Sony Preparing to Phase Out UMD Movies? Memory Stick Tester Planned
Encoded DVD with four movies to ship with SMS
As most movie and games industry pundits seek to write off the UMD as a viable format to host film releases, it looks as though Sony is set to rethink its offer to studios and retailers, with DVD movie combo packs set to ship with Sony Memory Sticks and PSP encoding software.
It was reported earlier this year on SPOnG that major studios were backing away from the format, and recently reports have flared talking of major US retailers backing away from UMD movies, or discontinuing their sale altogether.
Sony's answer, or at least the first stab at an answer, is to release Memory Stick Entertainment Packs. Two versions will be released, a one GB version (MSX-M1GSTEP) and a two GB (MEX-M2GSEP) version. In the US pricing will be $60 and $100 respectively, the same Sony asks for it's standard first-party Memory sticks.
Each pack will come complete with an installer DVD housing four Sony Pictures movies, Hitch, S.W.A.T., The Grudge, or XXX: State of the Union, and software that will install them onto the PSP ready-encoded. The only shortcoming right now is the resolution, with Sony offering the movies at a resolution of 320x240, much lower than the 480x272 the hardware can manage.
We'll bring you up to speed with this interesting development as more information is released.
It was reported earlier this year on SPOnG that major studios were backing away from the format, and recently reports have flared talking of major US retailers backing away from UMD movies, or discontinuing their sale altogether.
Sony's answer, or at least the first stab at an answer, is to release Memory Stick Entertainment Packs. Two versions will be released, a one GB version (MSX-M1GSTEP) and a two GB (MEX-M2GSEP) version. In the US pricing will be $60 and $100 respectively, the same Sony asks for it's standard first-party Memory sticks.
Each pack will come complete with an installer DVD housing four Sony Pictures movies, Hitch, S.W.A.T., The Grudge, or XXX: State of the Union, and software that will install them onto the PSP ready-encoded. The only shortcoming right now is the resolution, with Sony offering the movies at a resolution of 320x240, much lower than the 480x272 the hardware can manage.
We'll bring you up to speed with this interesting development as more information is released.
Companies:
Sony
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Comments
config 17 Jul 2006 10:17
1/5
with Sony offering the movies at a resolution of 320x240, much lower than the 480x272 the hardware can manage
Not only is 320x240 much smaller, it's also the wrong aspect ratio.
The PSP screen is 16:9, and 320x240 is 4:3
So it's either going to be black bars or stretched to fit, the latter being so wrong I shouldn't have even mentioned it.
Plus, scaling up a 240 high image to 272 is just going to look horribly s**t, so playing native would give not only black bars, but also a slight letterboxing.
ozfunghi 17 Jul 2006 10:40
2/5
Surprise surprise
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GameGod 17 Jul 2006 16:33
3/5
at the end of the post:"We'll bring you up to speed with this interesting development as more information is released." I honestly don't find anything interesting in that... maybe you wanted to mention how Sony is deseperated with the PSP & UMD is an interesting development...
Coxy 17 Jul 2006 18:37
4/5
If Sony are phasing out UMD's, then there would be no point in having a UMD Slot, this makes me wonder if Sony would still include it in PSP's or redesign one without the UMD slot.
Also, am I the only one who finds changing memory sticks in the PSP extermely fiddly?, it's not going to be convienient to change memory sticks when traveling, and they could get lost easily, and if they are priced at around $60 -$100 (around £33 for 1GB, £54 for 2GB) per memory stick, I don't think people would buy them considering they could just as easily purchase the film cheaper on DVD and watch it on a portable DVD player.
Also, am I the only one who finds changing memory sticks in the PSP extermely fiddly?, it's not going to be convienient to change memory sticks when traveling, and they could get lost easily, and if they are priced at around $60 -$100 (around £33 for 1GB, £54 for 2GB) per memory stick, I don't think people would buy them considering they could just as easily purchase the film cheaper on DVD and watch it on a portable DVD player.
jordanlund 17 Jul 2006 19:01
5/5
If Sony are phasing out UMD's, then there would be no point in having a UMD Slot, this makes me wonder if Sony would still include it in PSP's or redesign one without the UMD slot.
Since all the existing PSP games are on UMD then it's pretty much required in any re-design. They aren't going to engineer themselves out of playing 148 or so existing games.
Since all the existing PSP games are on UMD then it's pretty much required in any re-design. They aren't going to engineer themselves out of playing 148 or so existing games.