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View Full Version : Explain to me why UMD movies are so popular



gear02
06-22-2005, 07:35 PM
This might belong in games since I'm talking about PSP and watching movies on it, but this press release got me baffled.

http://gamesindustry.biz/news.php?aid=9674


"Maybe 25 movies" available at European PSP launch

Sales of films distributed on Universal Media Disc (UMD), Sony's proprietary disc format for PlayStation Portable, have topped 100,000 according to the platform holder.

Quoting a Sony executive for Benelux, Reuters said the figure did not include copies of the film Spider-Man 2, which was bundled with a great many American PSP units.

UMD films cost between $19.95 and $29.95 in the USA.


So...why would you buy a UMD? Are you REALLY going to hold a PSP in your hands while watching the movie? And are you going to do that while it's plugged in (PSP's batt life is around 2 hours). And you're going to enjoy the movie on a 5 inch screen? AND you're going to spend $20-30 on a UMD which you can't play on any other machine, which is more than a DVD that can play on any DVD drive?

So...what's the attraction of UMDs? I just don't get it...

bachviet
06-22-2005, 09:03 PM
Portability I guess

avlena
06-22-2005, 11:07 PM
This might belong in games since I'm talking about PSP and watching movies on it, but this press release got me baffled.

http://gamesindustry.biz/news.php?aid=9674



So...why would you buy a UMD? Are you REALLY going to hold a PSP in your hands while watching the movie? And are you going to do that while it's plugged in (PSP's batt life is around 2 hours). And you're going to enjoy the movie on a 5 inch screen? AND you're going to spend $20-30 on a UMD which you can't play on any other machine, which is more than a DVD that can play on any DVD drive?

So...what's the attraction of UMDs? I just don't get it...


i think that the battery life is actually 6 hours or so. Graf rarely recharges his, and plays all the time. i think the main draw is the portability - if you're going on a long flight, then i'd love to have a UMD movie!