PSP FAQ - Version .75 (READ THIS FIRST)

Let's try to keep the help topics to a minimum. Note that this is simply a FAQ. DO NOT ask questions in this thread. Use the PSP Questions thread(Click Here) to do so. Any questions you may have will be added to the FAQ as we go along.

I'll put down a few quickies for now, and I'll update later with more.

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FAQ
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1.) Hey, what the... Why can't I play my game online? It clearly says "Infrastructure" on the back of the box.

- Chances are, the game is only "Infrastructure LAN" compatible. This means that if a group of players were near a wireless access point, but not near each other, they could still play the game by connecting to this access point, and it would find other players who are also connected to this point. No sort of internet connection is involved in this process.

2.) So... hombrew, eh? What exactly is available for homebrew on the PSP?

- There's a variety of homebrew applications available for the PSP. They range from FTP servers to Media Managers to Open-source/home-made games to yes, even Emulators. There's all kinds of things you can put on your PSP. Of course, as with any sort of homebrew, you run the risk of permanently damaging your PSP. Of course, these occasions are quite rare. For all kinds of information pertaining to PSP homebrew (as well as homebrew downloads), this website is ideal: http://www.pspupdates.com/.

Specifically, these are the places you want to look for regarding how to set this all up, and some easy ways of doing things:

Pre-made Files - [Click Here]
Guide to Homebrew Setup - [Click Here]

3.) What are these firmware upgrades, and what do they do?

- The firmware upgrades are essentially patches and security fixes. They may offer additional features. They are a way for Sony to cover all the security holes left in previous firmware. As of right now, they don't really do anything important. In fact, upon upgrading, chances are that you won't notice any of their effects. One thing to note, though: upgrading your firmware past 1.50 will make you lose your ability to fully use homebrew on your PSP. However, using homebrew on firmware 2.00 is possible. So, if you want to keep your little games and tools, refrain from upgrading. It's only a matter of time before future firmware upgrades are hacked, though.

4.) I'm looking to put movies and/or music, and maybe a few pictures, onto my Memory Stick. Where do I start?

- Well, you want to start off by actually getting a bigger Memory Stick than the one that came in the Value Pack. Make sure the type of Memory Stick you get is the proper one, a Memory Stick Duo or a Memory Stick Pro Duo. Otherwise, you're out of luck. Now, you want to determine how much capacity you want as far as picking out a memory stick goes. Here's a simple list:

- Pictures, some music: 128MB MS Duo / Pro Duo
- Music, maybe a few video clips: 256MB MS Duo / Pro Duo
- Movie, episodes of TV shows, a lot of music: 512MB MS Duo / Pro Duo
- Multiple movies, several TV show episodes, even MORE music: 1GB MS Duo / Pro Duo
- Much more freedom to view multiple movies, much more TV shows, and even MUCH MORE music: 2GB MS Duo / Pro Duo

Remember, you can only fit so much onto your Memory Stick at a time. So you can't fit a bunch of video clips and music onto that 256MB MS Duo at the same time (unless they're compressed like crazy). Also, there are different companies in which to purchase a brand of memory stick. The most notable ones are from Sony and SanDisk. SanDisk memory stick's tend to give you more value for the money.

5.) What type of USB cable do I need to connect my PSP to my computer?

- A USB mini B 5 pin cable. Several digital cameras have this type of cable, so try your luck with those. Also, there are companies that have PSP USB cables ready for sale and can be purchased at your local video game retailer. From there, simply go into the "Settings" section on your PSP, and go into "USB Connection". Your computer should recognize your PSP as an external drive.

6.) WTF? I bought a (memory stick size here), but it only has (actual available storage capacity here). What gives?

- Watch out before your head 'asplode. The manufacturers of the disk drives and hard disks calculate 1MB (megabyte) as 1,000,000 bytes. Generally, operating systems determine 1MB as 1,048,576 bytes. So, as your storage capacity increases, you're generally losing a few MB's as you go along. This is true for all types of storage devices. Here's the basic rundown of your capacity in relation to your memory stick:

- 32MB MS Duo: 30.9MBs
- 512MB MS Duo: 468MBs
- 1GB MS Duo: 969MBs

So you see, you're going to lose a good percentage of your total storage capacity. Tough luck.

7.) What if I want to put one of my own DVD movies/shows onto my PSP?

- Well, first off, you want to make sure you have a larger capacity MS Duo. 128MB will work for a couple of episodes, but if you want to rip a movie, you'll need at least a 512MB memory stick (to maintain acceptable image quality). Second, you'll need a DVD drive on your PC (but you already knew that, right?). Now, obviously, you're going to need a DVD ripper and an MPEG-4 encoder. I recommend the following:

- DVD Decrypter (now discontinued): [Click Here]
- PSPVideo9: [Click Here]

Basically, you are going to rip the DVD onto your computer (file tends to be around 4GB), and then put the ripped DVD file into your MPEG-4 encoder (in this case, PSPVideo9). A guide may be available here later on, but for now, there is a site that does a much better job, DVD2PSP.net. Here are some links to get you going:

- Rip your DVD to your PC: [Click Here]
- Encode to MPEG-4 in PSPVideo9: [Click Here]
- Encode to MPEG-4 in 3GP Converter: [Click Here]

A few things to note: for some reason, the person who wrote the tutorial for converting movies in PSPVideo9 titled the corresponding page with "3GP Converter Guide". Don't worry if you see that when you click on the PSPVideo9 link. That's his mistake, not ours. Also, the tutorial writer fails to mention the "Copy" function of PSPVideo9, opting instead to follow the route for 3GP converter. Once your movie has been converted in PSPVideo9, simply click on the "Copy" tab at the top-right to view all your files, and from here you can copy them over to your PSP (provided that your PSP is connected via USB and PSPVideo9 found it upon initial installation). Happy movie going!

8.) I've got my PSP now. What games do you recommend?

- This is really a question of personal taste. You like certain genres of games, I may like another. Just look through a list of PSP games and research different titles. Then, you can make a more educated decision of which game you want to get. You can also ask other members, but do so privately. Do not create new threads asking what game to get. Here are some places to get your research on:

- GameSpot: Complete PSP Game List [Click Here]
- IGN: Game Profile List [Click Here]
- PSP Advanced: All Games List [Click Here]

9.) w00t! Emulators! Now give me some emulators and give me some ROMs.

- For word on the latest versions of emulators, the best website to check out is http://www.pspupdates.com. Simply pack in the EBOOT's just as you would with any other homebrew application. That's about all I can do for you at this point. Please remember, ROMs are illegal to distribute. I can't tell you where to obtain ROMs, nor will I give you any ROMs myself. The only thing that will help you there is Google. So good luck!

10.) Alright, so I'm playing some ROMs/using a homebrew application that goes slowly. Help?!

- Don't have too much information on that. For the applications, try looking for its options that let you adjust the clock speed and/or amount of resources it uses. Again, I honestly don't know how to "de-slowify" these apps. However, if you just so happen to be playing a game on an emulator (shame on you, you pirating person guy...), there's still hope. Most of the emulators have performance-tweaking options available. Most of the time it's available in the main menu, or you can press a certain button. Either way, you should adjust the following settings to increase performance: clock speed, frame skip, and sound.

For clock speed, you'll want to adjust it so that it's higher than the standard 222Mhz. For best performance, 333Mhz is the way to go. Be warned, however, that running at this clock speed may or may not damage your PSP, depending on the length of time you play and several other factors. For frame skip, set it to somewhere around 2-4. This should help smooth out transition between frames, and should improve gameplay speed along with the adjusted clock speed. Also, you can adjust the quality of the sound, or simply turn it off. It's best to use these "tweaks" together, as they greatly improve the gameplay speeds.

11.) Does my [insert country here] play [insert some other country here] games and movies?

- The PSP is region free when it comes to games. So if you have a US PSP, it should be able to play most foreign games. It is not guaranteed that it will be able to play ALL PSP games, but it should work with most foreign games that you buy. However, movies are another story completely. The movies themselves are region-coded, as well as the PSP's UMD movie playing function. So if you had a Japanese PSP, you would not be able to play a UMD movie from the US, and vice versa.

Just keep that in mind the next time you consider purchasing (importing) a foreign-made PSP game or UMD movie. Otherwise, you've just wasted your money. And no one wants that to happen.

12.) Z'OMG! Will I have to take extra care of my PSP?!
- It really all depends on how many "battle scars" you are willing to have on your PSP before considering getting a new one. If you're very picky about getting just one scratch on your PSP, it's going to require a lot of work to maintain. Also, you'll probably have a protective case for it, and will keep the cloth to wipe it off with. However, if you could honestly not give a care about how the system looks, you won't need to take care of it much.

If you feel you aren't on either opposite end, you can probably estimate how much care you'll want to give it. The "pouch" for the PSP that comes with the Value Pack has a tendency to scratch the "screen." Realize, though, that it's impossible to scratch the PSP's screen unless you physically open the machine up and scratch away at the LCD. Nine times out of ten, you will have scratched the cover or case of the PSP. For the other one out of ten times, well, you're probably insane.

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End FAQ
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