does anybody actually buy umd movies?

[wakka]

does anybody collect them as I do as a sort of obsolete format that is miraculously not actually obsolete yet? Like laserdiscs, I just find them appealing somehow, despite all their flaws and cumbersome nature.

Yeah, I do this in exactly the same way. I love failed, weird formats - HD-DVDs are awesome too. I never pay more than £2 to £3 for each film though.

[FelixofMars]

The thing is if they had done downloadable movies to a memory stick themselves I think they would have done much better out of it.

UMD Movies are pretty pointless given the fact it's so easy to convert your own media with free programs....overall it might explain the general lack of interest. Plus movies off the Memory Stick use less power.

[Daniel Faraday]

Hehe. UMDs always make me laugh. I just can't understand why anyone would buy them.

[sj33]

I see people watching films on portable devices like iPhones and even PSP's all the time on the train, but they're usually viewing their own media rather than UMD's. I think there was always an audience for something like thing, but Sony doomed their format to failure by pricing them higher than DVD's. Anything more than 1/2 of a DVD's price seems absurd given (from a consumer's perspective) you'e getting a shrunk-down DVD.

[eastyy]

think with a gaming system like a psp or a ds they are portable so handy on a trip to have a quick blast of a game and would often play it at home aswell

with a umd for me personlly i would never be on a trip long enough to watch a film.....and i wouldnt watch one at home cos i would have a dvd player and dvds anyway

[noobish hat]

I know what you mean, I travel a lot, but even I can't be bothered with the hassle of charging it up for a film, especially when I know the battery will be drained for the return trip. They should have concentrated on releasing more sitcom and cartoon box sets.

[averybluemonkey]

Only got one UMD myself but then I didn't get my PSP until last year and still have a pretty small collection. I like the idea of them but don't like the cost. Most the time I use mine in bed whether at home or travelling so the battery life isn't such an issue, found it much more comfortable than sitting there with the laptop burning through my legs.

I think Sony should have taken something of a loss leader approach when it was released. Like releasing DVD/UMD double packs for just a couple of pounds more. Build up a user base that way. I'd definitely pay a small surcharge if a portable version was included with a film and it didn't require another box.

[dvdmike]

We still sell a lot of them

[Finsbury Girl]

I'm no moron nor technically inept but I have found it extremely hard to convert my movies to psp format - the very few umds I have are convenient and the quality is great. Pity price points were poor. What ever happened to the psp digital copy on bluray - this would be ideal for me.

[Strolls]

I'm no moron nor technically inept but I have found it extremely hard to convert my movies to psp format...

I guess the studios - region encoding of DVDs & the DMCA - have to take the blame for this.

I haven't tried ripping to PSP format, specifically, but I have converted DVDs to mp4. I use Linux to do this, which is not a one-click solution, either, but I'm guessing that on a PC you have to first decrypt the DVD to your hard-drive using some illegal (at least in the USA) program before you use another to convert it.

The DMCA and the DVD Consortium's licensing rules is the reason that no reputable mainstream publisher offers an all-in-one single-click solution to ripping. If it wasn't for these you could convert your movies as easily as ripping MP3s - the function might well be built into Windows by now! Considering Apple's positioning in the market (the Apple TV, downloads of movies from the iTunes store) it's crazy that you can't rip your movies in iTunes.

The studios should accept that people have a right to convert media to different formats, and you shouldn't be required to buy a movie twice (once on DVD, again on UMD) just so you can watch it on the go.

What does this result in? Piracy, because it's easier to download via BitTorrent than it is to buy the DVD and rip it. I think you'll find plenty of the DVDs you've bought available in PSP-compatible format, Finsbury, if you search the Pirate Bay.

It's just crazy that you should have to do this.

Right now, about the only company standing up for the consumer's right to rip DVDs is Real Networks, the maker of RealPlayer. They are in court over it at the moment - final arguments have just been taken and the judge is now considering the verdict. I frikkin' hated Real Player on the PC, and I can't believe I'm now rooting for them! I have to guess that Real have carefully considered their legal approach, but have realised that they need to do something radical or risk becoming irrelevant.

You can no longer get Real's DVD ripping software, because they were sued just as soon as they released it, and they took it down from their site again only 3 days after they launched it! I wrote my 3rd paragraph above - this is what you should be able to do! a one-click solution is technically easy! - and then remembered about RealDVD just before I clicked "post"!

Here are a couple of articles about it:

http://news.cnet.com/dvd-ripping-goes-legit-with-realdvd/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10034765-1.html

You should be able to find info about the lawsuit easily enough.

Stroller.

[gossi the dog]

I wnet into HMV on Oxford Circus today and they have a large display for UMD's which does suggest that they sell well.

[Finsbury Girl]

.

The studios should accept that people have a right to convert media to different formats, and you shouldn't be required to buy a movie twice (once on DVD, again on UMD) just so you can watch it on the go.

What does this result in? Piracy, because it's easier to download via BitTorrent than it is to buy the DVD and rip it. I think you'll find plenty of the DVDs you've bought available in PSP-compatible format, Finsbury, if you search the Pirate Bay.

It's just crazy that you should have to do this.



Stroller.

Mate - agree 100%. I'd love a one click solution to convert dvds I already own. Fair use concept should prevail one would hope.

I'm no angel and used to copy pc games back in the day without a second thought however I have never downloaded movies or games or songs from the net (do however sometimes borrow some mates CDs and rip if it is likely I wouldn't buy the album) not because I'm some anti pirate or whatever but simply because I like to own a physical thing be it a blu ray or cd etc. I am completely neutral when it comes to piracy but do think that the industry is completely full of sh*t when it makes outlandish claims as to how much money they are losing.

What I do with that CD or DVD etc within my home network should be up to me I reckon.

[xist]

DVD -> DVDDecrypter or DVDShrink to get image file -> XviD4PSP to get PSP compatible move -> Transfer to Memory Stick.

Simples. Uses less power to play from Memory Stick than UMD and you get to configure the quality you want yourself.