PortableCopy
Latest
Digital Copy becoming more prevalent on Blu-ray Discs
Is it any wonder that Blu-ray Disc buyers are taking advantage of Digital Copy more frequently than ever? According to a recent writeup at TWICE, it's becoming even easier to find 'em. Today, a grand total of 52 BDs, practically all from seven major studios, are available with Digital Copy versions of the movie for playback on portable media players and computers. Unfortunately, the total of Digital Copy-enabled DVDs wasn't available to compare, but we are told that Warner Home Video is leading the charge on the Blu side with 19 Digital Copy-equipped Blu-ray Discs. As for the other guys, Lionsgate and Universal offer eight apiece, while Disney offers up three with a fourth coming in February. So, have you taken advantage of Digital Copy on the BD flicks that you've purchased?
Blu-ray Disc buyers accessing Digital Copy twice as much as DVD buyers
Ever wondered if anyone ever bothered to utilize that Digital Copy that so many films are shipping with these days? Warner Home Video did, so it engaged in a bit of research to find out who exactly was tapping in. In short, BD movie buyers accessed Digital Copy around twice as much as did DVD buyers, and it was found that the uptake rate is "measurably growing among Blu-ray consumers with successive Warner releases." Still, data shows that Digital Copy usage across the industry is still relatively rare, with title uptake across studio titles ranging between 5% and 13%. We found it particularly interesting that adding a copy of the film to a disc carried with it a substantial expense -- around $1.15 per unit -- so we wouldn't be surprised to see studios refine their strategies to ensure that consumers appreciate the addition.
PS3 2.20 update to offer portable copy of Blu-ray films to PSP?
If PCWorld is correct, then it looks like Sony's pending, PS3 2.20 firmware will have at least one little surprise for movie buffs. As if the inclusion of Blu-ray's BD-Live interactivity and the removal of the 2GB DivX and WMV file-size cap wasn't enough, PCWorld says that can also expect the introduction of portable copy. With it, users will be able to copy a PSP formatted (and DRM'd) version of the film directly to their PSP -- no UMD required. Right, just like we saw demonstrated live back at CES in January. Update: There's a rumor that Sony's portable copy would transcode any Blu-ray film into a PSP version. That's not how we understand it. The firmware update would just allow the PS3 to "see" the portable copy already burned into some Blu-ray discs and then make it available for transfer to your PSP. Think Digital Copy for Sony's gear, not Apple's.[Via QJ.net]
Portable Copy makes us wonder why we still have UMD
The Portable Copy feature shown off at the Blu-ray interactivity demo is a nice bit of functionality. Buy a Blu-ray disc and you can easily put an optimized copy of the content onto your PSP. Sounds good to us, but it really makes us wonder what use UMD has anymore. If it ever had any real utility to begin with, that is. Sure, UMD may be useful for those who don't have a PS3 and want to get the portable movie fix, but the format is losing visibility in the retail space and even before that, things weren't so rosy. Only Sony can decide when it's time to let go of UMD, but the first step in solving a problem is identifying that it exists.
