How and Where to Get UMD Movies

When it comes to buying or renting major motion pictures on a format for home viewing, the DVD owns the market. You don't hear much about videotapes anymore, as hard drivebased digital video recorders (DVRs) more or less killed VHS.

Similarly, when it comes to taking movies with you wherever you want to view them, it's hard to beat the UMD (Universal Media Disc) together with a PSP. Although portable DVD players are popular, they don't offer anywhere near the portability or functionality of a PSP. You can't shove one into your pocket unless you have exceptionally large pockets, and you can't pop out one type of disc and toss in another to switch from passively watching a film to actively partaking in a gaming session.

Because the PSP appeals to both gamers and movie watchers, you can get UMD movies at twice as many places as you can get DVDs or computer games. To pick up a few films on UMD, shop at:

• Stores that sell everything. Check out those "supercenter"-type discount stores for the most inexpensive movies in UMD format. They could be in the videogame section, near the PSP games, or in the DVD section; you'll just have to do some investigation to find out exactly where a store keeps them.

  

  Although you can ask store employees where the UMD movies are, chances are that they won't know what you're talking about. Having both worked at and shopped at stores like this, I know that the primary goal of a minimum-wage clerk is to get customers to go away (whether they find what they're looking for or not).

  
  

• Game shops. Visit any store that sells videogames, and you're sure to find a selection of UMD movies for your PSP. It's odd: Although some game consoles can play DVD movies, you usually don't see DVD movies at videogame stores, but you can almost always find UMD movies at game shops. Go figure.

  Rent Your UMDs

  Check out your local DVD rental shop to see whether it carries UMD movies. If not, go online, and hit videogame rental sites. Such stores make you set up an account and pay a monthly fee, for which you can rent a certain number of movies for as long as you like. When you return a movie, the store sends the next one from a list you maintain at its site. GameFly.com and RedOctane.com are two sites that offer such services; they also rent PSP games, so you can switch up and score whatever you're in the mood for.

  
  

• Stores that sell movies on DVD (movie rental stores, bookstores, electronics stores, and so on). Most will have a small selection of UMDs, even though the vast majority of shoppers and employees will have no idea what to do with them.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding UMD films to enjoy.