places like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. offer warranties for things like this. However, Wal-Mart still doesn't offer anything. If I buy it from there is there anyway to get a warranty on it, or would I have to go through Sony or something? I'm not sure if the warranty is even worth it, especially at the current price.


Sorry for all the questions, just trying to decide what I should do.


Again, any help is really appreciated.


Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Questions answered
May 26, 2007 5:07AM PDT

1. Yes you do have to have a memory stick to save your games.

2. Uh...I don't really use my PSP for music but the sound quality is decent.

3. There are docks made by various companies (such as Logitech) but I have not used any of them so I do no know if they are good quality.

4.The battery life is pretty good. I get around 5.5 hours for playing games. There is also a battery menu where it tells you exactly how much battery if left.

5. No. The battery cover slides off easily. No screwdriver needed.

6. No. Anyone with basic computer skills will be able to transfer music to the PSP. You just have to drag and drop the files to the MUSIC folder. (note that the file name is all in caps)

7. The core pack only comes with the PSP, battery and a charger. You will also need a memory stick and a case. I recommend the Logitech Play Gear Pocket for a case. You may also want to consider the Entertainment Pack which costs $250. It has a PSP, Battery, charger, ATV Offroad Fury game, Lord of Dogtown movie, and a 1 gig memory stick.

8. I'm not sure exactly but I had 2 permanently lit pixels when I first got it (1.5 years ago) and I have not had any more bad pixels.

9. I don't think that you need the extended warranty, I have not had any major problems with mine.

I prefer the PSP over the DS Lite because it can do soo much more stuff. But at the end it all comes down to what games you like to play and which system support those games.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks so much for all of your answers, that really helped
May 26, 2007 1:02PM PDT

Your answers really helped, I do still have a few questions, that arised after your info, sorry!


1). Just for games, what size would you say is a good size memory card to have? I'm not a big gamer, I usually have one main game I play until I solve it and then buy another one when it is solved..... I usually have a game or two (i.e. Brain Age) that I play on and off. I want to have good amount of space, but I also don't want to spend a ton of money. If possible I would like to just have one for games, then one for music and movies, or get another one for movies and photos.


2). Is there anything special I need to look for when buying memory cards? For example, my local staples often has memory cards on special, is there any reason it wouldn't work on the PSP?


I looked around last night (had a little free time) for some sound docks and found a few I like, I may post a seperate question to see if I can get some opinions on those. The one I like is less than $20 and gets better reviews than the one that was originally $200 and now is around $40, so I don't know which way to go, anyway....


3). Do they no longer sell the pack that comes with the memory card, headphones, etc? I cannot seem to find it. I looked at the entertainment pack, I like that it has the memory card, but I don't really know if the game or movie would be of interest to me, so it probably wouldn't end up being a good value.


4). Would better speakers and/or headset be worth it for the iPod, or is the player itself not good enough to produce a nice sounding music? And when I say good headset, would I be able to get a nice earbud for much less than $200? Ideally I don't want to spend more on the headset than my music player..... The best situation would be under $50?


5). Finally..... The main reason I went with the DS Lite last year was because of the game titles, I think there are more I like for DS than PSP, so I chose it. I've been really happy with the games, so I think I made the right choice there. However, there are several titles I think I would really like only available on PSP. I was considering just geting a home console, but I really don't have much time to play at home and seem to get more time when I can take it with me, hence the portable player. I definitely think I will be able to find games I like, I just hope they keep making games for the system, with the price drops I'm a little worried they aren't going to keep it around much longer.


Basically my thinking it this. I want a music player of some sort. I'm not an audiophile, or anything close. I just want something I can listen to and enjoy, but I want it to be able to do more than just play music. The Zune and iPod seem to be the two players that would fit me best (aside from PVPs, but they are a little higher than I want to go) However, neither of them really offer a good majority of the things I am looking for. Since I'm not all that into music, I don't really want to spend a ton of money on it (obviously they aren't a ton of money, but still cost more than I feel they are worth, personally, for myself) So, I feel I could get a PSP and tons of games and accessories (i.e. cases, sound dock, tv recorder, etc.) and still spend around the same amount as I would for a nice MP3 player, but still have the ability to do a lot more. I know it won't be as nice as something like an iPod, but I really think it would work fine for me.... Right now I mainly listen to the radio and a CD once and a while, nothing too great.... While I can appreciate the quality of a good music player and speakers, I just can't fathom spending that much money.


Thanks again, I really think I'm going to take the plunge.... I love clicking the "got it" box on my products and wish list (I'm a little crazy!) Wink

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Some more answers
May 27, 2007 10:22AM PDT

1: Probably the 32MB card that comes with the "Value" pack of the PSP will be just fine. Every game is different, but generally game saves are only a few hundred KB each, so 32MB will store a lot of game saves.

If you want to download game demos or things like that, you may want some additional space. Any Memory Stick Pro Duo card will work really, just beware if buying online that you don't buy a fake. If you buy from a place like Staples, there's an almost zero chance of that happening.

Music and movies will take up quite a bit more space... I think until a very recent firmware update, the PSP was limited to 4GB memory sticks. Not sure what it is now, maybe someone else will know. But I would use an average of about 1MB/minute for MP3s and about 100MB/hour for movies. That's a good rough estimate, though you'll likely find your actual results will vary quite a bit. Personally, I'd reconsider the idea of using the PSP for movies. If you ask me, the resolution of the screen is just too high for the size, and it makes it hard to look at unless you have like 15/20 vision or better.

2: Guess I already answered this, but so long as it is a Memory Stick PRO Duo card, or you have some kind of an adapter, you're fine. The PSP can't use SD cards, CF cards, or even Memory Sticks... It HAS to be a Memory Stick PRO Duo type card. Anything that meets that particular qualification should work.

3: They used to sell what was known as the "Value Pack" that game with headphones, a 32MB memory card, and some sample disc with a couple of music files, videos, etc. Don't know if they still do or not, but that is probably what you'd want to look for.

4: Not really going to be much help there, sorry.

5: It shouldn't be a problem finding games for the PSP... Finding good games for the PSP might be a bit different. Before spending any money, I'd hit a few review sites, and read the reviews for the games you're interested in. A lot of PSP games suffer from really long loading times and choppy graphics. Might be a good idea to know about these kinds of technical issues you might face before you spend your money.

Personally, if I weren't running a custom firmware on my PSP that let me use it as an emulator for NES, SNES, Genesis, and PSX games, it would probably almost never leave a drawer in my desk. I do like this Tales of Eternia game, which is a remake of the PSX Tales of Destiny II, but it's an import only game for those of us on this side of the pond. It was released in Japan and Europe, but not the US.

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Just a few more....
May 27, 2007 3:51PM PDT

I found a Sony 4gb memory stick pro duo for $76 online, that seems like about the best price I can find, does that sound pretty good? I was planning to get that and then the $10 512mb card just for games saves and downloads.


Now, if I understand your figures correctly, if I get a 4gb card, approximately 4096mb. If each minute of music is 1mb and the average song I listen to is around 3 minutes, that would give me approximately 1,365 songs.... Then, averaging 13 songs a CD that gives me just over 100 CDs.... Would that be right? Doesn't hold quite as much as I thought, but still will cover all my music, plus I wouldn't need everything on there all the time anyway.


As far as graphics, wouldn't you say they are better than a DS? I would hope so. I'm not big into gaming, so it isn't a huge issue, but I like having the option. I'm not much into war games, fighting games, only need one racing game, may do a few sports, etc. But aside from that, I mainly like games like Mario, Yoshi's Island, etc. So that is why I went with the DS originally. But, I think that Ape Escape, a few brain games, some of the classic game sets, etc. Would all suit me pretty well. As far as reading the reviews, I always do that, I always seem to pick bad ones other wise.


The emulator you speak of, I hadn't heard of these until a few days ago when watching Tom Merritt's video about them. I don't know much about them, if they are legal, etc. How do you go about getting one of these?


Thanks for all your help, I really am getting closer Happy

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Well...
May 27, 2007 11:14PM PDT

If you buy online, make sure it's from a reputable source like Amazon or NewEgg... Otherwise, at a price like that for a 4GB stick, I'd tend to think it's an illegal knockoff coming from China. Some of them work really well, but most will "brick" your system if you try and use them for updating the firmware.

Also, memory card makers use a simple base 10 method for calculating space. To them, 4GB means 4000MB, and then there's the filesystem overhead. In the end, you'll probably have around 3.5-3.7GB of usable space.

I don't have a DS, so can't say if the graphics are any better or not. I really only have a PSP because I won it in that McDonalds Monopoly thing a couple years back. The DS is basically a Nintendo64 when it comes to graphics, and the PSP is essentially somewhere between the PSX and PS2 power wise. Of course the graphics all really depend on the game. Something like Metroid Prime Hunters will probably look better than some emulated PSX game on the PSP.

As for the emulators... It's a bit of a tricky subject. The emulators themselves are perfectly legal, but it's only legal to obtain the ROMS for them if you own a copy of the game for the original system.

You also need a custom firmware to be able to run the emulators, and you can't just do that with any PSP, unless you put a modchip into it. The main concern is the firmware the PSP comes with. You can downgrade all of them up to 3.03, though the 3.XX line requires a specific version of Grand Theft Auto to work. You then have to take the thing all the way down to the 1.5 firmware, where you can then update to a number of different custom firmwares. The most popular is probably the one by a Spanish guy going by the name of Dark AleX, or DAX. He cleverly uses the 1.5 firmware, which was cracked wide open (after Sony claimed it was uncrackable) to bootstrap all the other firmwares right up to 3.40.

There are also three different motherboard designs for the PSP, which Sony seems to have made in an effort to keep people from being able to mess with the firmware. Which one the PSP you buy has will determine any additional steps you may need to make in downgrading, if you even can.

If you want more information, try heading over to the Maxconsole.net forums, and reading some of the stickied FAQs in the PSP section. It may not even be worth the bother for what you want out of a PSP. Just be sure not to upgrade the firmware if you ever hope to be able to downgrade it. That's the biggest mistake made by people.

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I plan to buy most things from Amazon...
May 28, 2007 8:02AM PDT

These are the cards I am looking at:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDMSPD-512-A10-MemoryStick-Retail-Package/dp/B00012OJ22/ref=sr_1_3/002-3340349-9249664?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1180389410&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Memory-MSX-M4GS-Retail-Package/dp/B000GBO9IM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3340349-9249664?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1180389451&sr=1-1


I just plan to get these two for now and that should cover me pretty good with my games and probably all of my music, plus maybe a movie or show or so.


I then have a few other things, but I don't know when I will get them. I know there is a speaker system I'm looking for at Overstock, I've never purchased with them, so hopefully they are okay.


Okay, I officially have no idea how to get an emulator and probably would have more of a problem then it is worth, so I don't think I will be doing that. Way too confusing for my little knowledge of these type things. I have a ton of old games, so it would be nice, but I don't want to ruin the new one either Wink Plus I seen they have a lot of games that have Sega Classics and such, so I guess that will work.


I do have one more question, I was thinking about web browsing and things. How do you navigate pages and stuff, I wouldn't know how you could since there is no keyboard or anything.


Maybe one more, sorry..... I seen that there is a USB cable that I can purchase for it as well. What really is that needed for? I have a memory card reader on my computer, so don't you just drag and drop. Then things like downloads off Sony's site and such, wouldn't you just use the wireless internet?


Thanks again!

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Well
May 28, 2007 10:57AM PDT

You navigate using the thumb stick as a mouse, and then you can pull up a menu to enter in URLs and what not in the web browser. You'll understand about the keyboard system it uses shortly after you turn your PSP on for the first time. The web browser really is kind of worthless though.

If you have a card reader, and that's how you plan on transferring stuff to the memory card for your PSP, you don't need the USB cable. That's just an option for people without card readers, or who may want to use a USB cable instead.

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I think that pretty much covers everything
May 28, 2007 11:16AM PDT

I will stop buggging you now.


Thanks for all your help, I think I'm going to get it and see what happens. It may not be everything I'm hoping for, but hopefully I will like it enough to get my moneys worth.


Thanks again!