Talk:Universal Media Disc

Capacity

The article states that the maximum capacity of the UMD is 1.8 Gigabytes, however, there are UMD games that take up more than 1,800,000,000 bytes. For instance, Splinter Cell: Essentials is a little over 1.81GB. So is it possible that a dual layer UMD's capacity is actually 1.8 gibibytes? Or is the capacity something else?--Subversive Sound (talk) 18:07, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

1.8 GB is not precisely 1,800,000,000 bytes, it is 1,932,735,283 byes. Just as 1 KB is not 1000 bytes, it is 1024 bytes. --OuroborosCobra (talk) 01:49, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Subversive Sound is aware of this difference, which is why he linked to the relevant articles in his post. As explained in the Gigabytes article, there is a disparity between the SI meaning of GB (1,000,000,000 bytes) and the actual computer usage (1,073,741,824 bytes), which is why some people propose the Gibibyte distinction.131.107.204.126 (talk) 18:50, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

UMD vs. DVD

I think some comparison with DVD is in order since there are some people who say UMD is the replacement for the DVD. For one thing, I have yet to see a UMD with bonus features, which have long been acknowledged as a major selling point for DVD. But before I add such a statement I should ask - is it correct to say that UMD's don't have bonus features? I've never seen one but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. Has anyone seen a UMD with deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes features, trailers, etc.? 23skidoo 03:49, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

UMDs do have Special Features just like DVDs do. The Japanese version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children for example has MORE special features than the dvd does. This is most likely just so that people will have a reason to buy the UMD though, and it's not that common. UMD beats DVD at least in portability too. A dvd alone is larger than a psp, and standalone UMD players in the future could be smaller than the psp currently is. Liquidtenmillion 21:48, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh please...DVDs are clearly more winner than UMDs. Yes, DVDs are larger, but you can play them anywhere. Just bring a portable DVD player along. And then you can play it on your TV as well. For UMDs, you have to rebuy the same movie that will more than likely have less content (8GB > 2GB). It can only be played on one device (at least for now) and won't look very good on a large screen (DVDs will look pretty goood on any screen). DVDs are clearly better - anything with a bigger storage capactiy is better. - Hbdragon88 05:28, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

While UMD has begun to lose support in the industry, and therefore can perhaps be said to be "less winner" than regular DVD, you've got your numbers wrong. Current standard DVD can support 4.7 GB at, IIRC, single layer (which, IIRC, double that at a dual layer), whereas UMD has a stated 1.8 GB storage capacity. Therefore your 8 > 2 is in no way accurate as a numerical comparision between the two; it should read 4.7 > 1.8.

Perhaps it would help if you check the UMD article and the DVD article before making comments? The vast majority of video DVDs are dual layer which is 8.5 GB (not 2x4.7 GB). I know little about UMD videos but I assume the majority are dual layer i.e. 1.8 GB. So the 8.5 GB to 1.8 GB comparison is completely valid. However capacity is not everything. According to this article UMD uses H.264 for the video and a Sony proprietry codec for the audio. Most users find that H.264 is able to achieve the same effective quality with a much lower bitrate then MPEG2 (it's even better then MPEG4 ASP btw which is more or less what XviD is). I know little about the Sony propriety audio codec but from a quick look at the wiki article, it looks like it's probably better at a low bitrate then MPEG1 layer 2 (although IMHO MPEG4 AAC would have made more sense but this is Sony I suppose). Therefore, despite the lower capacity, I expect 1.8 GB UMDs could in fact include the same content as a DVDs without much noticeable loss in quality. However the highly propriety nature of UMD and the fact that Sony didn't include any video output option for the PSP means that this is unlikely to be achieve. Stupid things like using a CCD camera to catch the PSP's screen is not going to result in quality loss. Also, since the very great vast majority of people would be watching their movies on PSP, I would suspect most companies would release their UMDs with a video resolution of 480x272 (assuming 720x576/480 is even a legatimate res for UMDs). Therefore, although I suspect UMDs could theoretically store the same content as a DVD with nearly as good if not just as good (if not better) quality then DVDs, I doubt that this can be achieve at the moment. Nil Einne 16:13, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Also, larger storage capacity is not the only aspect to a storage medium, and therefore, having more of it does not automatically equal "better", as many might consider the other aspects of a storage medium to be of equal or greater importance than just the capacity for data storage, and "better" is a matter of opinion. Not that I as yet prefer either HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but quite a few have complained about what they've heard of the DRM to be allegedly featured on Blu-Ray, as well as the delicacy that having such huge storage capacity on such a small area is said by many to produce (though this may or may not be reduced or eliminated by the extra layer of coating which will be available for Blu-Ray thanks to TDK's efforts). For some, durability and lack of a system such as the DRM one on Blu-Ray might be considered contributing factors as to their opinion of it, for better or for worse. Personally, I would prefer at least a slightly higher storage capacity, but there ARE other things to consider.

Side note: most UMDs have fewer, if any, extras than the standard DVD release precisely because they have less than half the storage capacity; ie less room for extras, especially ones that take up a lot of room, such as audio commentaries or long featurettes. However, the pricing of UMDs hasn't apparently kept in very good line with the percieved value; they cost the same or more as DVDs, yet can only be played on the PSP (as opposed to DVD's having many players available, including portable ones, and DVD drives in computers including laptops) and due to the smaller storage capacity, don't usually have the same amount of extra features. This has lead so many consumers to keep buying the DVDs over the UMDs that most of the companies that originally supported it and produced titles for it are backing out of it; it's just not making enough money for them anymore to justify keeping producing them. Current DVD format is also much more entrenched; anything percieved as inferior or too limiting in comparision, isn't going to make out all that well in comparison either. Heck, there are already a lot of people clearly reluctant to buy into HD DVD or Blu-Ray, even WITH backwards-compatibility stated as a feature for both, and those formats would have enough room to feature the same or more features, instead of fewer and, as I said, come out as backwards-compatible with regular DVDs, including some that may eventually be available that work for regular DVD players even WITH HD DVD capabiltiies available as well for those that have the right players (and possibly Blu-Ray, I'm not sure if they've announced that as well, though I wouldn't doubt it). Something about a third layer that holds regular DVD data... Runa27 4.235.60.139 08:42, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

About the funny-looking cases...

Can you take the UMD's out of those cases, or are they inserted into the PSP in the cases? Scott Gall 03:26, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Go in the cases, I believe. 02:21, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

They're inserted into the PSP in the case, and it cannot be removed.

It "Could" be. I've heard of people splitting their UMD Cases into 2 pieces and have no way of replacing the UMD case. They can break by the 2 pieces that hold it into one piece, and it doesn't have to happen on purpose.--Ideal4real 03:58, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I've done it before quite easily. It's in 2 halves and can be broken open and reassembled. Also, it doesn't matter if you break the plastic on the back, that's just to protect it from fingerprints. I broke off most of that plastic and it still worked. It's like a little CD but in a case. You do need to keep it in the case though. If you put just the little disk in after taking it out of the case it could damage the PSP's interior. FinalWish 05:04, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Replacement UMD caddies are available from a few places, for individuals who have cracked theirs. 66.167.50.115 02:27, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

If you split just the top half and sorta bend the two pieces apart, you can actually take the little disc out and perhaps replace it with another.

PSPs and TV broadcast formats

The statement (about the BBC UMDs) "Curiously these are labeled as Region 0 NTSC although the programmes were originally made in PAL." which I removed from the article seems to imply something inaccurate. The TV format of the original programing is not relevant to what format a video program is stored on DVD, VCD, etc. PAL can be converted to NTSC thus it would not be that curious. I have yet to locate a clear information as to whether a PSP unit will only play UMDs in the tv format being used in the country it was sold in. If someone can clarify this I think this info should be added to the article. --Cab88 13:56, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

I don't think that the broadcast formats of these shows comes into play when they're converted to UMD. Unlike TV systems (which vary from country to country) all PSPs run a common format, I believe that all content, regardless of if it originated as PAL, SECAM or NTSC data, is converted to this common format. Also, keep in mind that the vast majority of both motion pictures and television shows are still shot on 35mm film at 24 FPS, the conversion to PAL, SECAM or NTSC is done after shooting, so for encoding onto UMD disc, the developers probably simply go back to the source material (these days, probably a HDD that's had the data written into it via telecine transfer) and start the UMD encoding work from there.

Generally, a programme source is referred to as "PAL" if it runs at 25fps, and "NTSC" if it runs at 30. While this might be strictly incorrect when referring to digital sources, the concept (and the resulting TV picture quality) is well-known and a valid use of the terms. The removed sentence makes perfect sense to me - the programmes were originated in (or for) a 625/50 video format, but the UMB recording comes out as 525/60 (this corresponds with the 720x480 resolution). So it would appear that UMD is an NTSC-only format. G7mzh (talk) 20:00, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

licensing and blank disks

"However, there has been recent profit from licensing fees."

What did they license? Are other companies making blank media? --Gbleem 07:22, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

It's in the sense of "LICENSED BY NINTENDO". As with other video game consoles and handhelds that use the lockout chip business model, "licenses" cover the right to use Sony patents and Sony trade secrets to author a given title for the PSP and to use Sony manufacturing facilities to press said title in UMDs. --Damian Yerrick (☎) 20:49, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

PRX

What does this mean? Can someone update the entry with this information? --Da-rb 27 January 2006

Its the PSP version of a .EXE file, essentially its the executable file - it stands for Psp Relocatable Executable. Paulie 16:18, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

It's more of a plug-in file like the .dll files on PCs. The .PBP is more of a .exe executable file, on the PSP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.216.132.33 (talk) 13:40, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

UMD movie comments

Can someone cite a source for the comment (in the section about UMD movies) that the format is a bomb "...just like Blue-Ray"? I question this comment because 1. The format's name is spelled BLU-RAY and I doubt a publication would reprint the quote without checking spelling and 2. The BLU-RAY format hasn't gone on sale yet, so it's obnoxious to refer to the format as being a "bomb". Maybe the quotee meant Betamax? There's also almost no commentary on the quality of UMD movies or their quality Vs. DVD, maybe someone can add some info?

Just to point something out, it's not BLU-RAY either, it's Blu-ray. TJ Spyke 21:47, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Video format(s)?

Is it my imagination or is this article devoid of info regarding the video format(s) supported (and at what resolution(s))? The reason I ask is, I was following a thread on Slashdot recently where someone claimed UMD video discs were 720x480, but the PSP was downsizing the video to 480x272. Anyway, I'll try and research this later, but would welcome some info if there's details in another article. =) —Locke Cole • t • c 06:17, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

This is in fact true. I have found two seperate references, both directly quoting Sony representatives. PSP Vault say, mentioning software developed by Sony called "UMD Composer", that "Sony stated that most UMD-Video titles currently on the market are recorded in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC with a resolution of 720 x 480." Official confirmation can be found in this file UMD Video Authoring under 'Stream File Overview'. The second reference is from an article by PC World. They quote a Sony representative, Chatani Masa, who says that "The movies are stored on the discs at a resolution of 720 pixels by 480 pixels."

Before the release of the PSP-2000, there was a lot of confusion as to why UMDs were encoded at this resolution, as we all know the PSP screen itself is 480 x 272 pixels. The release of the PSP 2000 with TV-Out capabilities explains why Sony did this. Many people incorrectly assume UMDs are encoded at the same resolution as the PSP screen, and therefore that the UMDs themselves are more like VHS quality when viewed on a TV, when in fact they are DVD quality. This needs to be cleared up within this article and perhaps added to the PSP Slim & Lite article also. Slave2Placebo 20:33, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Re: "when in fact they are DVD quality". To be specific, NTSC, usually 16:9 anamorphic, although 4:3 full frame is also supported. Be warned that many UMD videos will only have been QC'd on the PSP screen, and encoding artefacts may appear when playing back at full resolution! 81.86.49.118 (talk) 12:29, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

NPOV?

this seems bias towards sony. mostly in the use of the phrase "illegal copies of games and movies" --24.17.24.203 13:33, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Technically, it is illegal to copy games. It is not illegal, however, to copy movies. The law states that you can copy any movie once. You can choose to copy it onto any storage of space that you choose to. If you don't want to copy it onto disc, then that's your choice. You can choose to copy it onto your PSP, CD, DVD, or anything. Hell, if you wanted to, you could copy it onto a floppy. As long as you don't copy it and resell it it's legal.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gogochar (talk • contribs) on 04:50, 21 July 2006.

Do you need heart medication? If you do, please take it before you read further. My revelation is going to blow your mind! Okay taken your heart medication? Well check out this link Image:World-map-2004-cia-factbook-large-2m.jpg. Believe it or not, there is a world outside the United States. Indeed most of the world is outside the United States!!! I do hope you took your medication since I don't want to be responsible to your death due to the shock of this discovery... P.S. After going through the history I found out you are User:Gogochar who was born in 1988 so I guess you don't need heart medication. After you've gotten over the shock of this recent discovery, how about reading Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages? Think about it, if you sign your posts, people would know who you are so our reponses could be more appropriate... OMFG, l33t and all that, I know! BTW, if anyone is thinking of pointing me to Wikipedia:Civility, don't bother I've read it and understand it. And BTW, I've read Wikipedia:No personal attacks as well and don't consider this a personal attack. Nil Einne 16:18, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Rewrite due to new PSP

it says that it is impossible to play back on a normal television. this will change because of the new video output feature of the redesigned PSP. on a side note, anybody know where to get little britain on UMD in canada? 64.26.148.3 01:41, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

UMD aka MiniDisc 2.0

How can it not be seen that the UMD is a descendant of the MiniDisc, and that it is just essentially just a dvd version of the CD MiniDisc. Sure it doesn't have the sliding guard, but it is the 2.0 version if anything of the MiniDisc's case. The MiniDisc had flimsy plastic protection just like UMD's and the Discs both held side to side look and measure the same (almost like holding up a regular cd up against a regular dvd). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.228.116.112 (talk) 22:07, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Being a minidisc reader owner and having quite some of them i have to agree ! We might need a citation though.. T-oliveira (talk) 01:50, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

HTML problems?

All the edit links show up in the wrong place on Firefox in Windows XP not sure how to fix this.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.5.246.233 (talk) 16:25, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

This is a consequence of how the float attribute in CSS works. There's no good way to fix it. Λύκος 19:46, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

This is still a problem, and I haven't seen it on any other article. I don't have the expertise to know how to fix it... Any ideas? --Woodgreener (talk) 17:33, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Any proof that BattleZone is really region locked?

I've been searching the internet looking for proof that it's true that BattleZone is really region locked, but I can't find any. Does anyone have proof or know by first-hand experience? It seems really strange that only 1 PSP game on the planet is region locked. --- Akadewboy (talk) 00:42, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

I didn't find anything either on previous searches that i made about this game.. sounds like baloney to me. T-oliveira (talk) 01:51, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

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