First thoughts on the PSP
08 October 2005, 10:19 AM
#1
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
First thoughts on the PSP
I got my new PSP on Thursday & thought I'd post a mini review of my thoughts. I also bought 3 games, Ridge Racer, Lumines & Wipeout Pure.
The PSP comes with a cleaning cloth which is just as well as it gets finger prints all over it. Picking it up fort the first few days is a bit like a Motorola cellphone, it's hard not to press any buttons when you grab it. The PSP is covered in buttons & slots. Inserting the battery is the first job, then the initial battery charge-up which takes a few hours. The battery compartment cover is suprisingly flimsy, but at least it shouldn't need to be opened very often. When switched on, the screen is clear & bright, I turn the brightness down at night. Although the screen is sharp & has no blurring, it's a little too small particularly playing driving games, the track far ahead can be difficult to work out as you must imagine shapes from only a few pixels. I have a few stuck (white) pixels which I onyl notice when the screen is black. The sound quality was a surprise to me as it's so poor. Think integral LCD monitor speakers with less bass & you get the idea. Volume is also pretty low. When playing games, the PSP fits nicely in your hand & feels a reasonable weight, all the buttons are good quality, apart from the on/off switch & UMB opening button. It can be quite difficult also to figure out whether you've turned the PSP off, or just put it in standby. The operation is pratically the same & there's no visible indication of whether it's off or in standby. Game load-up time is very slow & any game section that needs to be loaded takes ages. You can drink a cup of coffee in the time each track takes to load in Ridge Racer. In summary, fairly well made but the games & extras could end up costing you a fortune. It's really not suitable for playing music & you need pc software to convert any movies you have into MP4. It's nice for playing games though, I'd recommend a 60 minute wait between playing Ridge Racer & going out in your car...!
The PSP comes with a cleaning cloth which is just as well as it gets finger prints all over it. Picking it up fort the first few days is a bit like a Motorola cellphone, it's hard not to press any buttons when you grab it. The PSP is covered in buttons & slots. Inserting the battery is the first job, then the initial battery charge-up which takes a few hours. The battery compartment cover is suprisingly flimsy, but at least it shouldn't need to be opened very often. When switched on, the screen is clear & bright, I turn the brightness down at night. Although the screen is sharp & has no blurring, it's a little too small particularly playing driving games, the track far ahead can be difficult to work out as you must imagine shapes from only a few pixels. I have a few stuck (white) pixels which I onyl notice when the screen is black. The sound quality was a surprise to me as it's so poor. Think integral LCD monitor speakers with less bass & you get the idea. Volume is also pretty low. When playing games, the PSP fits nicely in your hand & feels a reasonable weight, all the buttons are good quality, apart from the on/off switch & UMB opening button. It can be quite difficult also to figure out whether you've turned the PSP off, or just put it in standby. The operation is pratically the same & there's no visible indication of whether it's off or in standby. Game load-up time is very slow & any game section that needs to be loaded takes ages. You can drink a cup of coffee in the time each track takes to load in Ridge Racer. In summary, fairly well made but the games & extras could end up costing you a fortune. It's really not suitable for playing music & you need pc software to convert any movies you have into MP4. It's nice for playing games though, I'd recommend a 60 minute wait between playing Ridge Racer & going out in your car...!
08 October 2005, 10:05 PM
#2
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 627
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd recommend a longer wait after playing Crash Junction on Burnout 
Pretty much agree on everything you've said, load times are longer than I expected especially on Lumines where there are no real graphics wrt a 'proper' game
Pretty much agree on everything you've said, load times are longer than I expected especially on Lumines where there are no real graphics wrt a 'proper' game
09 October 2005, 02:22 AM
#5
09 October 2005, 10:29 AM
#6
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
What is it with the value pack PSP case? Looks to be the worst case ever made! Also it's designed for a left handed person. I almost scratch the PSP putting it in the case! Any recommendations for a replacement?
Scooby soon
How do you put up with the music on Lumines? It's a good game, but terrible music, I have to play it with the whole PSP sound turned off. Also, have you noticed when you delete a number of squares, the game seems to freeze? I have to build on both sides so I can see what I'm doing. The game will be appearing on Ebay soon!
Scooby soon
How do you put up with the music on Lumines? It's a good game, but terrible music, I have to play it with the whole PSP sound turned off. Also, have you noticed when you delete a number of squares, the game seems to freeze? I have to build on both sides so I can see what I'm doing. The game will be appearing on Ebay soon!
09 October 2005, 10:40 AM
#7
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,551
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just came back from a flight in KL (12 hours) and played it nearly all the time as well as waiting for the plane.My game doesnt freeze I have got up to about a 101,000 high score when things start to get pretty fast. Definetly no freezing you could have a dirty disc?
The music is a bit crazy especially when it adds in effects when you press the button to rotate the shape (Shake your body is pretty bad) cant remember exactly what it is but everytime you press its like SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
My other mega pet hate is the earphones limited to 90db, if your in a room by itself with no one else you will probably use the speakers. But if you are on a plane, in a car in a departure lounge forget about being able to hear the sound from the earphones for either games or MP3s
Can anyone confirm replacing them will make it louder (ie is it the earphones or the PSP limiting the volume?
I bought the PSP with Ridge Racer, I have played it for a total of about 2 hours since Sep 1st complete waste of money all the cars and tracks feel the same. I also bought Wipeout which is good (never played before PSP) but took me a while to get in to it. Also got Tom something or other Mercury game seems ok but gets very hard after only a few stages. But for ultimate pick up a playability Lumines has got to be No 1 easily as good or better than Tetris shame it didnt make better use of the PSP graphics.
The music is a bit crazy especially when it adds in effects when you press the button to rotate the shape (Shake your body is pretty bad) cant remember exactly what it is but everytime you press its like SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
My other mega pet hate is the earphones limited to 90db, if your in a room by itself with no one else you will probably use the speakers. But if you are on a plane, in a car in a departure lounge forget about being able to hear the sound from the earphones for either games or MP3s
Can anyone confirm replacing them will make it louder (ie is it the earphones or the PSP limiting the volume?
I bought the PSP with Ridge Racer, I have played it for a total of about 2 hours since Sep 1st complete waste of money all the cars and tracks feel the same. I also bought Wipeout which is good (never played before PSP) but took me a while to get in to it. Also got Tom something or other Mercury game seems ok but gets very hard after only a few stages. But for ultimate pick up a playability Lumines has got to be No 1 easily as good or better than Tetris shame it didnt make better use of the PSP graphics.
Trending Topics
09 October 2005, 11:12 AM
#8
Scooby Regular
Im very impressed with mine so far i think its a great peice of kit.
Im not really impressed with the current games on offer though, My shortlist was Toca Race Car, Burnout and Ridge Racer. As said i remember RR being pretty limited on the PS and i have Burnout on PS2. So i went with Toca, the graphics i cant knock at all but the game itself is very hard and i always seem to get overtaken on the starting grid! and ultimatly finish about 5th! Having 20 cars on track is impressive!! The Mustang series is soo
though (Elanor )
Time will tell wether more "good" games will come out, nothing really floats my boat at the moment. Ill probably need more soon though!
Im not really impressed with the current games on offer though, My shortlist was Toca Race Car, Burnout and Ridge Racer. As said i remember RR being pretty limited on the PS and i have Burnout on PS2. So i went with Toca, the graphics i cant knock at all but the game itself is very hard and i always seem to get overtaken on the starting grid! and ultimatly finish about 5th! Having 20 cars on track is impressive!! The Mustang series is soo
though (Elanor )Time will tell wether more "good" games will come out, nothing really floats my boat at the moment. Ill probably need more soon though!
09 October 2005, 01:00 PM
#9
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
I just tried the Sennheiser MX300 (worth £9) headphones that came with my MP3 player in the PSP. (I have bought a set of Shure E2c phones for my MP3 player). The MX300s sound great, much louder than the regular Sony 99p specials & much better quality - they even have bass! They work plugged direct into the PSP & also plugged into the inline remote thing. The MX500s at £19 would probably be better, you can also get them in white.
I'm now looking for a way to plug the PSP into external speakers as I now see I'm missing a lot of the sound quality.
I'm now looking for a way to plug the PSP into external speakers as I now see I'm missing a lot of the sound quality.
09 October 2005, 05:19 PM
#11
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
Does anyone have links to good game review sites? I'd like to look at Need for Speed but I've already made 2 expensive mistakes (Lumines & Wipeout).
09 October 2005, 08:58 PM
#13
Scooby Regular
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 2,895
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Nick
I just tried the Sennheiser MX300 (worth £9) headphones that came with my MP3 player in the PSP. (I have bought a set of Shure E2c phones for my MP3 player). The MX300s sound great, much louder than the regular Sony 99p specials & much better quality - they even have bass! They work plugged direct into the PSP & also plugged into the inline remote thing. The MX500s at £19 would probably be better, you can also get them in white.
I'm now looking for a way to plug the PSP into external speakers as I now see I'm missing a lot of the sound quality.
I'm now looking for a way to plug the PSP into external speakers as I now see I'm missing a lot of the sound quality.
I got a set of these for my PSP
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=1210
Lucky for me they were free from a friend of mine who received three sets as 'samples' at his business.Sound is very impressive but the review in the link above seems to suggest the Logitech set as being a better performer!!
Still you can't complain when you get em for nowt!!
09 October 2005, 08:59 PM
#14
Scooby Regular
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 2,895
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Nick
Another quick question, does anyone have any hints & tips on converting movies (AVI or WMA) to MP4 to play on the PSP?
09 October 2005, 09:44 PM
#15
Originally Posted by Nick
Does anyone have links to good game review sites? I'd like to look at Need for Speed but I've already made 2 expensive mistakes (Lumines & Wipeout).
and provides loads of downloads for games & patches
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/index.html
09 October 2005, 09:46 PM
#16
Originally Posted by Nick
Another quick question, does anyone have any hints & tips on converting movies (AVI or WMA) to MP4 to play on the PSP?
09 October 2005, 10:24 PM
#17
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Land of Sweaty Socks
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Nick
Does anyone have links to good game review sites? I'd like to look at Need for Speed but I've already made 2 expensive mistakes (Lumines & Wipeout).
And mistakes in Lumines and Wipeout?? They are brilliant games!! Tsk tsk the youth of today.
09 October 2005, 10:34 PM
#18
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by NickAdams
Here ya go mate - http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000980024404/
09 October 2005, 11:48 PM
#19
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I tried watching a movie on my psp on the train a month ago and couldnt hear a thing. Volume is way too low even on full wack. So I bought a headphone amplifier thing off e-bay for £16 called a boostaroo. Cr@p name but it works. Am flying to new york in December so will test it properly then. I think I'll also be using my Djing headphones which are a closed can design so will block out background noise.
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
10 October 2005, 02:08 AM
#20
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Land of Sweaty Socks
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Greeny01
I tried watching a movie on my psp on the train a month ago and couldnt hear a thing. Volume is way too low even on full wack.
10 October 2005, 02:18 AM
#21
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Teesside
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Greeny01
I tried watching a movie on my psp on the train a month ago and couldnt hear a thing. Volume is way too low even on full wack. So I bought a headphone amplifier thing off e-bay for £16 called a boostaroo. Cr@p name but it works. Am flying to new york in December so will test it properly then. I think I'll also be using my Djing headphones which are a closed can design so will block out background noise.
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
10 October 2005, 04:01 AM
#22
Originally Posted by Nick
Thanks for the link, I've seen this page, it needs something like 4 programs though including the dreadful Quicktime. Is there just one program that does it? I don't mind paying for it.
10 October 2005, 08:48 AM
#23
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Greeny01
I tried watching a movie on my psp on the train a month ago and couldnt hear a thing. Volume is way too low even on full wack. So I bought a headphone amplifier thing off e-bay for £16 called a boostaroo. Cr@p name but it works. Am flying to new york in December so will test it properly then. I think I'll also be using my Djing headphones which are a closed can design so will block out background noise.
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
As for the negative remarks about the PSP, to be honest I think for the sake of waiting a minute for a game to load is a small sacrifice to pay for the overall quality of the psp. I have ridge racer and to be honest you're waiting a minute at the absolute maximum. What else is there on the market that can deliver that sort of quality graphics and game play, not to mention everything else it does. PSP lives up to the hype, play one and you'll want one.
Iain
Initial game loading times are long but ok, it's the loading times between each section. For instance, each time you run a race in Ridge Racer you have to wait though the loading screen, so with RR you have to sit waiting for it to load. This is a portable unit for quick games when you have a few minutes spare. From turning on the PSP & loading RR to actually starting a race takes nearly 2 minutes. Each race is between 3 & 6 mins long, but with 20 secs of loading before the start of each track. When I'm fired up, 20 secs of watching a white loading screen seems like 20 mins!
10 October 2005, 08:50 AM
#24
Scooby Senior
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by badcompany
look @ my link free & easy to use
10 October 2005, 09:23 AM
#25
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by P_v_G
Is this a movie you have encoded yourself? If so and you are using PSPVideo9, rember to use the audio boost slider and ramp the volume up to 200%.
Have you tried it?
IAin
10 October 2005, 03:38 PM
#26
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Land of Sweaty Socks
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Greeny01
No it wasnt, but I beleive even if you do that it doesnt make it much louder. I have the software to encode myself but havent got round to doing it yet.
Have you tried it?
IAin
Have you tried it?
IAin
. Just run the vid through PSPVideo9 again and ramp up the volume. Newly encoded vids from DVD set at 200% volume in PSPV9 are just about acceptable due to the low sound level on a dvd so pass it through again to increase the volume.I've just said the same thing twice there so it must be true!
paul.
10 October 2005, 03:41 PM
#27
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cool, I never knew you could run a file through it again once its already in mp4 format. I get most of my movies from a friend of mine so have never even opened the application even though I've got it on my pc. I will give it a go.
Iain
Iain
25 December 2005, 10:07 PM
#28
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Gone for Good
Posts: 13,628
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Loving mine but like the rest of you guys have issues with the sound.
Been shooting and drumming since I was 12 so I can't hear very well at the best of times
Will go shopping tomorrow to get some decent headphones. Will I need a headphone amp aswell or will a decent set of headphones do? Is maplin the best place to start looking?
At the moment I can barely hear Sin City UMD Video in my lounge let alone sitting in a plane!
Other than that I'm very impressed!
Been shooting and drumming since I was 12 so I can't hear very well at the best of times
Will go shopping tomorrow to get some decent headphones. Will I need a headphone amp aswell or will a decent set of headphones do? Is maplin the best place to start looking?
At the moment I can barely hear Sin City UMD Video in my lounge let alone sitting in a plane!
Other than that I'm very impressed!
)
26 December 2005, 02:06 AM
#30
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: sheffield
Posts: 4,093
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts