November 1^st, 2005 (1:37pm) - Sony Media Software has announced the availability of the PSP Media Manager, software for the PC that lets PSP owners easily move content from their personal computer to their PSP system. The PSP Media Manager allows users to take full advantage of the PSP’s ability to display various types of multimedia content by leveraging its capabilities as a portable music device, digital photo album, and movie viewer. With PSP Media Manager software, users can transfer videos, music, and still images, all via a USB-cable connecting their PSP system to a personal computer. A download-only version is immediately available for US $19.95 at www.sony.com/mediasoftware. The boxed version, which will include 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 online at www.sony.com/mediasoftware or www.sonystyle.com on December 1st with an MSRP of US $29.95.

The PSP Media Manager software provides quick navigation and thumbnail previews to easily identify photos and videos to move from the PC to PSP system, and even lets users select among different quality settings (bit rates) for the transferred media. The PSP Media Manager application supports most popular video and audio formats, and also makes it simple to locate and subscribe to a variety of RSS feeds including podcasts, video blogs, and PSP-formatted magazines for automatic downloading to the PSP system. The software also provides a one-click option that lets users back up game saves, images, videos, and music files from the PSP system to their PC.

"With more then two million PSP systems sold in North America as of September 2005, the PSP system has established itself as the preeminent device for mobile entertainment and gaming. Now, with the release of the new PSP Media Manager software, we’re providing Sony technology that lets users easily optimize and transfer their content from the PC to their PSP system using a familiar drag-and-drop interface," said Dave Chaimson, vice president of marketing, Sony Media Software. "Whether your source is 16:9 high definition video footage, a collection of photos from your latest vacation, or a PSP formatted publication, this new technology lets you vie and share it anywhere you and your PSP system go."

"Since its inception, the PSP system has quickly become the device of choice for portable entertainment. Whether it’s games, music, movies photos or Internet access, no other portable media device provides as much functionality and entertainment as the PSP system," said John Koller, senior product manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "PSP Media Manager software enables consumers to easily manage and move their favorite media from their PC to their PSP. The PSP system, coupled with the new PSP Media Manager software, provides a complete solution for truly enjoying the PSP system’s portable entertainment capabilities."

PSP Media Manager Features Include:

General

Extensive video, audio, and image support

Easy drag-and-drop transfer to PSP

Photo and video thumbnail preview

Background processing

Video

Video support for .mp4, .avi, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, and more

High quality, Sony AVC (H.264) video encoding

Customizable target encoding settings

Music

Automatic album name folder creation

Audio support for .mp3, .wav, .wma, and other formats

Gracenote CD album identification

Customizable bitrate options for encoding and playback

Images

Automatic photo album name folder creation

One-click transfer of entire PSP-formatted magazines

Image support for .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .png, .tif, and others

Feeds

Built-in directory of popular RSS feeds including ACIDplanet.com podcasts

One-click refresh to get the latest podcast episodes on the PSP

Feed subscription, import, and export

Game Saves

Back up game saves on your computer or PSP

Move game saves between Memory Stick� Duo media