Fun with PSP and 20 GB PS3

[MegaManFan]

I'm sure this is probably covered in the manual somewhere and I'm the last person to figure this out, but I just tried it on a hunch for the fun of it. I was thinking about the fact the 20 GB PS3 doesn't have the built-in slots for Memory Sticks, and feeling bummed about it, when it occured to me that the USB port connector to charge and sync the Sixaxis was EXACTLY the same plug as on the top of my PSP. Since the cord was still plugged into the USB port and I was using a fully charged controller anyway I thought, "Shit why the hell not? Let's see what happens." I connected the PSP, powered it up, went to the options and turned on the USB link, figuring at worst nothing would happen, at best I would at least see the two devices giving each other an on-screen handshake.

 

I was STUNNED to discover that in fact, once synced up, it not only recognized my PSP and displayed it by name but gave me FULL ACCESS to all the files I had on it. I could play any of the songs, watch any of the movies, look at any photos, the whole enchilada. The only thing you CAN'T do is run your UMD's, but that's really not a surprise. It's funny the kind of options this opens up though - I can disconnect from the PS3 and in a heartbeat I can either sync it to the laptop and add new material to view/listen to through my PS3 OR I can get on the internet through the PSP web browser and download shit right to my memory stick. I've already started doing this with Strong Bad e-mails on the Podstar Runner page just for laughs, and with a few podcasts that I subscribe to.

 

What really flipped my lid though was taking an entire PPV that I had downloaded offline (yeah yeah copyright I know but since this is from a company that went out of business and never sold the show in question at retail I don't feel bad about it) and converted it to MPEG-4 on my laptop, synced it to the PSP with a 2 GB memory stick inserted, and re-synced it to the PS3. Now I knew video quality was going to take a slight hit as a result, but watching it through the PS3 it was as good or better than watching it on VHS, and instead of the little PSP display it was on the big HDTV screen. FREAKIN' SWEET. I may get in the habit of keeping a few movies or shows converted and handy so I can load them up to the PSP when I'm on the go, or simply sync to the PS3 to watch when I'm home. I never thought owning a PS3 would make my PSP more useful, but holy shit this is fun.

 

Incidentally if you have emulator files on your memory stick, forget about it. I tried reading through the saved data with the PS3 and it won't even acknowledge they're there. I suppose that would be asking too much to be able to bootstrap NES emulator onto a PS3 through a PSP, then again somebody may yet figure a way to do it that I don't know about yet.

Edited November 24, 2006 by MegaManFan

[jedijeff]

That's cool. The longer the system is out the more people will find out on their own what works and what doesn't and spread the truth about it online. I'm sure the fanboys will still be spreading their bs but at least more people will have real knowledge to combat it.

[MegaManFan]

I think right now a lot of the negativity is due to the short supply, high price point, and ridiculous behavior of certain people who are trying to get one at all costs. Once the dust settles and more gamers who just happened to be in the right place at the right time get one, we're going to see more posts about just how much fun it is. I'm still giddy over the fact I can power the entire system on and off with the sixaxis remotely without even having to touch the console. It's so much fun it's hard to resist just turning it on and off over and over!

[Shannon]

The xbox 360 lets you do something similar. You can hook up all kinds of usb devices like a usb memstick even the PSP. It will let you play back/view file formats it recognizes. It also recognizes the ipod and microsoft recently made a dl available on live so it can read the ipod database.

 

So I'm sure the PS3 is similar. But I'd be surprised if it can read the ipod database.

 

What would really be cool is if you could watch umd movies thru it.

Edited November 25, 2006 by Shannon

[jedijeff]

I'm sure adding i-pod compatibility would be a fairly simple update, though knowing how sony is sometimes they might not do it.

 

If they ever add an upscaler for dvd's and old ps1/2 games then it would be cool to have it upscale umd's and let you view them too.

 

It all depends on what they want to do. Just like they've shown with the psp, a lot is possible, and that goes double for the ps3.

[guitarmas]

I wonder if a "bricked" PSP can be recognized by the PS3. That would be cool if it could.

[JohnnyBlaze]

 

What really flipped my lid though was taking an entire PPV that I had downloaded offline (yeah yeah copyright I know but since this is from a company that went out of business and never sold the show in question at retail I don't feel bad about it

 

 

Would that happen to be a WCW PPV?

[MegaManFan]

Would that happen to be a WCW PPV?

 

Of course. I've actually uploaded a couple of WCW PPV's to the console now, I'm currently watching Halloween Havoc 2000.

 

It occured to me that if the PS3 could recognize MP3's off my iPod, it ought to be able to play a data CD of MP3's too. I burned a 650 MB disc worth of Mega Man Remixes and just to make it extra challenging for the system I used an all black (label and surface) data disc. Reads and plays perfectly.