I know a lot of people are spamming the boards in various places asking why they can't get their iTunes music to play in their PSP, despite it supporting mp4 in version 2.0, and so here's a little mini-FAQ to explain the situation:
Q: Does the PSP Firmware 2.0 support .mp4 music?
A: Yes. It does work as advertised with .mp4 music files!
Q: What is .mp4 music?
A: The MPEG group realized that .mp3 was a decade-old music compression scheme, and so they put their heads together and came up with .mp4 which is also known as AAC (in which case it has a file type of .m4a, .m4p or .m4b). AAC (mp4) is an industry standard now, and the MPEG group hopes to see .mp3 fade away. An .mp4 has tighter compression and better sound than a file compressed using the older .mp3 format.
Q: You mentioned AAC and all the iTunes files?
A: Yes, Apple uses variations of .mp4 as their primary format for audio files downloaded from the iTunes Music Store, and the recommended format for importing CDs into iTunes. In Apple's case, the files have different extensions, but they are the EXACT SAME as any other industry standard .mp4 file, with some minor differences for certain types as follows:
Apple (iTunes) AAC (.mp4) Formats:
.m4a is the standard format. It is the same as any .mp4 except that the extension is different.
.m4p is Apple's DRM protected .mp4 format. You can only play these on an authorized system.
.m4b is Apple's preferred audiobook format. It can be both protected (therefore only playable on authorized computers) or unprotected. The main difference is that audiobook format allows for bookmarking on select devices.
Q: OK, so now I'm educated. How do I get these on my PSP?
A: Transfer is as normal for any music file- Just drag and drop the file into your music folder on the PSP. In order for the PSP to recognize and play iTunes files, though, you'll need to change the extension from .m4a or .m4b to .mp4 (and note that changing a .m4p into a .mp4 won't allow it to be played on your PSP)
Q: So how do I play my protected (.m4p) files on my PSP?
A: Short answer: You're not supposed to. Long answer: You can find programs that convert your protected iTunes music into unprotected files. Google it; I won't explain how, or point you to anything, but I will make you aware that such technology exists and that once your .m4p files are turned into unprotected .m4a files, they'll work fine in the PSP after you rename them "(songname).mp4" Note that I am not endorsing this, but I feel it is my duty to educate you and allow you to make the choice on your own whether or not to free your purchased music. Bear in mind that any such modification is always a risk, and you'd be smart to save the originals somewhere in case you frack it up.
Q: Why change the files' extension when they're on the PSP, and not in iTunes?
A: Because iTunes prefers .m4a, .m4b and .m4p files, and you don't want to corrupt your originals and then have to track down why they aren't working properly in iTunes, now do you?
Q: What about album art?
A: As far as my tests have gone, the PSP can see .mp3 album art embedded in files, but it can't find the album art in .mp4 files just yet. Maybe in a future update?
Q: This is a lot of work for my lazy butt! Is there a way to automate it?
A: Aside from PSP programs that convert AAC to MP3 before transfer (a time-consuming and quality-reducing process), as of this writing no developer has stepped up to the plate and made a PSP transfer program that simply renames the AAC files as .mp4 before dumping them into the PSP. I expect someone will implement this soon, though.
Q: How about a hint on that software you mentioned for .m4p files?
A: Google things like iTunes and Remove DRM, I guess. Who knows? You might just get lucky! If you do find it, don't abuse it. Don't steal music, don't swap it, and don't break the fracking law so that it ruins such things for the honest users. Thanks.
Now, I hope this clears things up, and I hope not to find any of you n00bs on the forums posting "HOw do I get my itunes to WOrk in PSP? HElp now!" and other such junk. Please, read through the forums before asking such questions: Chances are someone asked your question before you did, and they got an answer.
With the added feature of AAC in Firmware 2.0 this was needed. Thank you for writing this. - meth0dz
Bravo! Thanks ZC! - DannyMac
