Is The Screen That Good?

[Benjified]

When I hear about the PSP I hear alot about the screen that is uses. People say it is very sharp and a very nice screen to play games on. Is this true? What makes this LCD screen so great?

[Aylmer]

The display is, IMO, the most outstanding part of the PSP. It is beautiful. It reminds me of a plasma display on a 5-digit tv. It is bright and colorful beyond anything else available that I've seen. Sony is evidently banking on the display, given the fact that so many movies are being released for the machine. I was doubtful about the idea of watching movies on a handheld, but now I think it can work. Tho personally, I would not pay DVD and higher prices to watch a movie on the PSP. But I would rent them if they were available.

To me, the excellent display and audio (if you have decent headphones) is what offsets the short battery life of the PSP.

[theWacoKid]

Its very good, but far from perfect. The viewing angle is still quite narrow and it suffers from lcd blurring. Especially bad with games that feature horizontal scrolling.

[Glockstar]

Sony is evidently banking on the display, given the fact that so many movies are being released for the machine. I was doubtful about the idea of watching movies on a handheld, but now I think it can work.

Has anybody watched a movie on their PSP yet? (Like, didn't you guys get Spiderman 2?) How's it look?

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Its very good, but far from perfect. The viewing angle is still quite narrow and it suffers from lcd blurring. Especially bad with games that feature horizontal scrolling.

Yeah, I'm getting that with Midnight Club III. It's especially bad during the cutscenes/cinamatics. It's bad. In regards to me keeping the game, this could be a problem...

[Glockstar]

Well I just watched my first UMD movie... and I've got to say that the picture is awesome!

Also, I didn't see any evidence of blurring or shadowing. I guess it was just in those MC3 cutscenes. And, come to think of it, only the early ones - the San Diego ones - at that; I haven't noticed any of that crap with the Atlanta cutscenes that I've seen thus far. Hmmm...

The sound on the other hand... now that's an issue. I can't hear jack thru the external speakers - even with the UMD Volume set to it's highest level (+2). You've really got to crank the volume all the way to the max in order to hear anything. Yes, the sound is good thru the headphones, but I frickin' hate those things. The ones that came with, I mean.

[Aylmer]

I'm wondering if Sony is going to really push the PSP as a movie viewer. This past weekend I was in Target and they had UMD format movies in the same section as standard DVDs. They also had UMD movies in the videogame section.

If you get a good pair of headphones/earbuds (good=you can't tell they are on you) the movie watching experience with UMDs is pretty cool. But they've got to do something about the pricing for my to buy them.

[Glockstar]

I'm wondering if Sony is going to really push the PSP as a movie viewer. This past weekend I was in Target and they had UMD format movies in the same section as standard DVDs. They also had UMD movies in the videogame section.

I saw a news article over at IGN...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/632/632740p1.html

...that reported that Sony is going test the rental waters for their UMD videos. It's the next logical step I suppose. However I just don't see it becoming a worthwhile venture.

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If you get a good pair of headphones/earbuds (good=you can't tell they are on you) the movie watching experience with UMDs is pretty cool.

Let me know if there's any you reccommend, because I'm looking for some.

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But they've got to do something about the pricing for my to buy them.

If you've got any Circuit City's left by you you might want to check them out. Their prices on these UMD Videos beat everybody and anybody else's. Their regular prices even! Which is a shocker, I know. They've got Napoleon Dynamite regularly priced for $19.99, while most are asking 24.99 - or even 29.99! - and they've got a bunch priced at $14.99 (Hellboy and Black Hawk Down are two in example) - while nobody else is selling a single UMD Video for less than 19.99 (not counting sale prices).

But yeah, they're a jip. And it's not just because of the price. Their content is lacking as well. Most of them don't have a single Special Feature or anything.

I'm not looking to redo my collection, or start a new one up, but for me there are some movies that I think will be great for "on the go" and whatnot.

[Gadfly2317]

Well I just watched my first UMD movie... and I've got to say that the picture is awesome!

Also, I didn't see any evidence of blurring or shadowing. I guess it was just in those MC3 cutscenes. And, come to think of it, only the early ones - the San Diego ones - at that; I haven't noticed any of that crap with the Atlanta cutscenes that I've seen thus far. Hmmm...

The sound on the other hand... now that's an issue. I can't hear jack thru the external speakers - even with the UMD Volume set to it's highest level (+2). You've really got to crank the volume all the way to the max in order to hear anything. Yes, the sound is good thru the headphones, but I frickin' hate those things. The ones that came with, I mean.

The sound is the main issue. . . the PsP is a quiet system, probably another trade-off for saving battery life. In addition to Spiderman 2 that came with it, I picked up the movie "Open Water" because it was one of the few that I wanted to see that I didn't care enough about to buy on DvD (I found the UMD on sale for $14.) I'm not that impressed in general with watching movies on a handheld. . .there just aren't many occasions when I'd do it. . . boring flight where if I don't feel like gaming or reading, and I watched a movie once during a storm when the power was out.

Headphones. . . I couldn't afford the ones I really wanted (the Bose noise cancelling headphones) but I did get the Sony "noise cancelling" headphones for $59. They are comfy over-the-ear, and though the noise cancelling technology does cancel some lower engine frequencies, it mostly works by creating a small amount of white noise (inaudible when the actual music/game/movie is playing) and by BOOSTING THE SOUND SIGNAL. That's why I like these for the PsP, and for the DS with Electroplankton (a game that requires you use headphones to really experience it at all.) These Sony headphones take a 1 AAA battery that is good for about 35 hours, and they really boost the weak PsP sound. If you are going to watch movies, some good, comfortable headphones are a must.