Bye Bye UMD
Thread Starter
The sizzle in the Steak
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 71,436
Likes: 1,877
From: Southern California
Bye Bye UMD
A year after it was launched in the US, the Sony PlayStation Portable's days as a hand-held movie-viewing device might be numbered reports Reuters.
Disappointing sales have slowed the flow of movies on the proprietary Universal Media Disc to a mere trickle, and at least two major studios have completely stopped releasing movies on UMD, while others are either toying with the idea or drastically cutting back.
Retailers also are shrinking the amount of shelf space they've been devoting to UMD movies, amid talk that Wal-Mart is about to dump the category entirely.
Disappointing sales have slowed the flow of movies on the proprietary Universal Media Disc to a mere trickle, and at least two major studios have completely stopped releasing movies on UMD, while others are either toying with the idea or drastically cutting back.
Retailers also are shrinking the amount of shelf space they've been devoting to UMD movies, amid talk that Wal-Mart is about to dump the category entirely.
Up next: The Compact Disc and all forms of DVD.
The end is near!!!! (for physical media for audio / visual)
Thread Starter
The sizzle in the Steak
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 71,436
Likes: 1,877
From: Southern California
Originally Posted by srika
craazy. that's a pretty damn short shelf-life for a new media. 
Moderator Alumnus
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 64,062
Likes: 14,213
Originally Posted by Moog-Type-S
Not really, think about it...besides the PSP what other players supported DMD movies? ...and that's why DMD is dead.
Trending Topics
Moderator
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 64,101
Likes: 3,349
From: Not Las Vegas (SF Bay Area)
yea seriously, if they had a UMD player that you can hook up to your TV or some kind of TV out on the PSP that would be nice, and the price of a UMD should not be equal to or greater than a the DVD, thats just stupid.
Senior Moderator
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 169,046
Likes: 23,825
Originally Posted by srika
craazy. that's a pretty damn short shelf-life for a new media.
Underrated and reliable devices those minidiscmans were tho...
And for the record, I enjoy UMD movies and portable movies...part of a giant reason why I bought the PSP in the first place. Guess it'll hafta be like my MD days...go to Asia to score all my stuff again!
Senior Moderator
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 169,046
Likes: 23,825
Originally Posted by srika
for the umpteenth time MD is NOT DEAD. And you can WRITE to it.
I personally have 3 minidiscmans...and they were all bought in Asia...models that were not available in NA...
But, I'm a gadget-whore.
Thread Starter
The sizzle in the Steak
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 71,436
Likes: 1,877
From: Southern California
Originally Posted by srika
For the umpteenth time MD is NOT DEAD. Not saying it's alive, but it's not dead. And you can WRITE to it. BIG difference.
so functionally speaking, MD ≠ UMD
so functionally speaking, MD ≠ UMD
is learning to moonwalk i
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 15,520
Likes: 3
From: SoCal
Originally Posted by Moog-Type-S
Up next: The Compact Disc and all forms of DVD.
The end is near!!!! (for physical media for audio / visual)
The end is near!!!! (for physical media for audio / visual)
The Third Ball
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 50,487
Likes: 5,867
From: Los Angeles, Ca
from imdb:
UMD: Sony's New Beta?
Raising new questions about the suitability of portable devices for watching motion pictures, Paramount and Universal, citing poor sales, have stopped releasing movies on Sony's Universal Media Disc (UMD), which plays on the popular PlayStation Portable gaming device. According to today's (Thursday) Hollywood Reporter, other studios are cutting back on releases, while retailers are reducing the amount of shelf space devoted to UMDs. "No one's watching movies on PSP," the president of one of the six major studios' home entertainment divisions told the trade publication. "It's a game player, period." But Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, said that he believed owners of the device were loading movies into its memory stick and watching them that way.
UMD: Sony's New Beta?
Raising new questions about the suitability of portable devices for watching motion pictures, Paramount and Universal, citing poor sales, have stopped releasing movies on Sony's Universal Media Disc (UMD), which plays on the popular PlayStation Portable gaming device. According to today's (Thursday) Hollywood Reporter, other studios are cutting back on releases, while retailers are reducing the amount of shelf space devoted to UMDs. "No one's watching movies on PSP," the president of one of the six major studios' home entertainment divisions told the trade publication. "It's a game player, period." But Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, said that he believed owners of the device were loading movies into its memory stick and watching them that way.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 451
Likes: 0
From: West Hartford, CT
trust me, 4 gb will probably score you 4 high quality movies. The resolution for movies are only 368x208, and it use the next gen H.264 codec so it's even better compression than those xvid movies you dl off the net
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,522
Likes: 0
From: Bergen County, NJ
Originally Posted by 04EuroAccordTsx
Why does Sony keep on releasing media that destines to fail?
is learning to moonwalk i
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 15,520
Likes: 3
From: SoCal
Originally Posted by slayer202
because if one of them hits it big and sticks around for a while, can you say bling bling for sony
The Third Ball
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 50,487
Likes: 5,867
From: Los Angeles, Ca
Originally Posted by moeronn
And when none of them hit is big, you can say bye bye sony. There is too much competition for them to keep trying proprietary formats, regardless of whether or not their technology is better.
Thread Starter
The sizzle in the Steak
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 71,436
Likes: 1,877
From: Southern California
Originally Posted by moeronn
And when none of them hit is big, you can say bye bye sony. There is too much competition for them to keep trying proprietary formats, regardless of whether or not their technology is better.
and this is why Sony has lost alot of it's high status as a leader in the industry.
Who am I?
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,843
Likes: 1
From: Prague
Originally Posted by Yumchah
Not really. The minidisc went the same way too...I remember I was probably the only one on campus back in '96 carrying a minidiscman...Most people who saw it were asking what it was...
Underrated and reliable devices those minidiscmans were tho...
And for the record, I enjoy UMD movies and portable movies...part of a giant reason why I bought the PSP in the first place. Guess it'll hafta be like my MD days...go to Asia to score all my stuff again!
Underrated and reliable devices those minidiscmans were tho...
And for the record, I enjoy UMD movies and portable movies...part of a giant reason why I bought the PSP in the first place. Guess it'll hafta be like my MD days...go to Asia to score all my stuff again!
I'm not surprised. the name "Universal Media Disc" that only plays on one system doesn't really make it "Universal" if you ask me.
I hated the damn PSP anyways. It had a nice screen on it, but that's about it.
I hated the damn PSP anyways. It had a nice screen on it, but that's about it.
'Big Daddy Diggler'
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,016
Likes: 4
From: Yonkers NY
it was bound to happen. But with the PSP2.0 coming with hard drive choices and sony having a download service similar to itunes videos for the PSP, i think it will be fine. There are some big games coming like GT4, Vice City Stories and more.
sup
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,147
Likes: 1
From: NYC
Originally Posted by slyraskal
I'm not surprised. the name "Universal Media Disc" that only plays on one system doesn't really make it "Universal" if you ask me.
I hated the damn PSP anyways. It had a nice screen on it, but that's about it.
I hated the damn PSP anyways. It had a nice screen on it, but that's about it.
and the best graphics/power a portal device has to offer? GTA? Daxter? Syphon Filter? Soon all PS1 games?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post