In my opinion, well... just my opinion lar... , for a modern video format to excel the other in a comparison like this we need to consider the following:

1. User acceptance
2. Portability & flexibility of format
3. Proprietary or open system
4. The actual video performance
5. Compression, size to quality ratio

I mean, no use if a format is so good and versatile but it does not have a place in the marketplace. No use if a format is so great but you can't buy it at the common place. If format A want to compete with UMD, it simply do not need to because there's nothing to compete.

UMD video format is a proprietary format developed by Sony for the PSP. Nobody can buy this media off the shelves or get supply of this media and then publish it with your own content. No publisher can publish in this format without giving a royalty to Sony.

Next UMD can only be played on Sony PSP. Unless I'm mistaken, there's no other device using UMD at the moment. Of course the video performance is really promising for a form factor like a PSP. But how many of our favorite shows, favorite podcasts, videoblogs, dramas, and movies are published in UMD? I'm talking contents from various continents of the world. Yes, we do have good movies from the North America for UMD, but I don't think we have the same for Asian entertainment.

Then can you transcode UMD to another format and vice versa? This is the portability side of the format. Can you convert UMD to a MPEG4/H.264 or another format to UMD for viewing on PSP? You can't unless you use the memory card slot but that isn't UMD anymore.

I think the same goes to Ipod Video/Touch/iPhone. We need to transcode a content to something acceptable to these Ipods. Ipod cannot and PSP cannot so what's my point? In this case, we look at how many people are using these devices and how popular they are in the market place. In this case, we look at user acceptance. Note that I'm talking about DEVICE to play them. I believe each user of each camp would have an answer in this own mind by now.

Now we move to format. UMD format is a format glued to the disc. Meaning to say, UMD, the format, its compression algorithms and the physical information holder and the disc is ONE. UMD comes in a disc. I'm discounting those brave souls hacking the format from the disc and deliver them from memory cards. We're talking from a legal perspective.

MPEG4/H.264 is one versatile format. It do not have a fixed physical information holder. It doesn't necessary comes in a disc, you can download off the net, and you can obtain from different sources. All the popular formats like Windows Media Video 9/10/11 (WMV) , Real Media Variable Bitrate (RMVB), etc all use some form of processing from the MGEG4/H.264 process flow. You can transcode any format (with a proper software transcoder of course) to any format you want. MPEG4 is almost free for use and not tied down to a corporation. Those China made portable media players (PMP) can accept MPEG44 easily. iPod Video/Touch/iPhone uses a proper transcoded MPEG4 to play too. Most handphones record videos in MPEG4, 3GPP, etc.

Video quality hands down - UMD is great. But there's no point in using this format where I can't find any contents for it. There's no point in admiring this great quality by sticking to the few discs I ever own. I can't like watch the movie over and over again just to admire it.

Then again a lot of online music stores offer video at MPEG4. You can easily download movies in MPEG4 or RMVB or DIVX (in legal perspectives, please). The real show is that, I can transcode any of these formats to another for my whatever PMP I have. I can't do the same for UMD.

So I rest my case. Let the lashings begin -->

I think you mean a PMP, short for personal media player. A device that can display pictures and playback music and video all on one device. EPSON, Nokia, NEC, Creative, Microsoft, Apple and etc all want a piece from this market.

Personally, I think adding internet connectivity via WiFi just sweetens the whole deal. Now we only need the ability to selectively send and receive files for icing the cake. PSP has all of these features but its just a little big even with the new version. The down point is it lacks a touchscreen interface which is important when you want to do some input.

The iPod Touch is small and very thin. Basically it looks like a piece of mini tablet where you can jot on it. Reading from such a device is no doubt very challenging because of the small screen (even at 3.5"). But Apple was able to get around it by utilizing what it calls the pinch to zoom or double tap to zoom on the particular area that you want. And it does so smartly... by zooming to the area just nice for reading without scrolling horizontally. This is where a device with touchscreen excels at.

I think Nokia's N800 and the new N810 does that too which is superb. Now the only show stopper is support for Flash and Javas for the iPod Touch. An area the Nokia has always been good at, especially with Symbian S60 3rd Edition FP1.

UPDATE: To correct spelling.

This post has been edited by davidmak: Oct 31 2007, 01:26 PM

Did I? You must be confused. My post concerns a lot about iPod Touch rather than Nokia's. My postings also put a reasonable perspective on other alternatives. If I am 'selling' Nokia. You must be selling Sony PSP. So where do you want to go from here? Kekekeke!

Practice what you preach. Peace...

Hey,

It really depends on what you want on a device. Both the PSP Lite and the iPhone are convergence devices. They pack almost everything on one single device. Try the below:

PSP Lite

Games + Music + Video + Picture viewing + Internet Device + Homebrew software (meaning more possibilities).
*If I missed out anything, PSP expert please fill in*

In my opinion, a PSP Lite is an ideal device IF I want to play reasonably sophisticated and advanced games, video and picture viewing on the go. The main purpose of PSP is to play games on the go and it is very successful in this. Of course it can be a portable multimedia device also. Music is a rather half hanging feature. I mean you could hide the whole thing on your bag and listen to the tunes while you commute around the city. But its rather too big for a music device. I understand that its a very good internet device too but if there's no reasonable way to input data into it, its only a surf and forget feature. PSP fanboys might disagree so I'll let them fill in here too.

Homebrew software is a dream. Can't agree more. The PSP wasn't designed to be used like that but the tweakers are magic people. With homebrew software, you can do a lot more than just the features I highlighted. BUT. To run these applications or go around the legal perspective of the device, you'll need a certain version of firmware, a certain version of hardware, a certain version of emulation software, and certain way or procedure of loading stuffs to run them. There's no clear cut way to execute them. Things might improve now, but I don't see homebrew softwares open to new users out there. It'll freak them out.


iPhone

Mobile phone (But missing certain important GSM applications and features) + Music + Video + Picture viewing + Internet browsing + Dedicated mobile Youtube + WiFi Music Store + 3rd party applications (currently on achievable via jailbreaking)

The iPhone is a rather different kind of convergence device. Its main design objectives are to be a phone (not a complete phone and convenient one though). The rest just complements it. Why? Because we already have mobile phones that can play games, music, video, picture viewing and internet browsing. This is nothing new. But what iPhone does different from other feature-similar-phones are THE WAY YOU USE IT.

Its small enough to be a phone, sleek and slim profile enough to be a PMP (music, video, picture viewing), great as an internet device with great input features via touchscreen, a music store for purchasing music (not application in Malaysia though), and a host of 3rd party applications. Right now the applications aren't that big, but I forsee when Apple eventually decides to open up its OSX Lite, it'll be something like PSP homebrew. Of course minus the hassle to execute one.


So it really boils down to what you really need. If you have a nice phone, iPhone is not a necessity. If you like its touchscreen interface and the UI of all its applications, then maybe. If you like a small enough PMP device, then definitely yes. Accessories wise, you know that 3rd party Apple accessories are a lucrative business right? Hehe... Right now, its zero, but when Apple releases iPhone in Malaysia, the number can only increase.

If you want to play games, I think PSP is an ideal device. Accessories are abundant with a lot of choices in price as well.

In the end, you CAN ONLY be HAPPY. Because you've decided to get yourself an exciting device, either the PSP Lite or the iPhone.