PSP On TV Review

Review by Brakken
Feburary 2006 Introduction

Welcome to my review of the PSP ON TV device made by Ultimate Video Game Accessories (Asian Toy Source) for the Sony PSP. Using this device you will be able to enjoy your PSP games on a television of your choice. Unlike other solutions which require taking apart your PSP, manually assembling the unit and voiding your warranty the PSP ON TV simply snaps on to your PSP and is ready to use in under sixty seconds. How well does this device compare to other’s? Read on to see.

Features

PSP on Your TV
Lightweight Design
Plug N' Play
Sixty Second Install
Doesn't Void Your Warranty
External Install
Re-Charge while Playing

Contents

PSP on TV
USB -> RCA Cable
Instruction Manual

Installation

The installation process is straight forward. The PSP on TV comes with a protective dust shield which needs to be removed. This can be done using your hands and takes only a few seconds.

Next you take the PSP on TV and place it on the front of your PSP. On the top of the unit are two spring release screws which you press firmly down and then screw to tighten. Once this is done you plug in the audio feed and the power wire to the bottom of the PSP.

Now you simply plug in the PSP’s power adapter into the PSP on TV and then the RCA cables into the PSP on TV. Now you’re done. You can plug the RCA cables into anything that accepts them – such as your TV, VCR, HDTV or computer monitor.

Usage

I first noticed that the design of the PSP on TV really gets in the way of your hands. It’s a rather bulky unit and limits you from pressing the Start, Menu, Contrast and Volume buttons like you would normally do. Now you have to turn the PSP a bit upwards and work your thumb in the small space you have left to control these options. I’m sure over time you could get used to this, but it is a minor annoyance to say the least.

When I first saw the signal from the PSP on TV I was shocked as it looked really bad. If I had not been able to compare it with similar products I might have thought it was a good image, but since I have had the chance to review competitors products I noticed right away that the video quality was really low.

First off, it was too bright. So bright in fact that I had to adjusted the contrast (brightness) until it was a bit more acceptable. It seemed that when I would change menus or go into a game screen the image would either be too dark or too light and I was constantly fiddling with the contrast control to get a semi decent onscreen image.

The onscreen image is of really poor quality. It can be compared to a cheap video camera image that had been compressed into the MPEG1 format. Just think of an old VCD and you’ll understand what I’m getting at. We’re talking less quality then a VHS tape here folks.

When it comes to the colors they are all messed up. The brightness, contrast and RGB values all look watered down and stale. I then looked closer and saw a finger print on the TV! I had to clean my screen really well as there were a few finger prints on it that were in the way.

See the PSP on TV, unlike other solutions, uses a small camera to mirror the image that is produced on the screen. Yes – that means any dust, hairs, finger prints and/or scratches will show up. What if you have some dead pixels? You’re screwed. These will show up too.

Can it get any worse? Sadly, it can. Since it is only mirroring what you see onscreen you’ll also be looking at the ghosting (blurry) effect that plagues the PSP’s TFT LCD. When the PSP ghosts or blurs on the small screen it is semi-tolerable, but when you see it on a 40 inch TV it really looks bad.

Additionally, just like its competitors product the PSP on TV uses an unperfected up-scaling routine within its hardware which produces an image on your television that is a bit distorted.

The text is really hard to read and the image overall is either too dark or too bright. I found myself constantly trying to work my thumb around the device to adjust the contrast level depending on which scenario in the game I was playing I was in. Having to change the contrast (brightness) level every so many minutes was really annoying.

The sound, well, is good. Unlike the video it’s a direct feed and is crystal clear, well if you don’t use the power cable. If you’re using the power cable from the PSP the voltage interferes with the sound and in turn produces a high pitch squealing that sent my cat running. If you’ve ever turned on a really old television or put a microphone up close to a speaker and heard it squeal then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

You’re also limited to the distance you can sit from the television. You’re really limited if you’re using both the RCA and power cables, but if you just use the RCA you’re still limited to 7 feet 3 inches and that is if your television has RCA inputs on the front of it. You can knock off 2-3 feet if the RCA connectors are on the back of your TV.

In comparison with the PSP on TV’s competitor the only really good things I can say about it is that you don’t need to take your PSP apart, it’s a bit cheaper in price and it installs within minutes. Some people say taking the easy way out leads to worse results in this case they are right.

The PSP on TV’s competitor’s product directly interfaces with the video signal coming from the PSP. This means you’ll have to open it up and do a bit of modding, but the results are a lot better. So it’s basically in this particular situation you get what you put into it. If you take some time to learn new things, mod your console and pay a bit more you’ll end up with better results.

Conclusion

Not having to take apart your PSP and the low sales price is sure to attract some people, but these are most likely the same people who had to attend speech classes in school, wet their bed until the age of 10 and still don’t know how to tie their own shoes. With its poor video quality, sound interference, lack of space for your hands and the amount of room you have to play I would stay as far away from this product as you possible could.

The only real market I see for this product is for people who want a quick fix and don’t mind having poor image quality. If you can’t mod or don’t want to void your PSP’s warranty then this is about your only option.

Watch it in Action (34.5MB MPEG2 Video)

   
   
   
   
All of the pictures and videos were taken with a direct capture feed from the RCA cables. This is the output with a 1:1 ratio. These aren't cheap pictures taken with a digital camera. What you see is what you get.

Positives Price Plug N' Play

Negatives Image Quality Sound Interference Hard to Hold

Links

PSP On TV Webpage


-=[ PSP on TV Review Discussion Thread ]=-

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