Umd™ (universal Media Disc) Approved By

[Breepee2]

Source: CDRInfo

The UMD (Universal Media Disks) format for Sony PSP (PlayStation portable) has been approved as a standard by Ecma International, at the 89th General Assembly held in Amsterdam, June 21, 2005.

Ecma is an international standardization organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. In the general meeting of Ecma, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on June 21, the organization approved the UMD as a physical format. The standard is downloadable at www.ecma-international.org (ECMA-365, "Data Interchange on 60 mm Read-Only ODC - Capacity: 1,8 Gbytes")

The official approval of the UMD standard opens the way for Sony to further expand the usage of the UMD format not only for games, but also for video titles, just like as in the case of DVD-Video. Note that the first sales of adult UMD videos are scheduled for July in Japan.

UMD appears to be here to stay. I'm curious where Sony will be taking this. Strangely, the article specifically states the UMD-medium as Read-Only, so writers will probably don't come on the market for some time...

Edited June 25, 2005 by Breepee2

[Ishiyoshi]

Additional news to the topic of discussion:

Source: Official Press Release from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

UMD™ (UNIVERSAL MEDIA DISC) APPROVED BY ECMA INTERNATIONAL AS INDUSTRY STANDARD

Tokyo, June 24, 2005 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that UMD™ (Universal Media Disc) has been approved by Ecma International (Ecma), as an industry standard for optical discs.

Ecma, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an international association setting

industry standards and is known for its long history in standardizing optical discs. Ecma approved the physical layer format* (1) of UMD as Standard ECMA-365, at the General Assembly held on June 21st, 2005, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It will then be submitted to the Joint Technical Committee (JTC 1), a technical committee jointly established by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), and will go through the fast-track procedure for approval as an ISO/IEC JTC 1 standard by the ISO/IEC member countries.

UMD is a compact (60mm in diameter) but large capacity universal disc medium

introduced by the Sony Group, offering up to 1.8GB in storage capacity. UMD provides multiple logical layers* (2) within its physical format, according to the different types of content.

To date, more than 90 titles have been released as PSP® Game software enjoyed on PlayStation®Portable (PSP®), and a host of exciting movie and music video titles have also become available as UMD Video software, throughout Japan, North America and Asia.

UMD Approved by ECMA International as Industry Standard

*1) Physical layer format: specifies the physical characteristics such as shape, dimension, thickness, quality of recorded signals of a disc.

*2) Logical layer format: specifies the framework for implementing protocols such as codec (video/audio signal processing) and security technology on a physical disc. ECMA-365 has approved the physical layer of UMD, but not the logical layer.

About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufacturers, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PlayStation®Portable

(PSP®) handheld entertainment system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is a new portable entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.

                                                                    # # #

PlayStation, the PlayStation logo and PSP are registered trademarks and UMD is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Source: ECMA Standard Information

Standard ECMA-365

Data Interchange on 60 mm Read-Only ODC - Capacity: 1,8 Gbytes (UMDTM)

(June 2005)

This Ecma Standard specifies the mechanical, physical and optical characteristics of a 60 mm, read-only ODC having a maximum capacity of 1,8 Gbytes. It specifies the physical format, the quality of the recorded signals, the format of the data and its modulation method, thereby allowing for information interchange by means of such ODCs.

This Ecma standard specifies two types of ODCs, Type A and Type B.

Type A: Single layer disk with maximum recorded capacity of 0,9 G-bytes

Type B: Dual layer disk with maximum recorded capacity of 1,8 G-bytes

Information interchange between systems also requires, at a minimum, agreement between the interchange parties upon the interchange code(s) and the specifications of the structure and labeling of the information on the interchanged ODCs.

[1kyle]

UMD in theory sounds OK -- We don't need zillions of different standards and incompatable players -- BUT without RE-(WRITEABLE) Media this project has about as much chance of getting off the ground as a Snowball has of withstanding the fires of Hell.

I think SONY is for once on the right track even if it's unwillingly being dragged into the 21 st. century.

The only reason CD's have so far stood the test of time is

1) Compatable - (I'm talking of "bog standard CD's" not SACD or those abominations called "Copy Protected CD's").

CD's can be played just about anywhere on the planet in 99.9999% of CD players out there including computers.

2) No DRM B/S which stops LEGITIMATE users from handling THEIR OWN MUSIC as they see fit.

3) High quality --usually -- 16 bit 44,100 kbs is of high enough quality for pretty well all domestic / non professional MUSIC playing.

DVD's with special sound and multi channel might benefit from 24 / 32 bit at a higher bit rate but that's not the point.

4) The owner of the CD can play the music on whatever music device he / she wants without going through a horrendous amount of hassle.

Backing up music to any computer he / she owns is also OK with CD's --no hassle other than TIME.

Any new format must offer the convenience of CD's without restricting the owner of the music / purchaser of the music to be able to play it anywhere.

If there is no WRITE capability on these discs --then what's the point.

I'm sure factories in CHINA have probably already got "hacked" re-writable UMD's so it will come out into the market place soon I think whether or not SONY and others are actually ready.

Still it's nice to see SONY even acknowledging the fact that there are users out there of other systems and Hardware.

Cheers.

-K

[Sparda]

idiotic question, are minidiscs smaller or are umds smaller in dimensions.

[Ishiyoshi]

UMD is somewhat smaller in dimensions. For your convenience, here's a size comparative picture from my PSP pictorial.