Ever since the failure of the UMD format, the idea of using the PSP to watch any movies has certainly deteriorated - until now. At CES, Sony announced the ability to insert a Blu-ray movie into the PlayStation 3, and then transfer it over to a PSP. The film, which takes up about 1GB of memory, will take approximately 3-5 minutes to be downloaded to the Memory Stick Duo in the PSP.

The film can then be kept on the device for as long as you wish, but don’t expect to be able to share your Blu-ray movies with all of your PSP owning buddies, as it is probable that Sony will limit the amount of copies that can be made. Sony has stated that the new functionality will be available sometime this year, but no specific date was given. Although the idea of taking content from a disc and putting it onto a mobile unit is nothing new, it should certainly help the PSP regain its status as a multimedia device. This new function should also encourage PS3 owners to purchase a PSP for their portable entertainment experience, as well as even more Blu-ray movies.