Well, films on UMD are pretty terrible, seeing as you can buy them cheaper or download them for free onto a MS duo, but UMDs such as the Silent Hill Experence are awesome!

The Silent Hill Experience had graphic novels, game trailers, the secret endings from the games which were hard to get, a best of compilation from the soundtracks, interviews with people who worked on the games.

I think things like that are what Sony needs to release more of, Id love a Shadow of the Colossus media compilation, or a Final Fantasy one.

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Actually, what would it look like if Sony sold UMDs at cost? If they were, say, $5.00, I could easily see buying 2-3 on the way to the airport. Since they can't be duplicated, can't be viewed on anything other than the PSP and can't be streamed off the PSP and captured on another device, seems like they'd be a natural for getting a "sampler" of a movie, if you will.

Thoughts?

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I disagree. Non-game content on UMD could be a great market but Sony needs to get the formula right. The content needs to be geared toward viewing in shorter periods, an hour at most. Thus TV content could be far better suited than feature films. Half-hour and quarter-hour segments (much less without ads) from Adult Swim at the right price could do very well with the PSP demographic at the right price.

Comics, in the form of graphic novels or colelcted runs of a series could also work fine. Alternately, a single disc that had the text of a novel along with an audio book version and graphic novel adaptation could be a great package. (What would be really cool if the reader app had smart book marks that understood where you'd left in both printed and audio form so you could use the one that was most viable at the moment.)

Price is the big issue. Japan has already learned that a $10 price point for feature films made the format far more attractive. If the studios feel this is too much for title new to the post-theatrical market, then so be it. Don't release a UMD version until the DVD has been out for a year. I suspect most people looking to buy a UMD movie want something that is a personal favorite and can be viewed repeatedly, so age is little problem.

The same would apply to other forms of content. The combined audio/text novel I suggested above can wait for the title to age sufficiently that the price is under $15. I listen to a lot of audiobooks while driving but rely on the public library because the category is so grossly overpriced. Even in compressed form from companies like Audible, where the files fit readily on a single CD, the prices are ridiculous.

The platform is viable. The product simply needs to offer a worthy amount of content for the right price. For $20 putting four episodes of an anime series on a UMD that is two-thirds empty is a ripoff. A whole season should fit on that disc for that price. Then there is some real value.

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The only way Sony could have resurrected UMD is by adding a UMD reader to the PS3. As we can all see, that is not on Sony's plans, so most probably the format will end up in garbage. (If it's not in garbage, already). If maybe Sony sells small (and fairly cheap) UMD USB readers for PC and PS3, maybe and only maybe, the format can actually have a future.

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i don't know if someones said this because i'm busy doing an assinment right now but umds should be packaged with their DVD counter part.

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I think UMD movies, at any cost (profitable to Sony that is) is a worthless venture. Lets examine three reasons: 1. Movies tend to be single-viewing affairs. With a DVD, consumers can lend the discs to or show them at home to their friends. Those benefits are removed when the PSP is the only UMD reader. Furthermore, at this point in DVD's lifecycle, many people already own a sizable collection, and are unwilling to repurchase movies they already have. 2. Another issue is portability. For a user taking his/her PSP on the go, movie UMDs are more bulk and more discs to worry about getting damaged. OTOH, movies on a memory stick add no extra bulk. 3. Finally, theres the issue of availability. Only a portion of stores that carry DVD also carry UMD, and in all cases, the selection of UMD is much smaller than the selection of DVD titles. By switching to a DRM'ed movie format, Sony can distribute more movies, cheaper.

Theres only one logical reason I can think of that UMD movies still exist, and that is to take up as much shelf space as possible at large retailers. The reason is simple: more displays = more mindshare.

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I'll keep this short...

Personally, I have never bought a UMD movie and I never will - for the simple fact that I buy DVD's and can just dump stuff to a ProDuo if I really need too. Sony will continue to show minimal support for it over the rest of the PSP's life cycle but, I can't see them trying to save it as a viable product - its just not feasible.

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Sorry, Dave... they actually CAN be ripped. That's how people get the files to put up for download.

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"Have you bought a UMD recently? Most likely not."


Actually, I HAVE bought a UMD, 2 in fact! But mostly because they were good prices; $9.00 each.

I still think that including a game demo would be a big incentive to buy a UMD movie (especially if it was a highly anticipated game) and of course making the prices more reasonable. Lower price than the equivelent DVD of the movie, that's for sure.

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I agree with Epobirs regarding video UMDs.

I don't own a PSP but plan on getting one sometime next year and wouldn't mind having a favorite classic film or two, even TV shows like The Addams Family and Futurama, in my pocket. I'd happily spend $10 or $15 for a UMD that is more than 2/3 full of content and, if I enjoy what I've seen, I'll pay the higher price for the DVDs of the same films.

Hell, for $10, twice the price of a Blockbuster rental, I'd buy UMDs of movies just to check them out. If I liked what I saw I'll be happy to have a portable version of the film. If I didn't, well, I lost $10. No biggie.

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UMD movies are and will be extremely successful in niche markets. The most important of them is porn. In Japan UMD porn came out the next month the PSP was released and its a perfect match for the platform. It will rule multi-billion porn market and everything else does not matter at all.

All the "UMD is dead" talk is driven by slightly retarded bloggers who do not realize that it costs next to nothing to put a movie on UMD: UMD is basicaly a DVD and MPEG2 playback is part of the PSP kernel.

And in any case the more choice is there -- the better it is for us - customers. Well, unless you are one of those Nintendo-heads who dream to force everyone play DS under the threat castration.

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I think that dopping the price definately wouldn't hury anyone.

I also think they should go the same route as the ipod with downloadable movies.

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UMD is dead. The PSP has no games worth playing.

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the problem is that the umd format for video dosent match its price for its value and that the value at any price right now may not be enough for the avrage psp user to make it profitable.

most people say either lower the price or kill it completely and allow full video quality downloads, i say expand the value of the format by doing both and by releasing products like a non psp portable player (maybe a umd/dvd combo) or a tv hookup or player of some sort. (maybe an external drive for ps3 that can write to umd as well)

i think Maguire has part of the right idea but with points already put out in previous posts just the right content is not enough. i own the entire aqua teen hunger force set on dvd but i have absolutely no desire to pay the same amount again for something i cant watch on my tv. (but i did buy season one of the boondocks because i knew i would only desire to watch it away from my tv and only for my self)

and finally, umd is not dead, but with the falling prices and jumping capacitys of flash media, it's glow and luster that it had early in the psps launch is fading away. and just as phil harrison speculated with the ps4 not having a disc drive ( ) storage media and video codecs may and probably will advance to a point that i would be suprised to see a umd drive (for movie use) on the psp2.

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