UMD

[JSP62]

I am not a frequenter of this forum subject, but I have always been fascinated by the PSP. And who coulnd't be ? I mean with such a rich LCD screen and coming from a great company, who can say no ?

I don't own a PSP, but I would very much like to. I am sure there are many ways tweak it and get some good use out of one.

One of the things that I was always confused about was the movies that can be played on it. Now who would want to watch a movie on a small LCD screen? Sure it is neat and technological and geeky to be able to have the option to, but let's be real for a moment. Do you really want to watch a full length movie on the PSP ? What is even more crazy is the format of the DVD, which comes in Sony's UMD format. Ah yes, Sony and it's strong grip on DRM and proprietary formats. It just never made sense to me that a proprietary UMD formated DVD for the PSP be made solely for it. Now I must say I do not know if PSP DVDs will work on Sony DVD home players, maybe someone can shed some light on me. BUT, yes a big BUT . . if the PSP DVDs do not work on a home Sony DVD player and was only meant for the PSP, then WTF was Sony thinking ??

Enlclosed are links from websites that covers the failing UMD format.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20060330/1057235.shtml

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=2963

Edited March 31, 2006 by JSP62

[JSP62]

No one has any input to this?

[pata2001]

The biggest downfall of UMD movies is the price. Why would people want a movie that has less quality and can only be watched on 1 device for more $$$ than the actual DVD? Again, stupidity on Sony (maybe more due to Sony entertainment). If they sell UMDs at a price cheaper than DVD, then it might be a different story. Note that there are plenty of DVDs for under $10 now, while movie UMDs are at least $15, some even as high as $25.

The least Sony can do is make other devices supporting the format, but no, that would be too logical.