Sony LF-PK1 LocationFree Player Pak

Pros: Good quality streaming.

Cons: Expensive; Limited Licenses; Limited Connectivity.

Summary: I bought one of these in January after buying several PSPs for the kids for Xmas. I was interested in fully exploiting the PSP's features. (I added a wireless access point to my home network the week before to try out the PSP's browser).

Anyway, I was able to set this up without too much trouble. My initial attempts at setup failed due to my not fully understanding networking technical terms. I was able to overcome my own ignorance thru trial and error and was rewared with a TV signal on my Sony Vaio laptop! Cool.

I then set up the feature on my PSP. This is done by turning on the wireless function of the PSP and then pressing a switch on the rear of the LF unit. The two devices comunicate with each other and then they are set to work together.

My TV source is my Comacst Digital box. I set up both my laptop and PSP with the correct software version of the set top box's remote control, downloaded from Sony. The download is straight forward for either a PC or the PSP. Once installed, adjustments are simple and by entering the type of cable box, you are rewarded with a software version of your boxes' remote. For one of the video sources, I hooked up and older Pioneer DVD player that had been replaced by a newer unit. It had a S-Video output, so I selected it for the Video 1 source.

Setup was the same for the DVD player. I selected the Make from the dropdown lists and tested the remote. Once setup, the PSP or laptop can turn the DVD player on or off and access the DVD's menu and start the movie for you. All you have to do is remember to put a disk in the DVD player and you are good to go!

The PSP and laptop both received the streaming video signals well. On occasion, the video would "stutter" on the PSP, however, given the fact that I can watch TV or a DVD player anywhere in my home, it is a small thing.

My only major gripe is that you can only link up to four devices to one LF unit. If you have two PCs and four PSPs (like we do) that means two of the family are left out. An inquiry to Sony's tech support recieved a canned reply when I asked if future software releases would allow the user to set the maximum number of devices that can be attached to one LF unit. In fact, if I had known that two of my family would have been shut out from using the unit, I may not have bought it. That information should be made more visible on the package. Another (similar) complaint is that I need to purchase a $29.00 four-user PC license to add the LF feature to my second PC. In my situation, that translates to three unneeded PC licenses and one out of four PSPs that cannot log on (because I have one PC and three PSPs on it already).

If Sony would allow the unit to register more than four devices and if they provided two PC licenses with the unit, I would have rated this product higher. Maybe someone at Sony is reading this!