There is more than one way to watch video content on your PSP. First of all, you can purchase pre-recorded movies on Sony's proprietary Universal Media Disk (UMD). These are mini disks that hold either PSP video releases or games. Unfortunately, they are not recordable so you can copy neither movies nor games onto them.

Limited Movie Choices…

What's more, sales of the UMD format have not been impressive and several major movie studios have either stopped releasing movies in this format or have begun releasing fewer titles. Since the only titles available in the UMD PSP video format to begin with are Sony releases, you have a limited amount of pre-recorded movies that you can watch on your PSP.

There has been talk about bundling a UMD disk with a DVD but it has yet to happen. Besides, many PSP owners want to record their own PSP video content or at least be able to record the DVDs they've already purchased. Recording a copy-protected DVD isn't the easiest thing to do but it can be done. While this article doesn't address the legal issues of doing so, caution is urged to keep these for your own personal use.

Which Formats Work… Which Don't?

You need to become familiar with the video formats your PSP will accept. Then you can use a DVD "ripper" to copy your DVDs onto your computer's hard drive and then convert the video files to an acceptable format. Then you would plug your Memory Stick Duo into your computer's USB port and transfer the converted files to your Memory Stick Duo thus allowing you to watch your personal DVD video content on your PSP.

The PSP Media Manager supports .mp4, .avi, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, and other popular video formats. This software converts your files to the AVC/AAC format in order for you to view it on your PSP.

Once video files are on your computer, it's not hard to transfer them to your PSP. The future of the PSP video choices may even include being able to hook your PSP up to your television set. That way, you could view movies or television shows that you had downloaded onto your PC on your TV. Even now though, you can copy these files from your computer to the Memory Stick Duo.

The PSP is a fascinating toy, gadget and entertainment console. There's even a possibility that a camera attachment will be released to add to the menu of things you can do with the PSP. At least for now, you do have several PSP video choices to enjoy.