Another Sony Format Bites the Dust 425
Lam1969 writes "Reuters is reporting that Universal Media Disc, Sony's PSP-only movie format, is about to kick the bucket. While the discs' novelty factor resulted in strong sales shortly after the PSP's May 2005 launch, interest rapidly dropped and movie companies are no longer interested in producing titles. From the article: "Universal Studios Home Entertainment has completely stopped producing UMD movies, according to executives who asked not to be identified by name. Said one high-ranking exec: 'It's awful. Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb -- like Blu-ray."'"
A good thing (Score:2, Informative)
Maybe in the US (Score:3, Informative)
The US and possibly the British markets are small. But the Japanese & Korean markets are reportedly solid. I work at a post house, and we are still turning out quite a few versions for UMD. There must be people buying them somewhere.
One studio is not indicative of the entire market. Unless that studio is Sony itself. They own the largest catalog of movies, making up over a third of the titles produced by major film studios in the last 60 years.
Re:Blu Ray? (Score:3, Informative)
You have to admit the comment about blu-ray is a bit strange.
Re:Blu Ray? (Score:1, Informative)
absolutely right, except for one thing (Score:5, Informative)
You're right about the other aspects, but I think the main problem is that you can only play it on a PSP (the Universal part is a euphemism)
Re:I predicted this from the start (Score:5, Informative)
If only it things were that good!! Almost always you can by the DVD equivalent for less. More quality, more versetile, less money. No brainer. UMD was doomed to fail from the get-go.
Compare two samples, a new release and an old release:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: $15.76 [amazon.com] vs $21.99 [amazon.com]
The Matrix: $9.76 [amazon.com] vs. 17.99 [amazon.com]
They are good at picking losers (Score:5, Informative)
As a more receant example take HiMD. HiMD was a wonderful extension of their neat MD format that did ok, but really failed to launch. HiMD added much better quality, more storage, and most importantly of all, high speed async computer transfers. Orignal MDs had to be dumped to computers via S/PDIF which meant no faster than realtime.
Now it would seem this format would be ideally positioned to make major inroads for recording. DAT is on the way out fast and is expensive anyhow, flash devices cost a lot and storage is pretty expensive, HD recorders are large and inflexable. HiMD would have a big market as the next DAT in essence.... Except they locked it down all to hell. You can only transfer files to your PC with their peice of shit software. Worse yet, it orignally didn't even let you transfer it to non-DRM'd formats. So you'd record your band, transfer teh recording, and then you couldn't open it in Wavelab. Wonderful.
I personally am skeptical of Blu-ray mainly because Sony is the big backer. They've a good track record with pro formats, but they have hosed thigns in the consumer market so many times I tend to predict they'll fail just based on their track record.
Let's be clear about what the issue IS, okay? (Score:3, Informative)
And with good reason. No one's going to pay $25 for a movie they already have in a higher quality format, when they can just rip their DVD and transcode it for PSP playback. UMD video probably isn't going to fail as spectacularly in Japan though, where most of the time, you can get a UMD _with_ your DVD purchase (For a little extra) I should know, I have a couple. And I certainly wouldn't have bought them seperately, since I could have just as easily put my videos on the memstick for free (Though that is one of the two advantages of UMD video; it's encoded better than you could possibly do transcoding, and it doesn't take up any space on your memory stick.) As for this 'cavalcade of failed Sony formats'... Seriously, drink the koolaid. No one else is buying that crap.
Betamax? Still the top choice for many professional video applications.
Minidisc? While MP3 players have their advantages, the latest generation of MD player/recorders are still going strong, even outside of Japan. Also, minidisc recorders are pretty much the #1 device for bootlegging live performances for its blend of small size, and high fidelity.
Blu-Ray? Let's skip past the part where it ISN'T EVEN OUT YET, and get down to the facts. The Playstation 2 cemented DVD in Japan. It hadn't caught on until then, they were still using VCD! So, considering that the Xbox 360 had such an abysmal launch (Usually what happens when your product can't withstand the rigors of...well, WORKING), which do you think is going to win in Japan? HD-DVD, or Blu-Ray? And don't forget, a growing constituency in the US and abroad care more about the outcome of that battle than what format Universal is going to put their latest summer blockbusting crapfest on.
UMD was about putting software in the PSP, first and foremost. The fact that they never had plans to manufacture anything ELSE to play UMDs should speak for itself.
Re:Blu Ray? (Score:2, Informative)
Not according to The Inquirer it ain't! (Score:4, Informative)
Here's the article: Sony's UMD format breaks through to the mainstream [theinquirer.net].
I can't help but laugh at some of the things the author wrote:
Apparently "extremely popular" is weasel-words for "we will hype the format now and abandon in 6 months".
Wow, customers must really appreciate paying through the nose for a UMD, and this can only be good for the studios! (note: this is an example of Irony [wikipedia.org]).
The Inquirer article even quotes a Newsweek article, PlayStation Portable - New Format for Hollywood [msn.com], which is less glowing but was clearly the only source of information for the Inquirer author.
Even Newsweek can see the rorting going on with UMD but they seem to not have a problem with it, as they tell of the studios "milking their catalogs" as if that's a good thing.
Completely unfair ... (Score:2, Informative)
Lets also take a look at history and the two most successful digital media format still being used today:
CD Audio (Red Book): Philips and Sony
DVD : 10 founders - Hitachi, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner, Toshiba, JVC.
No granted those two formats didnt have any competition, but when you campare BluRay and HD-DVD who do you find behind each format?
HD-DVD: Toshiba and NEC
BluRay: Hitachi, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Sony, Thomson, LG, Sharp, Samsung
JVC, who was VHS proponent against Sony's Betamax, is not among the BluRay founders, but still is a BluRay supporter.
So please, do not count BluRay as a Sony Failure, it might end up being a failure but I dont think Sony would deserve to be the first to take the blame. (I would probably blame Fox first)
Re:Don't let SACD be next (Score:3, Informative)
Also, modern "24 bit" audio DACs are still delta sigma designs they just use more than "1 bit" at the output stage. A 1 bit output stage has a matched current source and current sink and the converter switches rapidly between these to produce the states "in between" a full positive or full negative swing. The raw output of a delta sigma DAC is low pass filtered to eliminate stuff way out beyond the normal audio range. This can be as simple as a capacitor from the output pin to ground but for high quality audio there is normally an op-amp based active filter involved. The external filters for delta sigma DACs are certainly not very aggressive as "true" old school PCM designs and this is one of the reasons these converters sound better. (An aggressive low pass filter causes uglyness within the audio band.) I suspect you probably already knew this much.
On multi-bit delta sigma converter you just have additional matched current sources and current sinks. (Say, two sources and two sinks. Presumably this results in a "2 bit" output stage
And actually, at least on high quality converters, each channel (the left or right output) has both a positive and negative going version of the channel (that is, a balanced output stage.) The DAC outputs run through a current to voltage conversion and then a differential to single ended conversion using op-amps external to the DAC. The idea behind the differential output is to cancel any non-linearity between the current sources and sinks. Close matching of like parts such as the N channel transistors on a chip is possible but close matching between the N and P type is generally not. Also, absolute precision is not easily achieved which is the reasons "24 bit" DACs do not actually have 24 bit output stages. Early (true PCM) 16 bit and 18 bit converters achieved precision by laser trimming the on chip resistor elements which is expensive and so early CD players were also expensive.
My apologies for rambling. I recently designed a product around a TI/Burr Brown DSD1796 24bit/192kHz "segment DAC" and all of this is still running around in my head. (The segment DACs are actually a hybrid of a traditional 6 bit PCM style resistor ladder with the extra 18 bits being generated by delta sigma modulation.)
Re:Loss leaders would save the day (Score:1, Informative)
On the other hand, Nintendo makes 3-5 dollars on every game sold for the GC, and has since the beginning.
And it's not a DVD player, so everybody typically buys at least one game to go with it. (Those who don't bought a GB-Player to play GBA games, at a similiar profit margin.)
So...yes, if you want to be technical, Nintendo ran the GC initially as a loss-leader expecting to make it back on the games.
Re:Blu Ray? (Score:5, Informative)
You got that one allright. Although there are mini-cd MP3 players quite cheap that fit that requirement equally well, if not better.
Compared to MP3 players, the sound quality is vastly better
This is just FUD, nothing else. It would depend on the player and the MP3, for sure, but trust me, I can get you an MP3 that you will be just unable to tell from the source, let alone ATRAC. In fact, many listening tests have proven ATRAC to be inferior to MP3 at equal bitrate. And you can choose your bitrate with most MP3 players, hence defining YOURSELF the perfect quality.
You can also get MD hifi units to put next to your CD player, which I've yet to see for MP3
Virtually ANY DVD player on the market will play MP3-CDs. Where have you been in the last 5 years?
I like listening to music on my stereo, not my computer
Dude, there is no comparison on hardware support. MP3 is way out of reach on this area. Most CD/DVD players will play MP3s, even at $30. You are just out of your league out here.
Lastly, you exaggerated the price for MD units
Still, it much more expensive than a an AIWA Z3C, which is a mini-CD MP3 player. $50 (although I don't think you can still find one).
My current MD portable is about the size of an Ipod nano, give or take
This is not one manufactured by SONY then... The MZ-RH10 is 80x19x84 and the Nano is 89x41x7... That's about 5 times bigger !!!! Have you ever had a look at a Nano?
I know none of these reasons are likely to hold much weight with 95% of consumers
Of course, since none of them are valid (or at least still valid). You need to look around: The MP3 world has also evolved in the last 5 years.
Re:Blu Ray? (Score:3, Informative)
The sound quality issue isn't FUD; ATRAC (in its latest incarnations) is simply a better compression algorithm for audio quality (at comparable file sizes); see here [learningcenter.sony.us] or here [hydrogenaudio.org] for example. Now, I'm not saying you couldn't produce an MP3 which sounds better than ATRAC, but in common usage, ATRAC generally has more fidelity. Saying that, I'm sure as MD drops off as a format and MP3 becomes even more mainstream, MP3 will improve to the point that it overtakes ATRAC - and it's not a huge difference at the moment. But it's big enough for me - I didn't spend money on a decent hifi to waste my time listening to poorly compressed music on it. They're both compromises, but at the moment, in practical usage, ATRAC is less of a compromise than MP3.
A DVD player which plays MP3s is not an "MP3 player" - you'd have to use a computer to burn a CD/DVD specifically for listening on it. This is not the same as having one MD which I can use in a portable player or a deck. How many people do you know who keep their MP3 player contents sync'd with CDs ? If I'm listening to music while walking home, then decide I want to carry on listening to the same music, but on my hifi, I can simply take the disc out of my MD player, put it in my deck, and i'm done. With a computer based format like MP3 I'd need to burn it to a new medium first. Again, a computer is required. I spend all day in front of a computer - when I'm relaxing, listening to music, I don't mind using a cd player, but having to use a computer is an intermediate step i don't want.
Of course, with some portables you get a line-out which means you can plug it into your amp and listen direct from there, but not many come with a line-in which you can record via without using a computer. that's fine for many people, who want to use it via a computer. I don't.
And my MD portable IS a sony - an MZ-E909, at 71.1 x 77.6 x 12.5 mm (2cm smaller in height but 3cm wider, and about 5mm deeper - not that much difference - they both slip into a pocket easily). For that I get around 40 hours battery life (and more like 100 hours if i don't mind one AA battery piggybacking) - a nano gives about 14 hours. The build quality is also much better, IMO (magnesium shell - dropped many times with no ill effects, and even sat on a couple of times). So i get a slightly squarer, slightly thicker body, but only have to charge it every few weeks rather than every few days. Again, not a big deal, but it suits me.
I'm not saying MD/ATRAC is better than MP3 in all it's forms, it isn't - I'm just saying that it isn't quite the dead duck some people would have you believe - at least not in technical terms. For me, it's a great format, let down only by Sony's refusal to make it more mainstream. MP3 on MD could have been huge, if Sony had not been so dense a few years ago. Now anyone who hasn't already invested in the format would be mad to buy into it.