JJS.at : Software Projects : PSPdisp

PSPdisp [Current version: 0.4]

This program package lets you use a Playstation Portable as an additional monitor in Windows. You can also remotely send keyboard and mouse commands to the PC. The newest version implements sound streaming, too.

PSPdisp is compromised of four components, on Windows a display driver, an usb driver and the interface application which captures the screen, compresses it and sends it over USB to the PSP. On the PSP side there is an application that decompresses the frames and displays them.

Requirements

PSP: Either slim or phat model running a custom firmware (reported working on 3.40-OEA, M33 version 3.52, 3.71, 3.90, 4.01, 5.00, 5.50 GEN-A, GEN-B2, GEN-D, not working on 5.50 GEN-B) or homebrew enabler (reported working on ChickHEN R2 and CFW Enabler 3.60).

PC: Reasonably modern PC (Pentium 4 / Athlon64 or above, multi-core processor recommended) running Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, in either 32 bit or 64 bit version.

The display driver for extending the desktop needs Windows 2000 or XP.

The SideShow driver works on Vista SP1 and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit).

Installation

Download the installer package below and execute it. The installer works for all supported platforms and will install the correct 32 bit or 64 bit drivers.
If you want to manually install the drivers, you can extract the setup files with an unzip tool (like 7zip). This will leave some files in the wrong folder, so this is only recommended if you know what you are doing.

Important! If you uninstall a previous version you have to restart the computer before starting the new setup. Otherwise the new display driver will be uninstalled on the next restart and you have to install it again!

Note that the usb, the display and the SideShow driver are not WHQL certified. Windows will present you with a security warning because of that.

There is one video showing the installation process of v0.4 and two showing v0.2 available on Youtube:

Installation of v0.4 on Windows 7 x64 External link

Installation of v0.2 on Windows XP

Installation of v0.2 on Windows Vista

Setup for audio streaming

Demo video

A video demonstrating the new features in v0.3 is embedded below. PSPdisp v0.4 introduces mostly behind the scene changes so that there is no feature video for it.

The videos for v0.2 External link and v0.1 are still available on my Youtube channel .

Download

This software is licensed under the BSD license. Download is available as an installer which performs all necessary steps. There is only one setup file for all supported operating systems. Full source code is included.

PSPdisp_v0.4_setup_all_platforms.exe (7720 KiB)

Changelog

v0.4
New features:
- new USB driver based on WinUSB, that is compatible with 64 Bit versions of Windows (no driver signature check problem)
- previous libusb based USB driver still supported
- new audio recording mode for Vista / Windows 7 which uses software loopback, no longer requiring a "Stereomix" or "What you hear" device
- increased USB transfer speeds (60 fps reachable with all compression quality settings)
- new "Uncompressed" quality mode, doesn't apply any compression to the images resulting in less CPU load and best image quality
- PSP CPU speed now configurable for USB mode
- increased character limit for the IP address / server name dialog
- IP address is now also shown on the WLAN tab of the options window
- audio streaming can now be completely disabled in case of problems
- new option to hide the mouse cursor on inactivity
- new control file option for analog mouse cursor movement with the analog stick
- added intaller option for creating a Windows-Firewall exception for PSPdisp

Bug fixes:
- CPU speed control for WLAN mode fixed
- fixed WLAN timeout problem mentioned in the v0.3 known issues
- PSPdisp now stays in SideShow mode when the screen resolution or geometry changes
- various interface bugs fixed
- rapidly enabling/disabling or attaching/detaching of the PSP in USB mode would trigger an exception

v0.3
New features:
- SideShow driver for Vista and Windows 7
- speed improvements / CPU load reduction
- CPU load reduction (down to 0 % without screen changes) when using the PSPdisp display driver
- rotation is now performed on the PSP, no increase in CPU load on the PC
- quality and delay settings now customizable through the UI
- completely revamped Wlan mode (switched server to the PC, can now recover from a lost connection etc.)
- added option to disable display streaming (only transmitting controls)
- new option to always switch the PSP display to the screen containing the mouse cursor
- new control file command to display an onscreen keyboard for entering text on the PSP
- new control file command to display the PSPdisp menu at the current mouse position
- added support for the assignment of key combinations to PSP buttons (e.g. ALT+F4 can be mapped to one button)
- various settings regarding PSP power saving in USB mode (turning off screen, reducing clock speed, etc. after a user defined idle timeout)
- PSP clockspeed can be configured for Wireless LAN mode (default, 111, 222, 333 Mhz)
- all user defined files (configuration data and control files) now stored in the application data path
- experimental audio streaming

Bug fixes:
- case of analog stick movements not being registered
- the two longest delay settings are now clickable
- "grab transparent windows" now actually works (only for 480x272 viewport)

Known issues:
- there are cases where the PSP waits for a Wlan timeout infinitly, making it seem to hang without any message (always fixed by restarting the PSP game, often fixed by turning the Wlan switch off and on again)
- audio will stutter if data cannot be transmitted fast enough either because of the network conditions or low PC specs
- some applications issue drawing commands without apparent screen changes, in that case there is no CPU load reduction available when using the PSPdisp display driver

v0.2
New features:
- can now mirror any existing display
- works on 64 bit systems now
- display driver for Windows XP x64
- display driver supports several display modes from 480x272 to 1920x1080
- all resolutions also available rotated by 90° (portrait mode)
- additional "Follow mouse" mode
- selectable viewport size for "Follow mouse" and "Static" view
- viewport may be rotated by 90, 180 or 270 degree
- reacts on display settings changes, no restart necessary
- multi-threaded, opening the menue will no longer freeze the display
- PSP can be unplugged and replugged while PSPdisp is enabled
- added option to automatically enable PSPdisp when the PSP is plugged in
- installer can now copy the game files to the PSP
- mapping mouse and keyboard buttons to the PSP controls
- experimental Wlan support

Bug fixes:
- installer bug marking the display driver for uninstall
- stuttering display on some usb chipsets
- "libusb0.dll not found" error when the usb driver is only preinstalled
- display miniport driver failing to load on Windows 2000 (Thanks Raul!)
- failure to retrieve the display positions when enabling the PSPdisp display the first time

Known issues:
- if the Wlan connection is interrupted it will hang the PSP and Windows application
- enabling PSP control may interfere with mouse and keyboard operation

v0.1
Initial release.

Troubleshooting

PSP issues

"The game could not be started" or "Corrupted data"

You are using an official firmware. PSPdisp will only work when you have a custom firmware installed or are using a homebrew enabler (HEN).

Initialization of the JPEG library fails

PSPdisp is copied to the 1.50 kernel game folder. Either move it to the newer kernel game folder or change the folder assignment in the recovery menu.

If you are using 5.50 GEN-B this error also occurs. It is fixed in GEN-B2. Both versions report as "5.50 GEN-B (Full)" in the system information, so they cannot be distinguished there.

Initialization of the usb driver fails

Make sure the file "usbhostfs.prx" exists in the PSPdisp game folder. Disable all usb related plugins. Make sure you are not running the game from the 1.50 kernel game folder.

In Wlan mode, PSPdisp seems to hang

This occurs mostly in situations with low WLAN signal strength. Most of the time turning the WLAN switch off and on again fixes the problem (PSPdisp should display the connection dialog). If not you have to restart the PSPdisp game.

Sound comes out distorted / scratchy on the PSP

You are overloading the sound card recording input. Lower the playback volume in whatever program you use or lower the recording volume in the sound card settings.

PC issues

[all os] The usb driver cannot be installed

The reason are invalid values in your PSPs idstorage (an area in flash memory that stores various system settings). The idstorage values can become corrupt from using an old downgrader. You can check the validity and apply fixes if necessary through Chilly Willys Keycleaner.
Thanks Sebastian for this tip!

[all os] Fullscreen games are only partially drawn / flicker

PSPdisp cannot accurately capture games runnning in fullscreen mode. There will inevitably be artifacts like partially drawn scenes and flickering. This can only be avoided by running games in windowed mode and using PSPdisp with static viewport.

[64 Bit Vista/Win7] The usb driver is not working

You are using a version of PSPdisp prior to v0.4. You should upgrade or if you need the specific version follow the advice here. These Windows versions will disable unsigned drivers. There are workarounds available, see these two links: tipandtrick.net or ngohq.com (thanks Gerald!). I recommend you first disable the signature check on startup by pressing F8 and choosing the corresponding boot menu entry before installing any of the linked software. Then try using the USB mode and see if it works. If everything turns out ok, you can install Readydriver Plus which will do the same, only automatically.

[Vista/Win7] The PSP cannot be used as an extended screen

There is no PSPdisp display driver vor the Vista driver model available. Because of this you can only mirror existing displays with PSPdisp. See the FAQ for a possible workaround involving a VGA dummy plug.

[Vista/Win7] Opening some dialog windows disables PSPdisps remote control functions

By default, PSPdisp runs with standard user privileges. This means it can only direct key presses and mouse movements to windows, that are accessible to the current user. If you open a dialog that requires administrative privileges, PSPdisps control functions are disabled while the window is active. This can be circumvented by running PSPdisp as administrator.

[XP/2003] Blue screen (BSOD) when enabling the secondary display

There is a bug in Windows that produces a BSOD under certain circumstances when extending the desktop to a secondary monitor. This error is not specific to PSPdisp, but will also occur when using multiple graphic adapters. Please refer to Microsoft knowledge base article 959252 to download the hotfix. Reboot the maybe unbootable PC in safe mode and manually delete the PSPdisp display driver in the device manager. After applying the hotfix you can install the display driver again.

Installer issues

Windows gives warnings that the drivers are not certified

This is normal, none of the drivers shipped with PSPdisp is digitally signed or WHQL certified.

The installer cannot copy the game files to the PSP

You can do this manually after setup has completed. The files are by default located in "C:\Program files (x86)\PSPdisp\bin\psp\PSP\GAME\". Copy the folder "PSPdisp" containing "EBOOT.PBP" and "USBHOSTFS.PRX" to your PSPs game folder.

F.A.Q.

Does this work in 64 Bit Windows Vista / Windows 7?

Yes, there is no difference in functionality between 32 and 64 Bit versions of Vista / 7. From v0.4 on you don't have to disable the driver signature enforcement anymore to use the USB mode. For older version, read the troubleshooting section for instructions.

The installer doesn't include all necessary files!

Wrong. Everything is included in the installer. You don't have to download any other files. Read the troubleshooting section if there is a problem with e.g. the driver installation.

I don't have a WLAN router. Can PSPdisp be used with an Adhoc network?

No. Even though you can connect a PSP to Windows via an Adhoc network, you cannot transmit any data as the Adhoc mode on the PSP uses encryption and a custom network protocol that is undocumented.

Can the PSP slim be charged while using PSPdisp?

Yes. Not through PSPdisp itself, but if you are running a Custom Firmware from 3.71 M33-2 on there is an option in the recovery menu that can enable charging every time the usb cord is plugged in.
Users of older firmwares may find the NOObz! PSP Slim USB Charger Plugin useful.

Will there ever be a WDDM display driver for Vista?

I don't think so. Vista display drivers are harder to create and even if I wrote one it could not be enabled besides an existing graphics card(refer to "MultiMonitor Support and Windows Vista" for further information). There must be a way to circumvent this Vista limitation (as shown by a commercial usb display manufacturer), but I don't know how.

For Vista users, is there any other way to get an extended screen on the PSP?

If you have a graphics card with two monitor outputs you can make a VGA dummy plug. Put it on your free VGA output and Windows should detect a secondary monitor. It is also possible to just plug the three 75 Ohm resistors into a DVI-to-VGA adapter that is included with most (if not all) graphics cards.
NOTE: Use the resistors, some sites will claim it also works by just shorting together the pins with three pieces of wire, but this is not the correct way to do it and may either not work or even damage your graphics card. If you cannot find 75 Ohm resistors, use values within a 10 % range around it (68 and 82 Ohm are common values).

I have installed a dummy plug, but how can I set the resolution to 480x272?

Windows doesn't allow resolution below 640x480 through it's graphical interface. This also holds true for tools bundled with graphics card drivers.
First of all you have to create a custom resolution of 480x272 and 32 Bit color depth in your graphics card utilities (this is possible for nVidia cards, probably also for ATI). Then set the resolution by using a third party utility like Display Changer.

Will there be a version for Mac OS X / Linux / etc.?

Not from me. The download includes the complete source code, though. So if anyone wants to port PSPdisp, just go ahead. While all functions for aquiring the display contents and the GUI are platform specific to Windows, the data transmission is done using standard socket API and libusb, so they should be fairly portable.

Are you planning to write a plugin for LCDStudio etc.?

Since the source code to the display drivers of these packages is not open source: probably not.

Contact

Please send questions and comments to software@jjs.at. Make sure to read the help file, especially the FAQ and troubleshooting sections first.