Manage your PSP files

There’s been plenty of software to let you swap music, video and photos between your PC and PSP, but finally Sony has come out with its official version.

Called PSP Media Manager , it lets you transfer all the usual types of files via a USB cable. You simply select the files you want to transfer between your PC and PSP, and then drag and drop. Folder creation and file format conversion is handled automatically.

In terms of photo files, PSP Media Manager automatically displays your photos as thumbnails and supports formats such as jpg, bmp, gif, png, and tif. It also locates music files, such as mp3, wav, wma, ogg, and m4a, on your PC and has built-in CD extraction and Gracenote CD album identification, so you can transfer songs from direct from CD. Video is handled using Sony’s AVC/AAC format to optimise it for PSP viewing in terms of file size. Supported formats here include mp4, avi, mpg, mov and wmv. And, of course, game saves can seamlessly be backed up from your Memory Stick Duo. A final neat touch is the way PSP Media Manager deals with podcasts and video blogs, as you can subscribe to Internet feeds and it will keep them automatically updated when new episodes are available.

Currently only available as a download, PSP Media Manager costs $20 from www.sony.com/mediasoftware, although a boxed version, which includes a 6-foot USB 2.0 cable, sample media, and five free song downloads from the CONNECT music store (www.connect.com), will be available to buy online from 1st December for $30. UK pricing and availability are yet to be announced.