UMD on the way out..

[Living-In-Clip]

Score one for the nay-sayers who said UMD was a destined failure.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154015.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6154015

Sony intros Memory Stick movies as Target KO\'s UMDs
As national retailer pulls UMD movies from shelves, Sony begins to offer very limited selection of direct-to-memory movies for its portable.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Jul 13, 2006 5:08 pm PT

After getting off to a strong start in the wake of the American PSP launch last March, the Universal Media Disc (UMD) appears to be on its last legs. Sales of movies on the PSP\'s once-hot proprietary format have slowed to a trickle, causing several major movie studios to cease supporting it. In March, the Hollywood Reporter ran an article claiming that the home-entertainment divisions of Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures have "completely stopped" releasing films on the format, and other studios have been cutting back their release slates.

Perhaps more disturbing for Sony were unconfirmed reports that retail colossi Wal-Mart and Best Buy were scaling back UMD displays in their stores. This week, speculation turned into reality when Target decided to discontinue stocking UMDs entirely. A manager at a San Francisco Bay Area Target outlet told GameSpot, "We no longer carry PSP movies. We stopped carrying them nationwide."

At virtually the same time, Sony announced the forthcoming release of a pair of Memory Stick Entertainment Packs (MSEP). The packages will come in 1GB (MSX-M1GSTEP) and 2GB (MEX-M2GSEP) Memory Stick Duos for about $60 and $100--the standard retail price for both items.

Though tech-savvy PSP owners have been converting their DVDs to the PSP-compatible MPEG-4 files via third-party applications for more than a year, the Entertainment Packs mark the first time Sony has officially released movies for direct download to Memory Stick Duo, the PSP\'s storage format.

However, the initial batch of Mem-Stick-ready movies are a very limited selection of Sony Pictures titles--all of which received decidedly mixed reviews. Each of the two packs will come bundled with an installer DVD that contains four films--Hitch, S.W.A.T., The Grudge, or XXX: State of the Union. The movies will play in 240x320-pixel resolution, lower than the 480x272-pixel resolution PSPs are capable of.

However, purchasers of the packs will be able to copy only one of the four films onto their new memory sticks--the others will then be locked. "The code given with the MSEP will unlock one of the four movies," a Sony rep told GameSpot. "Through a special Digital Rights Management [solution] designed by Sony Electronics and SCEA, this [movie] is then downloadable for the PSP."

Fortunately, the movie will be automatically converted to MPEG-4 by the unlocking process, and will be easier to load onto a PSP via a USB cable. Unfortunately, the conversion software on the Memory Stick Entertainment Pack installer DVD will only work on the four films on the disc. "If you own other movies that you want on your Memory Stick, you have to have conversion software," said the Sony rep. Also, the film will also be playable solely on the portable, not on the PC it was transferred from, as "it is a special promotion for getting movies on your PSP."

Many will take Sony\'s introduction of direct-to-Memory Stick movies as an acknowledgment that the UMD format has failed and as a sign it is prepping consumers for digital distribution. Sony, though, refutes such suggestions. "The UMD was never a factor in the development of this product [the Memory Stick Entertainment Pack]," the rep told GameSpot.

Sony also wouldn\'t comment on the implications that Memory Stick movies had for the future of the UMD format. However, the rep did say that their introduction was primarily about giving more options to consumers. "We\'re a universal entertainment company and we\'re able to offer the consumer more choice," said the rep. "Bundling Sony content with Sony hardware is something we can offer that others can\'t."

was anyone suprised?

[Titan]

LIC, I think it was obvious from the start that UMD was gonna fail without the PSP. I knew it would fail with movies. Take away the PSP and what incentive do you have to buy a UMD? They suck in players (are there even players for them?). They are no where near as good as DVDs and they would be completely obsolete for movies next gen....although they were pretty much obsolete from the start. The only reason it survived was because it was the cool new thing with PSP. As soon as PSP goes under, UMDs will be a distant memory. I was skeptical a long time. Nice read btw, thanks LICky for the post

Cartridges for PSP would indeed have been a much better id.

As soon as PSP goes under

i wouldn\'t bet on that.

Yeah UMD lives on as a fine video game format.
 
It\'s just the idea of watching movies on that thing that was always retarded.
 
UMD wasn\'t the problem, it was trying to get gamers to buy movies for their handheld gaming system that was the problem.

movies that were close to the same price as DVD\'s*

now if they sold UMD movies for like 3.99$ from the start, they would be in a different situation right now

[Titan]

i wouldn\'t bet on that.

I suck at word choices. I meant discontinued, not go under. I wouldn\'t bet on it going under either.

[Living-In-Clip]

The amazing part is that MM jumps in here with "is anyone surprised", but previously he had set and defended the format and said it was viable. We\'ve had this debate countless times, I just love the way he and other\'s spin around to go, "oh yeah...not surprised"..

i did?
you\'ll have to refresh my memory...please, take your time.

and selling poop in a box is "viable"

Bleh, Sony\'s loosing it. You can\'t even watch the movie in the full resolution?

Seriously, Sony\'s been acting so arrogant lately. They even fucked up Blu-Ray (at least for now).

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

umd as a movie standard would have never made it. It’s competing against a already stable standard (dvd) and umd is a lower quality media as it is.  UMD is great for gaming, carts would be a step backwards, i don\'t see them storing 1+ gig games on carts.  Sony were just pushing a medium into other areas hoping for a bite, pitty it relies on the psp to keep ground and was outdated to begin with.

[Living-In-Clip]

PSP has been a failure anyways, from a gaming standpoint. The real drivin point for the PSP was the homebrew applications and with every firmware update that gets further and further away.

And yes, even Blu-Ray is fucked up right now and that is the reason, that review wise, HD-DVD is winnin\' the war (though I doubt it wins it in the long run).

Me personally, I\'m glad to see the UMD movie format fail. It was a pointless format that should of never been put out to the market.

[Viper_Fujax]

If i was rich and took a bunch of flights..only then id buy a PSP.

I just figured everything PSP would straggle along but never really get pulled off the shelf. Doesnt affect me so whatever..

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

PSP has been a failure anyways, from a gaming standpoint. The real drivin point for the PSP was the homebrew applications and with every firmware update that gets further and further away.
 

heh, shows what u know..