MP4 to PSP Converter

What happens when you convert MP4 to PSP

• The video is re-encoded to an MP4 with H.264 video at 480 by 272 pixels and AAC audio, the format the PSP plays.
• Re-encoding in a browser is slow: expect several times the video's length for HD footage on a laptop, and longer on a phone. Short and low-resolution clips finish much sooner.

How to convert MP4 to PSP online

1. Press "Choose MP4 files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
2. Adjust the settings if you need to: resolution and quality control the size of the result. The defaults suit most people.
3. Press "Convert to PSP". The first audio or video conversion downloads the converter engine, about 32 MB, which your browser then keeps for next time.
4. Save each PSP with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.

Why convert MP4 to PSP?

MP4 files usually come from phone videos, YouTube uploads, social media and streaming. People convert them to PSP because the PlayStation Portable only plays MP4 video in its own format, at the 480 by 272 screen size.

In short, MP4 is good at what it was made for, and PSP is the more practical choice when the file has to play, upload or edit somewhere else. MP4 plays in every browser, phone and smart TV, while PSP is an MP4, so it also plays in browsers and on phones.

How to convert MP4 to PSP on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your MP4 files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PSP is saved to your Downloads folder. If you prefer a desktop program, VLC can also convert MP4 to PSP: choose Media, then Convert / Save.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the MP4 files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PSP files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose MP4 files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PSP appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Video.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose MP4 files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PSP is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it. Keep the screen on while a long video converts, because Android may pause a tab in the background.

Best settings for MP4 to PSP

There are no settings: the PSP only plays one kind of video, so the converter makes exactly that. The picture is scaled to fit the 480 by 272 screen, with black bars where the shape differs, and encoded as H.264 Main profile at level 3.0 with AAC stereo sound at 48 kHz.

Copy the .mp4 file to the VIDEO folder at the top of the Memory Stick, creating the folder if it is missing, then open Video on the PSP. The file also plays on any phone or computer, because it is an ordinary MP4.

MP4 vs PSP: the differences

About MP4 and PSP files

What is an MP4 file?

MP4 is the most widely supported video format, and H.264 video with AAC audio inside it plays on essentially every device made in the last fifteen years.

What is a PSP file?

The PSP plays MP4 video only in the format Sony specified: H.264 or MPEG-4 at the screen size of 480 by 272 pixels, in an MP4 file the PSP recognises. A "PSP video" is that kind of MP4, saved with the .mp4 extension.

MP4 to PSP not working? Common problems

• The conversion is slow. Audio and container changes take seconds, but re-encoding video runs on your own processor. Lower the resolution to 720p, close other tabs, and keep the device plugged in.
• The tab stops or reloads on a very large file. Browsers limit how much memory one tab can use, around 2 GB and less on phones. Split long recordings or convert them on a computer.
• The PSP will not play on an old device. Try the other formats offered for MP4, or choose 720p, which older players handle more reliably.

Convert MP4 to PSP with ffmpeg

This converter runs ffmpeg inside your browser. If you would rather use the ffmpeg command line on your own computer, this command produces an equivalent PSP with the same kind of settings:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=480:272:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=480:272:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -c:v libx264 -profile:v main -level 3.0 -crf 21 -c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 48000 -f psp output.mp4

Replace input.mp4 with the name of your file. For a whole folder of MP4 files, run the command in a loop, or drop them all on the converter above, which processes them one after another.