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Free Sony PSP Software: What's Available?

I just got a Sony PSP - darn neat gadget, I gotta say - and want to know what kind of cool software utilities people have written to help me use my PSP with my Windows PC or my daughter's Mac laptop?

Dave's Answer:

I agree completely with your assessment of the PSP, and I actually just wrote about I think it could well be what I call a killer gadget in the marketplace: The Best Gadget I own: The Sony PSP.

There's a lot of software available for these units too, from what I've seen, but a lot of it is a mixed bag, and, alas, unlike companies like Apple with its iTunes for ipod or Palm for its Palm Desktop software, Sony hasn't released any software for the Mac or PC that I've seen.

For example, PSP 411 has a good PC PSP software list of twenty applications, ranging from converters to translate your existing music into the MP3 format the PSP likes and translate various movie formats into MP4 videos, to utilities that let you read books on your PSP, and more.

Flipping to the major download sites, Download.com lists a more impressive thirty matches, with download count and user ratings. Darn helpful! If you sort by most popular, you'll find that the non-PSP-specific movie format translator MPEG4 Direct Maker has been downloaded over 193,000 times. If we just look at PSP software, then Mobile Media Maker PSP is the winner with over 23,000 downloads.

For Mac software, I always pop over to VersionTracker which shows a somewhat smaller eleven matches, again, mostly video and audio format translators that can also work with the PSP formats. Most popular? ffmpegX, with over 45,000 downloads.

From my own personal experience with different PSP software on the Mac and PC, I have to say that there's nothing better available than PSPWare for Windows or PSPWare for Mac. They're both shareware not completely free, but $15 isn't much to pay for a program that'll make working with your PSP so much easier. Frankly, this is the program Sony should license and ship with all Sony Playstation Portables at this point.

In any case, yes, there are a number of terrific different software applications available for your new Sony PSP, utilities that will make it easier for you to work with pictures, music, and video, among other things.

Good luck to you!

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Comments

where can i get Windows 98 Sony PSP Drivers

Posted by: Maurice at October 13, 2005 1:10 PM

Please can you help with the following ?
after decrypting vts files with video9 the movie is in vts 1,2,etc segments so how do i get the movie to playback as one whole dvd instead of me having to start a new vts segment manually at the end of each vts segment

regards and thanks.

Posted by: miniman at January 7, 2006 12:54 PM

Hey! I want to export files to my PSP but I have a Win98 computer so I need a driver that supports the PSP, but the only place I know wants $5 dollars.

Posted by: Alfonso at January 14, 2006 12:30 PM

Can you tell me what software supports VTS. I have brought a sony dvd-digital video camera and cannot edit any of the movies as the software I have does not support VTS.

Posted by: Geoff at January 19, 2006 1:21 AM

If you want to use your PSP to remote control your PC music you could try PlayerPal. It lets you remote control your iTunes or Windows Media Player music from any web browser, including the browser on your PSP (system software version 2.0 and up). PlayerPal has a skin especially designed for use from the PSP. You can see it and read about it on the PlayerPal website http://www.playerpal.com. There are real pictures of it on a number of devices and you can read what people say about PlayerPal too!

Posted by: Ben [PlayerPal] at May 11, 2006 11:38 AM

Im thinking of downgrading my psp to version 1.5 but does it have a web browser because i dont want to give up having an internet enabled psp just so i can play my old snes games.

Posted by: Nathan at June 5, 2006 9:55 AM

If you downgrade your psp to 1.5 use the latest DEVHOOK to emulate it to the latest firmware. Also buy a memory stick duo and you will never need to buy another game.

Posted by: Andy at December 27, 2006 6:33 AM

hi does anyone know any free software that i could use to convert dvd's to my psp? many thanks

Posted by: sam at February 16, 2007 2:56 PM

i am finding problem in putting programs into my psp

Posted by: moga at March 3, 2007 2:16 PM

How do you downgrade!!!! i need to really baddddd. and hjow do u use all that devhook stuff????

Posted by: Raz at March 24, 2007 2:58 PM

I have a new sony sr-1 camcorder and I having problems downloading into imovie for editing. I also have sony DVDirect and it is converting to a vts file that I can not import to imovies.HELP!!!!!!!

Posted by: Frank Rizzo at March 26, 2007 2:12 PM

Do you answer questions or just post them?

Posted by: kip purvis at April 7, 2007 9:46 PM

Kip, well, I'm answering this question! :-) Seriously, I've posted answers for almost 1500 questions at this point, and keep adding a post a day, like clockwork. Lots and lots and lots of answers here, and if you don't see an answer you seek, ask me.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at April 8, 2007 1:24 AM

WHERE CAN'I GET WINDOWS VISTA SONY PSP DIRVERS?

Posted by: edwin vazquez at April 8, 2007 6:28 AM

just wondering.......im having a bit of trouble dowloading music onto the psp from my laptop. we have the usb cables and memory card but just cant get it to work. is there any programs that is needed to do this or what is the go??????

Posted by: Sam Bush at April 26, 2007 4:43 AM

i have a psp and bought usb cable today, it wont install on my computer i have windows 98, and its really confusing me, please help me someone, i want music on my psp.

Posted by: tim at June 27, 2007 4:38 AM

how can i play lineage2 on my psp;and how can i have internet on my psp;

Posted by: bill at July 11, 2007 2:08 PM

I found the best way to convert dvd/video to psp is using clonedvd mobile for dvd and psp video express for mpeg/avi's. Clonedvd mobile will also convert dvd to various platforms like cellphones,ipods and other video players.
If your dvd wont work because of copy protection, use anydvd to decrypt it.

Posted by: erik at July 14, 2007 10:11 PM

Every website i go to it say: you javascript is turned off, or u need to upgrade flashplayer. why duz it say this, i have javascript and its always on?

Posted by: salvador at July 26, 2007 9:07 AM

IS THERE A FREEWARE SITE WHERE I CAN DOWNLOAD MUSIC VISUAL PLAYERS FOR PSP, AND ALSO WHAT PROGRAM WORKS BEST FOR CONVERTING ALL DVD FORMATS TO PLAYABLE PSP FORMAT, ?

Posted by: BOBBY at September 24, 2007 5:15 PM

can u download vista onto sony psp and still use word and ect.

Posted by: Devon s at December 11, 2007 11:42 AM

im having trouble loading my psp camera to my psp, i have it connected to the usb but it keeps coming up to connect the camera, can u help me??

Posted by: diana cavanagh at December 25, 2007 10:55 AM

where can yuo buy a copy of Sonys Click to DVD

Posted by: Bill at January 28, 2008 12:20 PM

Im having trouble trying to put movies on my psp and i have tried just about everythting and that even includes information that people said on a website on how to download movies to your psp. can anyone please tell me how to get movies downloaded from limewire on to my psp????

Posted by: Adam at February 7, 2008 11:14 AM

Someone said they had trouble getting movies onto their PSP. Not really sure if this will help. Once you download the movie off of limewire, it should go to a designated folder on your computer. Make a folder on your memory stick named VIDEO. Then all you should have to do is open the folder your video went to, and drag the video into the PSP folder entitled VIDEO. I hope this helps. If not, sorry!

Posted by: Kindall at February 8, 2008 6:52 PM

pls help---> i have a brand new ps1000 here. and i just want to upgrade my 2.81 firmware to other version firware. I can't play my ISO games file thats why I able to upgrade my firmware. But i asked to the store they say that it can if I will modified the psp first before I can upgrade to the latest version. I hope someone can help me.........

Posted by: juanrico at March 6, 2008 9:47 PM

Hello, i have a psp wit 3.71 version so i just want to convert into 3.71 m33-4 ...Tell me hw can i do it?

Posted by: Adeel at March 29, 2008 9:16 AM

where can i get the drivers for windows xp what else do i need to do to download mooovies games an video for my kids

Posted by: lorena at March 30, 2008 7:53 AM

what software can i download on my laptop so that i connect me psp to it. My software on my laptop is windows vista home basic.

Posted by: amy at June 5, 2008 3:14 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!