Home

UMDs

Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a proprietary optical disc format developed by Sony for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The format was used to distribute a range of content, including video games, movies, and other multimedia data designed for portable play.

UMDs are 60 millimeters in diameter and about 1.0 millimeter thick. They are single-sided, dual-layer discs capable

Content and use: UMDs were the primary physical media for PSP software and most UMD-video movie releases.

Decline and legacy: With the introduction of the PSP Go, which lacked a UMD drive and relied

of
storing
up
to
about
1.8
gigabytes
of
data.
Data
on
UMDs
is
read
by
the
PSP’s
UMD
drive,
distinguishing
it
from
other
handheld
media
formats.
Games
and
movies
were
published
on
UMDs
during
the
handheld’s
peak
years,
with
the
discs
designed
to
fit
the
PSP’s
cartridge-like
form
factor
and
power
constraints.
The
format
helped
enable
a
compact
library
of
both
games
and
multimedia
on
a
single
device.
on
digital
downloads,
Sony
shifted
toward
downloaded
content
and
online
stores.
Production
of
UMD
discs
declined
and
was
eventually
discontinued,
and
the
PS
Vita
moved
to
cartridge-based
media.
Today
UMDs
are
considered
obsolete,
though
they
are
part
of
the
PSP’s
historical
footprint
and
are
of
interest
to
collectors
and
historians
of
handheld
gaming.
See
also:
PlayStation
Portable,
PS
Vita.