CriticalDance Forum

OK, so i'll admit it, I like to play video games when I have the time, usually that is when I am sitting in a rehearsal studio for hours and hours

So, for a long time I have wanted to get a PSP, (Sony Playstation Portable System for those of you who don't know what that is), so I could keep myself occupied. I finally got around to getting one last week and man oh man these things are extremey powerful multi-media devices. Not only do they play video games and a host of other applications, but you can load any .mp4 audio/video file and watch it on the screen. Not only can you watch it on the screen but you can also output it to a TV or any device that has RCA Composite inputs. Being the bunhead that I am I immediately loaded some ballet videos onto the one I just purchased and the video looks GOOD! Fast forward and rewind are available options as well as pause and with a third party program you can do some really great slow-mo, best of all, this thing is like the size of an eyeglass case. As video becomes more and more mainplay in the process of setting choreography I would think that you could use a PSP in place of a laptop/VHS for video reference. The PSP is much more convenient than other conventional video players with regards to size, it operates on an internal battery for quite a while, and recognizes good quality audio/video file compression standards.
Anyone else here on CD ever use a PSP to watch video on?

Hi Osiris,

This does look very interesting. I don't really know that much about computer capabilities. Could you possibly tell me what this means.

[Quote osiris661]

"As video becomes more and more mainplay in the process of setting choreography I would think that you could use a PSP in place of a laptop/VHS for video reference."

Is much choreography done using computers? If you have a moment could you explain more? Thank you.

I have a Treo phone that can play back many different video formats, but it has no video output, so you have to use its very small screen. It has an SD slot and there are very large SD cards available for fairly cheap that you can carry lots of videos around.

A video iPod can do the same thing as your PSP, except for playing PSP games. I think it's a great way to carry videos around. Now, I have to cut DVDs, which aren't so bad for size, but you need a DVD player to watch them.

Buddy,

There are choreographers who use video and a computer to help them make dances. Christopher Wheeldon and Merce Cunningham are two examples.

--Andre

edit: fix typo

Buddy;
Lots of choreography is set in the studio using video reference of past performances/rehearsals. Most of the time, or atleast in my experience, it is done using a VHS player which can be extremely tedious when trying to fast forward or rewind from one section to another. Another problem with VHS is the tape inside the cassette, it is very fragile and if it gets wet or rips even a little bit the tape is TOAST! Most "repetituers" will use video as a point of reference, either before they come into the studio to set choreography, which is what I prefer, or, while they are actually in the studio during the actual rehearsal process . I did a Tudor piece two years ago and the guy (who will remain nameless) who came from the Tudor Trust to set the piece basically brought in a portable Mini DV player with a past performance of the Tudor rep he was setting and said, "watch and learn it, this is what you are doing". Not everyone sets repertoire in this manner but it is very common.

Now, the advantages of any video player that operates using a "video file" standard such as a PSP, Laptop, PDA, or iPod Video are; you can navigate video file(s) quickly and accurately using a slide bar on a time line, the devices are portable so no more of having to wheel a TV and VCR on a stand into a studio, less storage space is taken up because of no VHS tapes stacked all over the place, and best of all the video file(s) can be backed up easily onto a removable hard drive CD DVD etc. so if something happens to the file you are using all you have to do is re-copy the backed up file onto whatever device you are using.

Regarding playback devices, a Laptop is in my opinion still the best portable video file player around due to the screen sizes, audio quality, ability to play DVD, VCD, SVCD, .wma, .mov, MPEG, AVI, and most other formats using multi-region settings. However, the battery life on a Laptop is usually between 1 and 2 hours at most so you need to rely on an electric outlet, not that this is a huge problem but one to take note of. That is where these new portable devices come into play like the iPod video, Sony PSP, and PDA/Phone's like Andre's Palm Treo . These smaller devices can play video and operate on internal power sources so you don't have to worry about plugging anything in. However, what you compromise by using these devices is usually the screen size and picture quality but they ARE getting better and better every year.

The reason I am so happy about the Sony PSP is that the screen size is the largest I have seen yet on a multi-format media player and you can display video in both 16:9 (widescreen) as well as 4:3 (normal), all on a 480x272 resolution display. The iPod video displays video at a 320X240 resolution display and no wide screen option is available. I don't know about the Treo or other Palm/PDA device display settings but trust me when I say the PSP screen is a thing of beauty! Oh yeah, I also like the fact that I can play "Frogger" on the PSP

Andre, what is the maximum storage capacity of your SD on the Treo? For the PSP they have a 2 GIG mem stick and are just now releasing a 4 GIG.

I think there are 4 GB cards out there already, and I just saw someone announce an 8 GB card. I carry a couple of 2 GB cards with me --- one with street maps of the US, and another for random digital media. They're so small, that it's easy to carry them around. The PSP screen is really nice: they always catch my eye on an airplane.

But the more important question: what games do you like on the PSP?

--Andre

WOW an 8 GB card! How much does that cost? I have a 2 GB and it is a little over a hunded dollars.

Well seeing as I just got the PSP very recent I really don't know what games out of their library I prefer. Lots of rentals at Blockbuster and time will tell on that. I bought it primarily as a portable video player and for the ever growing list of 3rd party HomeBrew applications that have been released. Many HomeBrew classic arcade emu's are already available and run on the PSP with the list growing larger on a weekly basis The actual PSP released titles look good and when the new Tom Clancy "Rainbow Six Vegas" comes out later this year I WILL have it that day

It is kinda weird to discuss this on a dance forum but hey, it is the "Fun Stuff" category after all .

The 8GB card from Pretec (which is a pretty high-end maker of these things, so it's a bit more expensive than usual) is sampling at $299, but that price will come down. I got my 2 GB cards for about $60 each, but the prices are even lower now. 4GB cards are around $100.

That's the one thing I don't like about Sony --- they're always trying to push their own proprietary formats (eg. Memory stick), though they do produce a bunch of really cool products. I forgot about the homebrew PSP games: that's a really nice thing to have on your platform.

--Andre

Now that's comedy!!

HAHAHAHHAHA

I am going to put some article 19 interviews on this thing NOW!!!!