OK, before I start, I'm not making this topic to debate whether the PSP rocks/sucks whatever. Nor am I trying to convince anyone of one way or the other. So, as a small request, let's not start fights over the handheld, please.
I also apologize if this had been covered already. I have a bad time with this message board's search function.
Anyway, I got to thinking that being able to have PSP-ready viewable files for the movies for download would make for an interesting idea. I know I've personally wanted to watch TAS videos when carrying my laptop with me isn't feasable (like, if I'm going on a trip where I need to pack light). However, it's rather difficult, from personal experience, to get the videos converted properly, and then figuring out just what the file name is supposed to be, and what you're supposed to do to convert it, as there's many different freeware programs to convert AVI files to PSP-viewable format, but just as many tutorials that recommend all kinds of different programs.
While the file size would more than likely be lesser, and some of the video quality would possibly be diminished, the portability would be there for those TAS fans to download and take their favorite speed runs on the go with them using their PSP, both regulars and non-regulars.
What are your thoughts on this idea?
(If I even have to learn some way of encoding them for PSP that works myself, I'll totally do the conversion of videos as-needed. I've been having lots of problems with this at the moment, however.)
Practically nothing, unfortunately. I believe just MP4 files. That's why I suggested this in the first place, because the PSP is utterly finnicky about not only the file type, the file name also has to be a specific type (Which is M4V##### [A five-digit number]).
I'm trying to re-download the Monopoly 1 CPU run and play with the encoding on it further so I can experiment and see just how badly the loss of quality is and how much the file size changes through various settings.
I'm also trying to get the fricking files to work still. I've been using PSP Video 9 to convert the files, with no success so far.
---EDIT---
OK, so I had success with a different video converter, called 3GP Converter. The only problems are that the highest fps it can convert with is 29.97 fps, and the file size goes much higher than the typical AVI files on the site (I used the RBI Baseball TAS as a sample because it was short, and even then, the file size for it went from 7.08 MB to 20.9 MB (Nearly three times more for less fps!)
I don't know the possibility of finding a converter that can do 60 fps and keep the file size down a bit, AND still work on the PSP, but hopefully, it's a fairly feasable thing.
If people want to compare both videos (MP4 will work on a computer so long as Quicktime is installed), I can see about sticking both vids in a zip file and putting it on some kind of large file host thing.
I already know the frame rate when I encode the videos. It's 29.97 fps. The converter I use tells me this at every option I decide to encode at.
The only two frame rates I can choose from is 15 fps and 29.97 fps. Kind of a lousy choice unfortunately, but there's not much I can do about it 'cause I'm about as programming savvy as a rock. 29.97 doesn't look too bad usually unless the game has flashing invisibility, then it just looks like either the character is solid or is invisible during the invincibility time.
Ah, sorry about that. I missed it either from being tired or from the punctuation.
Have you tried getting it to work in a PSP yet? If not, see if you can upload the movie somewhere and I'll try it out myself.
http://wiki.pocketheaven.com/PSP_Video_Converting
I wonder if this will help you. If not, try asking nate at SDA, since anri-chan's videos (in later betas) are compatible with the PSP, so maybe he has ideas.
Sir VG: Thanks a bunch. Anything is totally worth checking out.
P.JBoy: I finally got around to trying the file out on my PSP and it said it was "Unsupported data". I had the same exact problem with PSP Video 9 too. I really have no idea why both programs are doing this, to be honest with you. It's completely bizarre. I mean, theoretically, it should work on the PSP but it isn't.
ventuz: Actually no, I hadn't seen that. I did a bunch of Google searches but that never came up. For some reason, search engines really don't like to work with me and more often than not, I find a bunch of completely unrelated and useless crap.
---
So anyway, we're still stuck at 3GP Converter still being a workable one. I'm gonna try out some others and see what happens.
Maybe it helps to simply rename the file from:
monopoly-tasv5-acmlm.avi.MP4
to
*.mp4 or to encode it by yourself (with the free x264 video codec compliant to the h264 standard+soundfile in mp3, aac, etc.) from the emulator and put it in the mp4 container.
I've tried renaming the file myself plenty of times and it still says "Unsupported file" when I test it on the PSP.
The re-encoding thing though, I don't know how to do that and it's likely it won't work.
It works fine on the computer though.
---
Also now, I'm trying to figure out the Sony Media Manager on how it's supposed to encode files, but with no luck so far.
I had a PSP a long time ago before I sold it. With the 1.5 firmware (downgraded to that from like 1.7 or whatever), I had a program that could play multimedia files encoded in xvid and h264 with any filename (though the resolution had to be rather low, that shouldn't be a problem for an NES TAS). Why are you limiting yourself to the default PSP video playing thing? I'm sure the psp dev scene is still alive with custom firmware and programs to add functionality.
1) In order to downgrade your PSP firmware, you have to find a ROM dump of that older firmware. Those are not distributed by legal means (and most importantly not by any reliable psp homebreed website), which means you have to browse some obscure warez sites in order to find it, with all the risks involved.
2) PSP-bricking trojans are being widely distributed as genuine ROM dumps and homebreed software. If you flash your PSP with one of those, it really becomes unusable (AFAIK there's no way of recovering from a psp firmware trojan).
3) The process of downgrading to a 1.x firmware can sometimes be very complicated and risky. I remember reading instructions where it was just not possible to take the 1.0 ROM dump and just downgrade to it. Some people report getting their PSP accidentally bricked by a faulty downgrade process.
4) If you downgrade to firmware 1.x, you'll have to install a homebreed firmware emulator if you want any game newer than 2 years to work.
5) It is possible to run homebreed software without downgrading by abusing some exploits, but these exploits are not reliable, depend on your PSP model (they are not all completely identical) and firmware version (newer firmwares patch exploits).
6) Running homebreed software *always* involves taking risks. When you start playing with your PSP firmware and exploits, there always exists the risk of something going wrong, even if it's by accident (and nothing malicious was involved). It *is* possible for the PSP firmware to get so messed up that the device won't work anymore and it becomes impossible to recover. Of course any warranty will be null and void if you have done that.
7) In my experience the advantage of being able to run homebreed software is dubious. I did try the TGA exploit in order to run a SNES emulator, so I could play emulated SNES games with my PSP. The problem: The CPU of the PSP is not fast enough to run a SNES emulator at a good framerate. Playing is irritating at 5 FPS and less. I ended up removing the exploit and the emulator because they were basically useless. I prefer not risking the integrity of my PSP, which is not a cheap device.
I pretty much agree with Warp. Those are pretty valid reasons as to why I don't want to crack the firmware of my PSP.
So far, only 3GP_Converter works for me. I've tried using Sony Media Manager, but I can't even figure out how that friggin' thing works, so I've just done away with it. It'd be kinda nice if 3GP_Converter could be modded so that there was 60 fps compatibility, and possibly some kind of shrinkage in file size. The only reason why I think it works for me is because it automatically codes the mp4 files into something the PSP can read if you set it up for that in the Setup option of the program. However, I don't exactly know the legality of doing such a thing, nor do I know anything about the creators of the software. All I know is that the program hasn't been updated in about three years. Plus, I think it's a Japanese program or something like that.
The good thing is, I don't think the picture quality or anything needs to be fixed, because it looks totally fine. Same with the audio quality. The only thing it really needs is a framerate fix that the PSP won't pull a stupid on us for.
I dunno, what would doing such a thing with an OK entail?
If I also remember right too, there's a few games (I believe only certain Prince of Persia games) on the site that don't run at 60 fps. Perhaps I could PSP-encode those and find some kind of space or whatever to host them for download? Bisqwit, or someone else, know any good places I could do this for free?
Joined: 11/22/2004
Posts: 1468
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Warp wrote:
7) In my experience the advantage of being able to run homebreed software is dubious. I did try the TGA exploit in order to run a SNES emulator, so I could play emulated SNES games with my PSP. The problem: The CPU of the PSP is not fast enough to run a SNES emulator at a good framerate. Playing is irritating at 5 FPS and less. I ended up removing the exploit and the emulator because they were basically useless. I prefer not risking the integrity of my PSP, which is not a cheap device.
I'm not playing any SNES games on my PSP at this moment (there aren't any that I'm interested in playing right now), but I think that this is highly game-specific. I think Kirby Super Star is one example of games that are ridiculously slow. Others seem to work just fine.
I've been playing Kirby & the Amazing Mirror on a GBA emulator on my PSP, for example, which was easily able to emulate it at 60 FPS without ever slowing down.
I'll agree that modding the PSP is risky, but I'm glad I did it.
I'm not looking to make the video files on the PSP at 60 fps or use emulation on it at that rate, I'm trying to see if I can get the converter that I have to take the videos that are already AVI files.
Basically, I'd download all the TAS videos on the site, convert them to a PSP movie format, then send them off somewhere to have them hosted for download.
Just clearing that up in case there's any confusion. =)
That downgrading mumbojumbo is rather old though. With Pandora's Battery you can just install a new custom firmware, based on the latest official firmware. If you have a backup of the keys + pandora's battery then bricking the PSP with homebrew is afaik pretty much impossible as well.
Anyway, I'm playing Chrono Trigger without a problem on newest SNES9xTYL.
"Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home."
( Pratchett & Gaiman: Good Omens )
I wouldn't even know how to do that. =/
With that being said though, I saw that Prince of Persia for SNES runs between 12 and 20 fps animation-wise. If I download it and convert it, would someone else with a PSP like to watch it and the original AVI to see if you can catch any visible differences?
Only reason I'm not doing it myself is because I have a heavy load at work and haven't had a lot of time to watch speed runs lately. =/
Joined: 11/22/2004
Posts: 1468
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Rick wrote:
Basically, I'd download all the TAS videos on the site, convert them to a PSP movie format, then send them off somewhere to have them hosted for download.
The Internet Archive could host them. It offers unlimited space, as long as you don't infringe on anyone's copyright. (However, it doesn't consider speedrun movies copyright infringement, as it has a section dedicated to it.)
Thanks Omega! I'll definitely be looking into that one.
Now all that has to be done is to get a 60 fps conversion that works out of 3GP_Converter and I'll be busting my ass on getting every video PSP-able.
