This DVD Will Self Destruct...

SirNim

SirNim

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030516/tc_nm/media_disney_dvds_dc_1

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours.
That is the warning The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - news) will issue this August when it begins to "rent" DVDs that after two days become unplayable and do not have to be returned.


Disney home video unit Buena Vista Home Entertainment will launch a pilot movie "rental" program in August that uses the self-destruction technology, the company said on Friday.


The discs stop working when a process similar to rusting makes them unreadable. The discs start off red, but when they are taken out of the package, exposure to oxygen turns the coating black and makes it impenetrable by a DVD laser.


Buena Vista hopes the technology will let it crack a wider rental market, since it can sell the DVDs in stores or almost anywhere without setting up a system to get the discs back.


The discs work perfectly for the two-day viewing window, said Flexplay Technologies, Inc., the private company which developed the technology using material from General Electric Co.(NYSE:GE - news)


The technology cannot be hacked by programmers who would want to view the disc longer because the mechanism which closes the viewing window is chemical and has nothing to do with computer technology.


However, the disc can be copied within 48 hours, since it works like any other DVD during that window.


Buena Vista did not disclose pricing plans but said the discs, dubbed EZ-D, would be available in August in select markets with recent releases including "The Recruit," "The Hot Chick," and "Signs."
Click to expand...


What do you guys think of this? If it's a movie rental, and it's meant to be returned within 2 days, then I don't see much of an issue pertaining to the use of these DVDs as rentals... Disposal video rentals. But is it really worth it, just to use this self-destruct technology to fiend off DVD-return (to the movie rental store) systems? DVDs are cheap and inexpensive to produce...

Just some fodder to chew on...:)
 
blm07

blm07

Active Member
I remember back when DVD first came out there was a disc system called divx (not the codec) which needed a special dvd player. It didn't catch on and it was bad for the environment (cuase you just throw the disc away afterwards)
 
jmarc63

jmarc63

New Member
Originally posted by blm07
I remember back when DVD first came out there was a disc system called divx (not the codec) which needed a special dvd player. It didn't catch on and it was bad for the environment (cuase you just throw the disc away afterwards)
Click to expand...

BLM
You bring up a very good point, all thoes discs being dumped in the trash. I rember seeing somewhere , where some guy in the US was collecting al the free AOL CDs on a long string, I thought the report said that he had a few thousand feet of discs, I tried to find the guy on the net but couldn't find anything coherent so I gave up looking, If anyone knos what I an talking about please fill us in.


As far as the DiViX, I heard that the player was not popular to people that had already purchased a standard player as early adopters and wpuldn't foot the bill for a second player.
 
Monorail Lime

Monorail Lime

Well-Known Member
The way DivX worked was sort of like Pay-Per-View. You pay $15 for the disc and it comes with a couple free viewings but after that you had to pay several bucks every time you want to watch it.

I can't imagine why it didn't catch on. :rolleyes:
 
Maria

Maria

New Member
I really don´t know what to think about it... why would they "rent" them? why not selling them as "disposable" ones? Also, if people wanted to rent them, isn´t it better for the rental stores to charge people for their delayed days? If they start renting these, the stores lose, because people would watch them and throw them away. How much more can you charge for them to make them profitable? Not to mention the amount of garbage they could also create...

Hhhmmm... interesting...
 
M

Mr D

New Member
From what I understand the process involves releasing the sealed DVD to oxygen and then the disc changes color as the layers become opaque. Simple cure for that, I have a plexiglass box with sealed gloves that has a vacuum pump and a fitting for a nitrogen gas regulator. I can remove all the oxygen quite a bit. I use it for repair work on rifle scope and other scopes like binoculars to replace the inert gas inside the tubes with a dry non-fogging nitrogen gas, if a person was of such persistence the DVD could be opened in an inert gas box and then sprayed with a clear polymer coating to prevent the start of the oxygen deteriation process. Or just have a DVD copy machine in the box, its true that DVD piracy cannot be stopped.
 
M

MicBat

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by Maria
If they start renting these, the stores lose, because people would watch them and throw them away. How much more can you charge for them to make them profitable?
Click to expand...
Most income made from video rental stores comes from late fees... Although video renters would like not having to go out and return the dvd's, the video stores wouldn't like the loss of income.
 
V

VinnieG

New Member
This is what the environment need more garbage.The disks after they self destruct should be mailed to the Land at EPCOT and shown at the Lion King Environmental show this is how our world is filled with garbage.It is a really bad idea.
 
T

trekkie

New Member
This is stupid. Just another naive attempt by Eisner to flaunt whatever power he automatically assumes he has over the DVD market.

This is taking a huge risk with losing money, too. If people forget to mail them back on time, or they mail them on the same day, there's yet another waste of money it cost to make the DVD.
 
Maria

Maria

New Member
Originally posted by VinnieG
This is what the environment need more garbage.The disks after they self destruct should be mailed to the Land at EPCOT and shown at the Lion King Environmental show this is how our world is filled with garbage.It is a really bad idea.
Click to expand...

Sadly, this could be true... I hope Disney doesn´t add more garbage with this idea. Is it happenning for real? When will they have the dvds out in the market?
 
Maria

Maria

New Member
Originally posted by MicBat
Most income made from video rental stores comes from late fees... Although video renters would like not having to go out and return the dvd's, the video stores wouldn't like the loss of income.
Click to expand...

that´s what I meant... video stores would lose money from the late returns. :animwink:
 
mr snrub

mr snrub

New Member
still no problem. Someone could still easily connect the dvd player to thier pc and record the dvd onto theri computer.

or for the people who dont have such gadgets (like me) you could still hook it up easily to the vcr.

EDIT: that being said, Mr Snrub does not promote, condone, or glorify pirating and copying movies.
 
Tim G

Tim G

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by Maria
that´s what I meant... video stores would lose money from the late returns. :animwink:
Click to expand...

I hate the idea as well... but the video stores don't get them back... They'll corrode after 2 or maybe 3 times, and the customers can use them as coasters afterwords

But I hate the idea... but wait and see...it IS going to happen...
But it will pass... just as the self distructing video cassette..

Doomed to be a faillure...
 
T

trekkie

New Member
There were self-destructing videotapes? Or were you being sarcastic?:)

The self-destructing DVD idea is so idiotic (As are most other things Eisner does); it will never catch on.
 
J

JLW11Hi

Well-Known Member
It is a pretty creative idea, but I think it is pretty unnecessary for all the reasons said. Are we that lazy that we can't just go back to the store and return the dang movie? Heck, going back to the movie store is probably better for Disney because people may decide to rent another movie as they are returning one. Am I right?

I hope these things don't last. Besides, its just giving Disney more enemies. As environmentaly friendly as the company is,this is horrible publicity!
 
Tim G

Tim G

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by trekkie
There were self-destructing videotapes? Or were you being sarcastic?:)

The self-destructing DVD idea is so idiotic (As are most other things Eisner does); it will never catch on.
Click to expand...
No I wasn't sarcastic, a few years ago BuenaVista tried a thing called "2view"or something... after you have viewed te tape for the second time it erased itself at the third time
concept was hacked within a month you only had to put a toothpick in some hole inside the cassette and there would be no erasing
BuenaVista canceled the program after three months
 

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