This DVD will self-destruct

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours -- That is the warning The Walt Disney 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, the private company which developed the technology using material from General Electric.

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".

oh well so people will just have to rip it as soon as they open the package.
this is a waste of time and money and will not slow piracy/copying/backingup/anyotherspin one bit

Edit: have they accounted for packaging that will get comprimised in transit???

be interesting to see how much the rental is.

Reminds me of the millions of dollars Sony spent, trying to make Audio CD's uncopyable. Then some wag discovers, that all you need to do to defeat the protection is to run a black felt tip round the outer edge :D

Whatever they do, there will always be a way round it ;)

*Sigh* it seems that Buena Vista didn't learn anything from the FALIURE OF THE OLD DIVX SYSTEM (no not the computer file format). I think they are going to find that it will be more trouble to keep putting out rental copies to keep in stock then they realise. Not to mention I'm sure that they will want to charge more for the rental of these discs since it is clearly going to be more EXPENSIVE!!! A dumb idea in my opinion.

This probably won't do much good for those environmentalists moods either. I wonder how long it will take for some die hard "tree huggers" to start protesting in front of video stores.



I can see it now..............


Disney helps destroy environment!!!!!!!!!!!


That will do wonders for PR


Guess everyone will have to save all the bad discs and send them to Disney like people did a while back with AOL.

If Walt Disney were still alive today I think he would cry when he sees how incredibly stupid Disney has become in recent years. Disney/Buena Vista used to put out some great stuff back in the day but now about 99.9% of what they put out is pure crap and this self-destructing DVD idea sure fits into that number. I also don't see how they are going to be able to make sure that each DVD lasts exactly 48 hours once it is opened. I can already see the complaints arising as some "48 hour" DVDs end up expiring after only 8-12 hours.

To beat the above mentioned protection, you could convert one of your rooms into a vacuum, by sealing off every door/window etc with masking tape, block up the chimney to stop any oxygen comming into the room, then simply buy a second hand diving bell from the navy, have it installed in front of the TV & enjoy unlimited viewing of the Disney DVD's, of course you would have to ensure you dont leave the DVD remote in the far corner of the room etc, or death could occur through suffocation while trying to retrieve it................................Tony92

Haven't touched physics in a long time. Will the equipment overheat quickly in a vacuum environment without any air to help dissipate the heat?

Originally posted by Tony92
To beat the above mentioned protection, you could convert one of your rooms into a vacuum, by sealing off every door/window etc with masking tape, block up the chimney to stop any oxygen comming into the room, then simply buy a second hand diving bell from the navy, have it installed in front of the TV & enjoy unlimited viewing of the Disney DVD's, of course you would have to ensure you dont leave the DVD remote in the far corner of the room etc, or death could occur through suffocation while trying to retrieve it................................Tony92


ha ha ha pmsl:laugh: :laugh:

That's like those Terminex Commercials for those "BUG FREE HOUSES" like the one house where everything was made out of concrete and another that had blinding lights everywhere.:laugh: