I was watching 28 Days Later on UMD this morning, which is almost ironic considering the news that the major studios are cutting back on their UMD release schedules. Of course, any sane person could have seen this was going to happen. Why would anyone pay double - UMDs are usually twice as much as DVDs - to watch something on a smaller screen. If portability is that important then it is relatively easy to rip a DVD to memory stick. Yes, you'll need a 1 or 2 GB stick but the prices of these, well the former at least, is about the same as 2 UMD movies.
Of course, there is no denying the quality of the UMD format. The PSP is a genuinely viable proposition when it comes to watching video on the go - the screen is the real deal. But the simple truth is that people don't value the ability to watch a film on the go enough to tempt them to buy the UMD version over the DVD.
Sony's rather desperate attempt to rectify this includes considering whether to enable the PSP to display UMD movies on a TV. Er, right. So we have to plug in a PSP (the battery life makes this a necessity), connect to the TV and then watch video that will be a lot lower resolution and quality than if we simply watched a DVD. Nice one.
If there is any hope for UMD it comes in more niche content - apparently comedy is the big seller - and a reduction in price. An obvious arrangement would be to see UMD and DVD double-packs that give punters a choice of where they consume their media. But when you throw in downloads as well - iTunes is only the start - you have to fear for the future of UMD.
