Wow...I think I know WHY my PSP games got destroyed...

[Kitsunexus]

According to that, the silver disc has NO PROTECTIVE COVERING AT ALL.  So when SEGA Classics Collection was skipping a bit, I tried to clean it, and may have killed the game.


Damn you Sony. 

[SignOfZeta]

Well, I'm not going to champion the reliability of any Sony product, and I think were all kind of pissed then the UMD came out and it lacked the same basic durability and protection of the Minidisc, which was fantastic and Sony themselves made.

At the same time...this guy is sort of a flim flam man. He's selling people solutions to problems that are more due to gamers being destructive slobs than the shortcomings of the UMD. I've never seen a case split, and I've never known anyone to need to clean the data surface of an actual UMD disc because there is just the tiny little hole anyway. Its %100 true that that little hole should have damn well have been designed with a door on it like the MD was, but still, don't be a slob.

Also, he's kind of fudging the facts on the "protective layer" thing. There is no "protective layer" on a CD, or DVD. The data is stamped into the back side of the disc and then lacquered, and painted. The bulk of the CD is the substrate itself. The weakest part of a CD is the label side. Now on a DVD, those are actually two really thin discs made like a CD and glued back to back. I've never gutted a UMB disc and examined it under a microscope, but I'd bet that since they are single sided that most of the silver side of the disc is the polycarbonate substrate, just like a CD.

Yeah, f*ck the PSP, its fragility is only one thing on its list of problems, but once you've committed to buying something you should damn well know is unreliable (an portable game system with a disc drive!?) then you have to treat it well.

I can only imagine how many stupid parents bought PSPs for 7 year olds that broke them the first time they put a disc in it...

[Kitsunexus]

but still, don't be a slob.

It wasn't gunk, it was dust.

[ceti alpha]

Well, I'm not going to champion the reliability of any Sony product, and I think were all kind of pissed then the UMD came out and it lacked the same basic durability and protection of the Minidisc, which was fantastic and Sony themselves made.

It makes me sad that the minidisc format didn't make it.  I hate CDs and DVDs. They scratch with the slightest touch - though the first generation of CDs seemed to be more reliable. TG/PCE CDs are pretty reliable.

[guyjin]

MD is the only cool thing sony has ever made.

[SignOfZeta]

It makes me sad that the minidisc format didn't make it. 

That depends on what you mean by "make it". For a good dozen years or more MD was the only good choice for recordable portables. Far superior to cassette is almost every way. MD only really fell to the side when iPods got so good, and even those don't record (for the most part).

It didn't "make it" as a pre-recorded format, but I'm glad for that since the quality is sub-CD, and frankly we need something better, not worse, than CD.

This sort of thing reminds me of when people refer to Laser Disc as a "failure". Never mind thad LD lasted for 24 years as the superior alternative to video tape. I seriously doubt DVD will last that long.

[Michael Helgeson]

MD is the only cool thing sony has ever made.

They also made the laser in the Super CD-ROM 2 system

[guyjin]

The hell? Why didn't NEC make it themselves?

[SignOfZeta]

but still, don't be a slob.

It wasn't gunk, it was dust.

If its dust, and nothing but dust, you should just get rid of it with compressed air or ignore it. If the game was kept in either it's case or the PSP at all times though I don't see how it could get very much dust inside.

Also, if you were only aggressive enough with your UMD to remove dust, you probably didn't destroy it unless you are a really ham-fisted guy.

[Michael Helgeson]

The hell? Why didn't NEC make it themselves?

I honestly couldn't say.