Universal Media Disc facts for kids
UMD can also mean University of Maryland.
The Universal Media Disc (or UMD) was a special type of disc. It was created by Sony for their PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game console. Think of it like a small DVD for your portable games!
UMD discs could hold a lot of information. A single-layer disc could store up to 900 megabytes of data. A double-layer disc could hold even more, up to 1.8 gigabytes! That's enough space for games, music, videos, and even updates for the PSP.
It was the first time a small, portable game system used this kind of disc. Sony didn't sell empty UMDs. This was to stop people from making illegal copies of games or movies. The UMD was only used with the PSP. These discs were also a bit delicate and could break if not handled carefully.
What UMDs Were Used For
The main reason for UMD discs was to store games for the PSP. When you bought a PSP game, it came on a UMD.
But UMDs weren't just for games! They were also used to store movies. You could buy your favorite films on UMD and watch them on your PSP.
UMDs Today
Even when Sony released a newer PSP model, the PSP Go, many new games still came out on UMD. Not all games were available to download online. This meant that UMDs stayed important for a while.
Images for kids
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UMD disc front
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A stack of UMD replacement casings, in several colors
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An image of Multimedia Recovery's UMD replacement case.
See also
In Spanish: Universal Media Disc para niños
