Sony's Universal Media Disc facing last rites + shocking comment - Blu-ray Forum

thunderhawk · 03-31-2006, 11:58 AM

Sony's Universal Media Disc facing last rites

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Exactly a year after it was launched in the United States, the Sony PlayStation Portable's days as a hand-held movie-viewing device might be numbered.

Disappointing sales have slowed the flow of movies on the proprietary Universal Media Disc to a mere trickle. At least two major studios have completely stopped releasing movies on UMD, while others are either toying with the idea or drastically cutting back.

And retailers also are cutting the amount of shelf space they've been devoting to UMD movies, amid talk that Wal-Mart is about to dump the category entirely.

Wal-Mart representative Jolanda Stewart declined comment on reports that the retailer is getting out of the UMD business. But studio sources say such a move is imminent, and a check Wednesday of a Wal-Mart store in Santa Ana, Calif., revealed a drastic shrinkage of UMD inventory. Several shelves of movies in the PSP section were gone; all that remained were seven UMD titles sitting bookshelf-style on the top of the PSP section, with no prices or other information.

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."

(Sony, in fact, vowed Wednesday to stick by the announced May 23 street date for the studio's first batch of Blu-ray Disc titles despite reports that the next-generation hardware needed to play the discs likely won't arrive in U.S. stores until the following month at the earliest.)

Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment also is said to be out of the UMD business. "We continue to evaluate the PSP platform for each title, and if it makes sense for business reasons and the target audience, we will release them," spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone said. "Our focus right now is much more aimed at HD (high-definition) at the moment, though."

A high-ranking executive was more blunt: "We are on hiatus with UMD," he said. "Releasing titles on UMD is the exception rather than the rule. No one's even breaking even on them."

Also out of the UMD business is Image Entertainment, while other studios -- including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment -- have drastically slashed release schedules.

"No one's watching movies on PSP," said the president of one of the six major studios' home entertainment divisions. "It's a game player, period."

Observers speculate the studios released too many movies, too fast. Within five months of the PSP's March 2005 launch, 239 movie and TV titles already were either in the market or in the pipeline -- a significantly higher tally than games, according to the DVD Release Report.

But while sales were initially strong -- two Sony Pictures titles even crossed the 100,000-unit threshold after just two months -- the novelty quickly wore off, observers say. The arrival last fall of Apple's video iPod only hastened the PSP's decline as a movie-watching platform.

Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, was a big believer in PSP as a movie-watching platform. He still is, even though he concedes retail shelf space for UMD movies is on a sharp decline and his own studio is being "more selective" in choosing movies for UMD release.

Feingold believes the PSP's biggest drawback as a movie-watching device was the inability to connect the gadget to TV sets for big-screen viewing, "which would have made it more compelling," as well as the inclusion of memory stick capability.

"I think a lot of people are ripping content and sticking it onto the device rather than purchasing," he said.

But next week, Sony Computer Entertainment executives will begin making the rounds of the Hollywood studios to discuss plans for making the PSP able to connect to TV sets.

"We're hoping the format's going to be reinvigorated with next-generation capability that may include living-room or normal television playback," he said.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/....dailytech.com

Shadowself · 03-31-2006, 01:09 PM

"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.'"

Not only is the statement made by people who are supposedly from Universal (a distinctly anti Blu-ray company), the "sources" doe not even have the personal fortitude to go on the record and admit who they are! Who is this "high-ranking exec"? The chief janitor?

Marwin · 03-31-2006, 02:14 PM

That sure doesn't sound like something a "high-ranking executive" would ever say. They're usually more careful when choosing their words, especially when talking to the press.

Personally, I feel that the fundamental problem isn't that people don't want to watch movies on their PSP, but that they tried to create a whole new format specifically for portable movies that can't even be played in a stand-alone player. If the PSP supported DVD playback I'm sure it would boost sales of DVDs for the industry, just as the PS2 does for DVD and PS3 will do for Blu-ray.

AV_Integrated · 03-31-2006, 02:52 PM

Yes, that line is a lie - period.

1. No executive in their right mind would say something so blatently negative about a major manufacturer.

2. No person, with a clue, would compare Blu-ray to Beta, UMD, or Mini-Disc.

Why? Because Blu-ray is supported by 170+ companies. Unlike EVERY other format that failed, it has at least 4 manufacturers making hardware with several others possible (Panasonic, LG, Philips, Thomson?)... Sony while the key player, has tried very hard to play as part of the team and make it clear that they are NOT driving the ship alone.

UMD? 100% Sony
Mini-Disc? 100% Sony
Beta? Mostly Sony
Blu-ray? Not even close to all Sony.

zombie · 03-31-2006, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marwin

That sure doesn't sound like something a "high-ranking executive" would ever say. They're usually more careful when choosing their words, especially when talking to the press.

Agreed. Sounds far more like the kind of comment which would be made from a disgruntled former Sony employee. That being said, on the off chance a higher up at Universal actually did say this, my reply would be - Sony will have the last laugh, no doubt you'll be joining BD in the end.

phloyd · 03-31-2006, 09:46 PM

The problem with UMD is that it costs too much. Last night in Circuit City I compared some prices - Super Troopers is $20 on UMD and $10 on DVD. Others were the same price.

Kids aren't gonna pay more or the same as DVD prices for this novelty... well, not many of them anyways.

zombie · 03-31-2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phloyd

The problem with UMD is that it costs too much. Last night in Circuit City I compared some prices - Super Troopers is $20 on UMD and $10 on DVD. Others were the same price.

Kids aren't gonna pay more or the same as DVD prices for this novelty... well, not many of them anyways.

You're right. The pricing is definitely a factor in UMD's failure. Funny that it was only a couple of months ago that the industry was hailing UMD as a success.

Alex Pallas · 03-31-2006, 11:02 PM

isn't Universal an HD *****?...

markw · 04-01-2006, 05:21 PM

I saw this article yesterday and was so shocked! First, how can you call something a failure when it hasn't been released yet or had a chance to fail? I don't think blu-ray will be a failure. UMD was different. Yeah, who will pay $20 for a movie they can only play on a PSP. It would have been nice if it could have supported dvd but that would be too big to place in a psp. I've heard rumors of a PSP2 with a built in hard drive like a ipod. I think then it'll go to more of a download service like the video for the IPOD. As well, I've even heard that games may go to that with ps1 emulation and all ps1 games being available for download to a PSP. yet I think UMD will live on as a format for games for the PSP.

thunderhawk · 04-01-2006, 06:04 PM

I think it's bullshit. No company official says something like that. Especially not at the press. I think it's fake that comment.

shiltz · 04-03-2006, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyg

You're right. The pricing is definitely a factor in UMD's failure. Funny that it was only a couple of months ago that the industry was hailing UMD as a success.

Unfortunatly that same thing could end up holding true for Blu-ray too, I was a definite going to get Blu-ray, now that the prices have been released and Blu-ray is rediculously high compaired to HD-DVD i'm either going to go HD-DVD or just wait till one of the formats dies and then buy one.

Sony1 · 04-03-2006, 01:22 PM

Same here, I just pre-ordered HD DVD, and will be getting a Playstation 3 when it comes out in November. I don't understand why Sony has taken so long to get Blue-ray on the market, they have had this technology for 3 years now, and should have released it along time ago. They could have released it to their premium consumers and charged a ton for it, but at least it would be out there and on the market. I think the cost of Blue-ray is way to high for the average consumer, and it could spell disaster if they don't come down in price.

Marwin · 04-03-2006, 02:52 PM

The prices are obviously not targeting general consumers yet, they're targeting early adopters which usually have no problem paying premium for something new and exciting. If Toshiba were pumping out hundreds of thousands or millions of their HD-DVD players I'm sure there would be a reaction to that, but as their initial number of players is so small you could argue that they're just throwing away money by selling these new devices so cheap when they could easily sell them all but for a higher price.

If the Blu-ray players don't sell I'm sure they will drop in price, and if they sell they will drop in price as well because they're reaching greater production volumes, so either way the prices are bound to come down. If you look at the price of movies they're already the same.

thunderhawk · 04-03-2006, 05:30 PM

Already the same..?

Myeah, Marwin has a point. However, you shouldn't underestimate the early pricedifference!..

phloyd · 04-03-2006, 06:05 PM

Simply put Bluray has an extensible future and HDDVD is pretty much a player for discs you buy in the store.

Bluray is based on a concept which allows for recording (that is what the Japanese units do) whereas HDDVD is just a HD extension of DVD.

Anyways, all the arguments are getting old. We will see it all play out and some people will be happy and some people will not be and the best team doesn't always win...

Also, WRT PSP vs iPOD, Sony were demonstrating their download service at CES. One of the things that annoyed me is that unprotected home authored content cannot be full res on the PSP. Protected content is (like UMD for example) and the downloads they will offer will also be full res.

With the dropping prices of memory sticks, it almost makes no sense to have a HDD.

zombie · 04-03-2006, 08:57 PM

I saw someone state this at another forum and thought it was funny:

"HD DVD: The poor man's Blu-ray"

I agree the price difference in players makes HD DVD look tempting but you can't deny the fact that they've only got 40% of Hollywood supporting them. Do you guys realize how many movies you won't be able to buy on HD DVD but will end up being available on Blu-ray? True things could change but that's how it stands right now. To be it's a better deal to invest more in the player that plays nearly everything than to invest half the price for something that plays less than half. But whatever, what do I know.

03-31-2006, 11:58 AM	#1
thunderhawk Moderator Member since:Jul 2004 Location:Belgium	Sony's Universal Media Disc facing last rites + shocking comment Sony's Universal Media Disc facing last rites LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Exactly a year after it was launched in the United States, the Sony PlayStation Portable's days as a hand-held movie-viewing device might be numbered. Disappointing sales have slowed the flow of movies on the proprietary Universal Media Disc to a mere trickle. At least two major studios have completely stopped releasing movies on UMD, while others are either toying with the idea or drastically cutting back. And retailers also are cutting the amount of shelf space they've been devoting to UMD movies, amid talk that Wal-Mart is about to dump the category entirely. Wal-Mart representative Jolanda Stewart declined comment on reports that the retailer is getting out of the UMD business. But studio sources say such a move is imminent, and a check Wednesday of a Wal-Mart store in Santa Ana, Calif., revealed a drastic shrinkage of UMD inventory. Several shelves of movies in the PSP section were gone; all that remained were seven UMD titles sitting bookshelf-style on the top of the PSP section, with no prices or other information. 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." (Sony, in fact, vowed Wednesday to stick by the announced May 23 street date for the studio's first batch of Blu-ray Disc titles despite reports that the next-generation hardware needed to play the discs likely won't arrive in U.S. stores until the following month at the earliest.) Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment also is said to be out of the UMD business. "We continue to evaluate the PSP platform for each title, and if it makes sense for business reasons and the target audience, we will release them," spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone said. "Our focus right now is much more aimed at HD (high-definition) at the moment, though." A high-ranking executive was more blunt: "We are on hiatus with UMD," he said. "Releasing titles on UMD is the exception rather than the rule. No one's even breaking even on them." Also out of the UMD business is Image Entertainment, while other studios -- including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment -- have drastically slashed release schedules. "No one's watching movies on PSP," said the president of one of the six major studios' home entertainment divisions. "It's a game player, period." Observers speculate the studios released too many movies, too fast. Within five months of the PSP's March 2005 launch, 239 movie and TV titles already were either in the market or in the pipeline -- a significantly higher tally than games, according to the DVD Release Report. But while sales were initially strong -- two Sony Pictures titles even crossed the 100,000-unit threshold after just two months -- the novelty quickly wore off, observers say. The arrival last fall of Apple's video iPod only hastened the PSP's decline as a movie-watching platform. Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, was a big believer in PSP as a movie-watching platform. He still is, even though he concedes retail shelf space for UMD movies is on a sharp decline and his own studio is being "more selective" in choosing movies for UMD release. Feingold believes the PSP's biggest drawback as a movie-watching device was the inability to connect the gadget to TV sets for big-screen viewing, "which would have made it more compelling," as well as the inclusion of memory stick capability. "I think a lot of people are ripping content and sticking it onto the device rather than purchasing," he said. But next week, Sony Computer Entertainment executives will begin making the rounds of the Hollywood studios to discuss plans for making the PSP able to connect to TV sets. "We're hoping the format's going to be reinvigorated with next-generation capability that may include living-room or normal television playback," he said. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/....dailytech.com

03-31-2006, 01:09 PM	#2
Shadowself Senior Member Member since:Sep 2005	Consider the "sources" "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.'" Not only is the statement made by people who are supposedly from Universal (a distinctly anti Blu-ray company), the "sources" doe not even have the personal fortitude to go on the record and admit who they are! Who is this "high-ranking exec"? The chief janitor?

03-31-2006, 02:14 PM	#3
Marwin Developer Top contributor Member since:May 2003 Blu-ray collection:10 DVD collection:5 iTunes collection:1	That sure doesn't sound like something a "high-ranking executive" would ever say. They're usually more careful when choosing their words, especially when talking to the press. Personally, I feel that the fundamental problem isn't that people don't want to watch movies on their PSP, but that they tried to create a whole new format specifically for portable movies that can't even be played in a stand-alone player. If the PSP supported DVD playback I'm sure it would boost sales of DVDs for the industry, just as the PS2 does for DVD and PS3 will do for Blu-ray. Last edited by Marwin; 03-31-2006 at 02:31 PM.

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03-31-2006, 02:52 PM	#4
AV_Integrated Senior Member Member since:Jan 2005	Yes, that line is a lie - period. 1. No executive in their right mind would say something so blatently negative about a major manufacturer. 2. No person, with a clue, would compare Blu-ray to Beta, UMD, or Mini-Disc. Why? Because Blu-ray is supported by 170+ companies. Unlike EVERY other format that failed, it has at least 4 manufacturers making hardware with several others possible (Panasonic, LG, Philips, Thomson?)... Sony while the key player, has tried very hard to play as part of the team and make it clear that they are NOT driving the ship alone. UMD? 100% Sony Mini-Disc? 100% Sony Beta? Mostly Sony Blu-ray? Not even close to all Sony.

03-31-2006, 09:46 PM	#6
phloyd Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2003 Location:California Trading Score:5	The problem with UMD is that it costs too much. Last night in Circuit City I compared some prices - Super Troopers is $20 on UMD and $10 on DVD. Others were the same price. Kids aren't gonna pay more or the same as DVD prices for this novelty... well, not many of them anyways.

03-31-2006, 11:02 PM	#8
Alex Pallas Active Member Member since:Sep 2005 Location:The Belly Of The Beast (USA)	isn't Universal an HD *****?...

04-01-2006, 05:21 PM	#9
markw Member Member since:May 2003	I saw this article yesterday and was so shocked! First, how can you call something a failure when it hasn't been released yet or had a chance to fail? I don't think blu-ray will be a failure. UMD was different. Yeah, who will pay $20 for a movie they can only play on a PSP. It would have been nice if it could have supported dvd but that would be too big to place in a psp. I've heard rumors of a PSP2 with a built in hard drive like a ipod. I think then it'll go to more of a download service like the video for the IPOD. As well, I've even heard that games may go to that with ps1 emulation and all ps1 games being available for download to a PSP. yet I think UMD will live on as a format for games for the PSP.

04-01-2006, 06:04 PM	#10
thunderhawk Moderator Member since:Jul 2004 Location:Belgium	I think it's bullshit. No company official says something like that. Especially not at the press. I think it's fake that comment.

04-03-2006, 01:22 PM	#12
Sony1 Banned Member since:Nov 2005	Same here, I just pre-ordered HD DVD, and will be getting a Playstation 3 when it comes out in November. I don't understand why Sony has taken so long to get Blue-ray on the market, they have had this technology for 3 years now, and should have released it along time ago. They could have released it to their premium consumers and charged a ton for it, but at least it would be out there and on the market. I think the cost of Blue-ray is way to high for the average consumer, and it could spell disaster if they don't come down in price.

04-03-2006, 02:52 PM	#13
Marwin Developer Top contributor Member since:May 2003 Blu-ray collection:10 DVD collection:5 iTunes collection:1	The prices are obviously not targeting general consumers yet, they're targeting early adopters which usually have no problem paying premium for something new and exciting. If Toshiba were pumping out hundreds of thousands or millions of their HD-DVD players I'm sure there would be a reaction to that, but as their initial number of players is so small you could argue that they're just throwing away money by selling these new devices so cheap when they could easily sell them all but for a higher price. If the Blu-ray players don't sell I'm sure they will drop in price, and if they sell they will drop in price as well because they're reaching greater production volumes, so either way the prices are bound to come down. If you look at the price of movies they're already the same.

04-03-2006, 05:30 PM	#14
thunderhawk Moderator Member since:Jul 2004 Location:Belgium	Already the same..? Myeah, Marwin has a point. However, you shouldn't underestimate the early pricedifference!..

04-03-2006, 06:05 PM	#15
phloyd Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2003 Location:California Trading Score:5	Simply put Bluray has an extensible future and HDDVD is pretty much a player for discs you buy in the store. Bluray is based on a concept which allows for recording (that is what the Japanese units do) whereas HDDVD is just a HD extension of DVD. Anyways, all the arguments are getting old. We will see it all play out and some people will be happy and some people will not be and the best team doesn't always win... Also, WRT PSP vs iPOD, Sony were demonstrating their download service at CES. One of the things that annoyed me is that unprotected home authored content cannot be full res on the PSP. Protected content is (like UMD for example) and the downloads they will offer will also be full res. With the dropping prices of memory sticks, it almost makes no sense to have a HDD.

04-03-2006, 08:57 PM	#16
zombie Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:May 2004 Trading Score:864	I saw someone state this at another forum and thought it was funny: "HD DVD: The poor man's Blu-ray" I agree the price difference in players makes HD DVD look tempting but you can't deny the fact that they've only got 40% of Hollywood supporting them. Do you guys realize how many movies you won't be able to buy on HD DVD but will end up being available on Blu-ray? True things could change but that's how it stands right now. To be it's a better deal to invest more in the player that plays nearly everything than to invest half the price for something that plays less than half. But whatever, what do I know.

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