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Since Sony launched the PlayStation Portable in March (’05), the unit has become a major hit. The unit was aimed to be a multimedia device instead of just a gaming unit. Unfortunately a majority of PSP owners are running into many problems while trying to figure out how to actually place media onto their PSPs. (photos, music, and videos) On Tuesday, 11.01.05, Sony released the PSP Media Manager to make transferring media to the PSP easier. The program will manager photos, music, videos, and RSS feeds. The Media Manager will convert videos into a compatible format to enable playback on the PSP. It will also rip CDs and convert them to Mp3 and tag them. This program also can aggregate RSS feeds and also organize video and audio podcasts. The only downside to this is the price. It will run you $29 for a retail box with a USB 2.0 cable (+5 connect.com music downloads) or only $20 for an online download.
I personally do not recommend purchasing this unless you absolutely do not know how to use a computer. There are free alternatives online which are also probably much better than this program. PSPVideo9 is a great program, which will convert almost any video into a PSP compatible format. Sony also offers a free iTunes-like program called SonicStage, which will manage music for your PSP. It can tag music, rip CDs, create album art, and much more. If you have these two programs installed already there is nothing more that the Media Manager can offer.
Link: Sony PSP Media Manager | BetaNews
Related: Sony Connect SonicStage | PSPVideo9
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sony sucks but rocks.
this would be more popular and people might actualy use it if they distributed it with the PSP
I just tried bought this only to find that it’s not compatible with Win2000. Caveat Emptor!
Get off your high horse. If Sony needs to charge $20 o get a decent media manager for the PSP out the door let them. Sure it should be bundled with the device, but it’s not. Is $20 going to break you? Save your milk money for a week. It’s not like Apple doesn’t nickel and dime you for every accessory for the iPod.
This program was developed by the Sony Digital Media people who do ACID and Vegas. Based on their track record it should work.
As for the free programs that are “probably” better than this, have you actually tried them and do they actually work better than this? From my experience some are OK, but none are complete solutions. Some like MediaBoss are painfully bad. Ever tried to put .m4a AAC files from iTunes on your PSP?
If this program works I say keep ’em coming.
> only to find that it’s not compatible with Win2000
Duh! Did you bother to read the system requirements?
Hello, i think Sony is great and i love the PSP, but i do believe that they should have inculded the software with the PSP. $20 is not that pricy, but just as Apple includes iTunes w/ iPods they should do the same. The program is great, but if you don’t want to pay then there are great alternatives out there that do the same job. If you don’t know much about computers i reccomend purchasing Sony’s program, otherwise PSPVideo9 will do the job. PSP now play Atrac3, WMA, and Mp3 so good enough for most people iTunes files will not work and will never work unless Apple liscenses Sony their DRM technologies.
If you, like myself, think that this program should come bundled with the purchase of a PSP, send Sony a message to let them know about it.
To contact their customer service department, go to the following site:
http://www.us.playstation.com/contactus.aspx?id=form
Click on the ‘Consumer Services’ link under ‘Support/Consumer Services’. From the ‘Category’ drop-menu at the bottom, choose ‘Other’under the ‘Corporate’ heading. Click on ‘Continue’, and then submit your comment. I sent the following message yesterday:
“I just purchased a PSP, and I am disappointed to learn that I will have to pay an additional fee if I want the software that you have designed to manage it. If Sony intends to compete in the multimedia market with other companies such as Apple, which provides it’s iPod management software for free, the PSP Media Manager should come with the purchase of the PSP itself. The fact that it does not suggests a short-sighted marketing strategy which disrespects customers who have already paid a significant amount of money for your product.”
I received the following response today:
“We value your input and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Please rest assured that we will convey your feedback to Sony Computer Entertainment America’s (”SCEA”) appropriate management.”
It is unlikely that much will come of my own individual complaint, but Sony may decide to change its policy if enough people voice their disapproval.
well i luv it i didnt pay for it either i downloaded it from limewire.
I as well believe that Sony should bundle it. Dont see any reason why they couldnt of made it a standard. I run Free PSP Music Downloads so I know quite a bit about the ins and outs of the system myself. Just my 2 cents.
i dont even know where to find it. :0 the media manager that is. point me in the right direction??
It worked very good but now i can’t open it and i don’t know why!!!