It amazes me how you can get interested in one thing and from that, you become instantly hooked to something else.

For Christmas, I am getting a PSP. I’m quite excited about this. I will be able to play games, watch movies, listen to the radio and surf the internet, all with one handheld device.

Being a total movie geek, I am especially interested in the whole watching movies aspect of this little technological wonder. Having researched the matter, I have learned that the PSP plays .mp4 video files. So all I need to do is find some software that can convert my DVD collection into .mp4 files.

A quick google search, pointed me in the direction of some software called AVS Video Converter.

This software does work, however, like everything in life, it does have a few snags. Unfortunately, it is unable to convert DVDs that are copyright protected. This is pretty much every DVD you will buy down the highstreet. However, it has absolutely no problem with “recorded of the TV” DVDs. It’s not exactly what I was hoping for, but its better than nothing.

Another plus point of this software is that it can convert one video file to another.

Back in April Holly treated me to a digital camera. This had a video function on it and I would regularly use it to film my family and odd bits and pieces on days out. Sadly, when I got my new computer in June, the video files (.AVI) would play, but for some reason, they would play without any sound (god bless windows vista!). I have looked everywhere online for this missing “codec” and I am convinced that it either doesn’t exist or it is on one of those two missing CDs with all that national data on.

Sunday afternoon, while tinkering with this software, I converted one of these .avi files into an mp4. I played the converted file and it worked perfectly. I then had the brainwave to try and burn these videos onto DVD. And it worked perfectly!

With the knowledge of this technological breakthrough, I am now trawling through my computer and trying to find every piece of video with my friends and family on and put them onto DVD.

I’m also hoping to make Star Wars Episode 7, but think I might have to wait a while until I get my head round the special effect element of that.