PSP UMD Format Cracked

slewfo0t writes "PS2info.com user Paradox has found a way to read the files off of the new UMD disks for the PSP. Good to know that those files aren't completely locked. "

Still can't download games

[Danimoth]

The PSP uses those small little minicds, which you still can't burn to. Although I guess its a step forward.

MirrorDOT

[Dayflowers]

Mirror at mirrordot [mirrordot.org] ...

More about UMD disks

[blogtim]

In case you are out of the gaming loop like me, UMD stand for Sony's proprietary 1.8 GB "Universal Media Disk [playstation.com]".

UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a new, proprietary, high-capacity optical medium enabling game software, full-motion video and other forms of digital entertainment content such as movies and music, to be stored. The newly developed UMD is the next-generation compact storage media and at only 60mm in diameter, can store up to 1.8GB of digital data, making it perfect for a portable entertainment player like the PSP system. UMD stores a broad range of digital entertainment content including games, music, movies, and more.

Funny how it is called "universal". Anyway, I found an interesting thread on UMD disks [emuboards.com] at Emuboards.

Keep on readin' there, partner.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahem:

Opinions/Assistance? Is it even worth it, or should I just buy a nice book and charge up my iPod?

Re:Cool, I guess

[wo1verin3]

Like this one [videodirect.com]?

Re:Mobile Gaming

[dioscaido]

The DS is an unforgivably underpowered portable (in terms of processor and graphics). The two screens a gimmic that gets old after a few days. It's wireless capibility is pretty nifty, but the games are very underwhelming.

The PSP is essentially a PDA that can play music, movies, and can play games with graphics/features somewhere between the PS1 and PS2.

Re:Still can't download games

[brontus3927]

Added to the fact that Sony may opening up the UMD format [engadget.com] so that black market blank UMDs could be available, it very well could be in the future

Re:So when are we going to get a Linux port?

[bowronch]

Apparently someone has been able to run a hello world app off a memory stick, but it requires downgrading to a 1.0 firmware which removes an encryption requirement for running code off the memory stick... link and discussion are here [ps2dev.org]

Re:Mobile Gaming

[Jarlsberg]

There are some good comparisons on Usenet, if you search it via Google groups. I've got both consoles (Nintendo DS and Sony PSP), so I'll chip in with an opinion. They're both good consoles, with some unique strenghts that make it worthwhile to own both.

The Nintendo DS has the most addictive games out there (Super Mario 64 DS is pretty awesome, if you like that type of game. However, I don't care for Metroid at all. It's nice enough, but it's a pretty boring game). The touch screen is a stroke of genius, because it gives you the combination of a wonderful analog "stick" (via the thumb stylus) and an ordinary touch screen/stylus combo.

Sony PSP has a wonderful and absolutely beautiful screen, no doubt, and I really like the size of it. It's got a decent MP3 player, a good photo viewer, but the speaker is not all that good. The sound output is much inferior to Nintendo DS and GBA SP, which is a bit odd. It doesn't have a lot of games released for it yet, but if you like racing games and card games/puzzles, you're in for a treat.

I wouldn't recommend either one above the other. They're both great consoles.

Re:Mobile Gaming

[lou2ser]

Personally, I'm still holding onto my GBA SP for travel. Its small, nice battery life, backlit for redeye flights.

I bought a 512MB GBA Flash Advance cartridge from http://www.easybuy2000.com/ [easybuy2000.com] so I can load the emulators from http://www.zophar.net/consoles/gameboy.html [zophar.net] and play classic gaming on the go. The 512MB card holds every NES game I own, plus a few of my GBA cartridges. This makes it very easy to travel, its an all in one unit. No loose games to loose.

I couple that with a PDA screen protector on the GBA SP screen. The GBA closes to protect the screen, but I had some old protectors laying around and they work great for this. Just cut them to size. You could do the same thing with the DS; if you don't have any, look on ebay for a discontinued PDA's protectors. You pay more in shipping then the actual item, but its still less than $5.

Re:Still can't download games

[Lukey Boy]

Totally different - the PSP uses UMDs (Universal Media Discs), which are completely closed and proprietary.

PSO + Network Adapter = GC piracy.

[LordJezo]

You haven't seen Gamecube games for download?

Hate to say it but you haven't been looking very hard at all.

Phantasy Star Online and the network adapter blew the GC wide open for cracking.

Special hardware can only go so far

[springbox]

The UMD discs were a good (as far as Sony is concerned) preventaive measure for keeping people from duplicating the content on the game discs. When people have the ability to play on the hardware that's also trying to lock them out, then the fun begins.

It's like the Dreamcast's GD-ROMs. Sure you couldn't just go and use a regular CD-ROM drive to read the high density area, but that doesn't stop anyone from writing an (unlicensed) program for the Dreamcast that uses the system's CD reader to read and copy that information.

Actually

[M.C. Hampster]

It looks like the first 3 games that were ripped were each less than 500MB [psphacks.net]. You could, in fact, get all three of those games on one 2GB memory stick. Unless there is a ton of FMV, I wouldn't guess that most PSP games are going to use anywhere close to 1.8GB. Although, we could see game studios putting junk content on the disk to up the size to try to stem pirating if it becomes possible

Re:Still can't download games

[Lukey Boy]

Yeah, agreed - though to be fair, they mean universal as in "you can put anything on it" (games, movies, music, photos, etc).

Uh, ISO 9660 not ISO 9669

[UNIBLAB_PowerPC]

I thought I was missing something new here, but TFA is wrong ... ISO 9669 is a standard for the interface for tank containers [iso.org]. ISO 9660 is the volume and file system standard [iso.org].

UMD is _not_ same as mini-CD or mini-DVD!

[Tumbleweed]

No, they're not physically the same - a UMD is physically much smaller than a mini-CD or mini-DVD. If the PSP had used one of those, it would be much larger than it is, and some people are even complaining about how large it is now! It also holds a lot more data than a mini-CD (or even a CD).

Re:They Posted the ISOs? *shakes head*

[Phexro]

Contrary to what the linked article states, "Paradox" isn't a single person, it's a PlayStation warez group. They've been releasing PSX/PS2 stuff for years.

So it's not hard to understand why they released the actual games.

Re:Viva la 1980s

[Monkelectric]

Sony launches new formats constantly in an attempt to monopolize the market. I dont know WHY they think people want to eat their shit, but they think that. You left out SACD, Betamax, and their custom MP3 format whose name I don't recall. And probably some others. The only way to win that game is not to play.

Re:Fascinating device.

[jandrese]

Gutenburg failed to anticipate what would happen when Copyright law was dicked with long enough to make sure that no media can be sold without paying half a dozen middlemen and the great great great grandchildren of the original creator.

Re:Not useful for piracy

[jericho4.0]

For those of you unfamiliar with the technique, here it is;

1. Crack the PSP's bootloader.

2. Port Linux to the PSP.

3. Write a PSP execution enviroment for Linux.

4. Use a loopback device to mount the image file as a virtual drive.

Re:Actually

[Dracolytch]

The game code itself doesn't read the file, it relies on some form of BIOS to do that. So all you really need to do is have the system read from the memory stick instead of the UMD. For these guys, that's no problem.

~D

Re:Mobile Gaming

[Jasin Natael]

I've got the PSP and I have friends with the DS, so I'll chime in.

The DS came off pretty lackluster to me, with cutesy games that require you to scribble. My friends who own the DS raved about games like Yoshi's Touch & Go, which requires you to draw clouds around baby Mario to keep him safe, and draw clouds for Yoshi to walk on. If you're into game franchises from your youth (like the Mario games, Kirby, Metroid, Zelda, etc.), the DS is the way to go. Not only will you get the (goofy!) new titles, you can play all the GBA carts of games in these series.

The PSP, since it doesn't get grandfathered into all the old-school games / franchises, seems a little less awesome at the onset. However, I can assure you that it makes up for its current lack of games and higher price with absolutely stunning visuals. Practical performance of the PSP is roughly the same as a Dreamcast right now -- Imagine the same quality of rendering, but at abount half the pixel count (480×278 vs. 640×480) on a VERY, VERY sharp display. Performance should improve as the system matures. In contrast, the DS's visuals are not even as good as a Nintendo 64 (think closer to original PlayStation). It can't even render 3D to both of its screens at one time!! (Technically, it can, but it can only do so at 15FPS, or by using a software renderer for the 2nd screen)

On to the games... While the PSP is in dire need of some platform games and RPG's in the states, it does have several winners. Wipeout Pure is stunning. Lumines can be more addictive than crack. Grand Theft Auto, while not my thing, is on its way. There are even several FPS's slated for later release that look good. If you can read Japanese, several good RPG's are available, including an old fave of mine, "Tales of Eternia". US releases of the RPG's may or may not happen, but are probably at least 6 months away. There is a FFVII-related RPG due to come out, though.

Almost approaching RPG status, Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade was kind of the loser of the games I've bought so far. It seems forced, cheesy, and the gameplay is good but nothing to write home about. It's playable, but I get annoyed at the grotesque pictures that show during the long, long load times. Which brings me to another issue.

Having the games on UMD means that you'll actually have to wait for things to load on the PSP, depending on the game. Tales of Eternia doesn't have any noticable load times, so from a purely technical standpoint, we know it can be done. Lumines doesn't seem to need that much data, and also doesn't lag. But, games with huge maps (Wipeout Pure) have long load times for new levels, and Untold Legends has actually frozen for 3-5 seconds to await UMD data during gameplay.

Pluses and minuses tallied, the PSP was a clear choice for me. Being able to sleep the system with a paused game and resume hours or even days later is hugely convenient. I bought a 512MB memory stick ($70 or so online), and it will hold a full-length feature film, or 3 medium-high quality 1-hour TV shows. You can find lots of software packages to sync up and convert movies, music, photos, etc. I use NullRiver's PSPWare, and it has made the PSP my favorite movie player (4.3" screen @ 1ft ~= 43" screen @ 10ft, in my perception, and it doesn't heat up like a laptop does). Drag 'n Drop a DivX Movie or a ripped VOB, wait an hour or so, viola!

Bottom line: The PSP does have a more mature, more polished feel. While I'm sure some games will eventually be as juvenile as the ones on the Nintendo DS, the technical merits of the PSP make it more capable of engaging games, and the ability to sleep the system mid-game makes it more convenient overall. With a few good RPG's, Sidescrollers, and a platform game or two (ala Ratchet & Clank, or Jak & Dexter) it would hop, skip, and jump all over the DS.

Jasin Natael

Re:Mobile Gaming

[Rirath.com]

I find it awful funny to say the PSP doesn't have many good games, and to specifically compliment the DS games. The #1 complaint I hear from DS FANS is that it has no games.

The PSP on the other hand has a huge library, enough for any tastes.

Arcade Racing = Ridge Racer
Street Racing /w upgrades = Need for Speed
Future Racing /w weapons = Wipeout Pure
Puzzle = Lumines / Mercury
Fighting = Darkstalkers
Tactics / Action = Metal Gear Solid Acid
Fun Sports = Hot Shots Golf
Driving / Combat = Twisted Metal Head On
Action RPG = Untold Legends
RPG = Plenty coming

There's a poker game coming, an MMORPG, 2D fighting games, Burnout Legends, and a whole lot more. Rumors for a Sonic game even. To say the PSP has no games is ignoring the already HUGE lineup, in favor of what? Some new Mario games? The new Metroid could have sold me on the DS, if it was any good.

And while I agree the built in speaker sucks, the sound is great through the included ear buds.

Re:Fascinating device.

[Tumbleweed]

Yeah, I remember those. You should try one nowadays. As an episode of the Simpsons lampooned, many libraries are "multimedia centers" nowadays, more a way of borrowing CDs, DVDs, and accessing the Internet, rather than borrowing or reading books. This obviously varies from library to library, but many of the ones I've been in lately (even the new on here in Seattle) are far from the quiet, stately places for reading books than they used to be. The new library here in Seattle is mainly a design tour de force, rather than a functional library, and what books it does have are mainly all the old crappy books they had before. Parking is ridicously expensive there, also, so unless you take the bus there or something, it's probably better to just go buy something from a bookstore, for all the expensive and hassle you experience trying to use the library.

And the colour selection of the place - why do the colour blind try to do design? *sigh*

Remember that

[gotr00t]

The PSP can read games off of the memory stick as well. This means that if you have a game small enough to fit on a memory stick duo (technically every game can, as the maximum size is 2gb while the UMD can only hold 1.8gb), and can hack the PSP so that it recognizes it, it's entirely possible to play "backed-up" games.

Of course, it certainly won't be legal to do so.