Just Read a Bloody Book
Apple's new video iPods got me thinking about the concept of mobile video. MP3 players are everywhere now, so the next logical step is to enjoy video on the move, although probably not porn. Or almost every modern war movie in existence. Or ultraviolent anime. Or risque tv shows with lots of boobies. Or footage of major surgical operations. Or anime with schoolgirls and those mischievious demonic tentacles. Apart from that, you're usually ok unless you're watching Deadwood and the kid peering over your shoulder can lipread. Watch out for that one.
Much of what is great about mobile audio doesn't exactly carry over to mobile video, either. Music tracks are short and easily consumable, they don't require visual attention, and one's player can be tucked well inside a pocket while playing. Mobile video is usually dished out in much larger chunks (an hour or half-hour for tv, two hours for movies), you can't really do anything else with your eyes while you're watching. That rules out pretty much all self-guided transportation, unless you're being led around by a friendly midget or are really good at using The Force. Watching video also means having the player out and visible, which makes it a juicy target for every drunken yob, crack-addled pickpocket or icecream-wielding toddler in visual range.
Despite all the caveats, restrictions and realities of the technology, there was enough raw possibility and nerd factor for me to go for it. I decided against getting an iPod though - I went with a PSP, for the larger screen and the longer battery life (when playing video). I did think seriously about a true multimedia player from Archos or similar, but the only AV500 I saw around Vancouver was CA$600, which was a bit of a kick in the codlings. I also made sure I got the PSP Giga Pack, which included a 1GB memory stick and made the whole PSP video concept work - the standard 32MB card can only hold a few minutes of playback, which is enough for porn, but not much else. The Giga Pack was CA$350, which is about the same as a 30GB video iPod, which is interesting.
The positive news is that I'm making good use of the PSP, and mobile video works. I've watched some Lost, South Park, Family Guy and Simpsons, and I've started watching an episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex when I cycle at the gym. Mobile video is fantastic for gym biking and jogging, as the shows gyms have on their televisions in the evenings are akin to having your brain pulled out your nose with fishhooks. I haven't watched a full movie yet, but I may try one on the bus up to the snow this weekend. I'm also using the unit as an mp3 player (it's technically an upgrade from my Iriver player, as it has more storage) and I even used it to show off an excellent L&P commercial to some NZ cuzzies in my local coffee shop. Battery life appears to be about five hours, which is quite solid, and I'm even a little tempted to buy a PSP game or two.
The big drawback that the PSP and the iPod both have is the need to transcode video into a format that they can play. They don't play MPEG2, they don't play WMV, and they definitely don't play wacky subversive shit like DivX. Oddly enough, both devices play MPEG4 and H.264, which are two fairly modern and sexy video formats. I use the free PSP Video 9 package to do my conversions, and it seems to work quite well. A 45 minute episode of Lost will take about 28 minutes to transcode on my Athlon 64 3500 desktop machine, and ends up being around 280MB at the 368x208 / 29.97fps / 768kbps settings. For those out there who flunked basic math, that's three episodes on the memory stick, plus a bit of space left over for mp3s. Good stuff.