Page 1 of Disney to Begin Renting `Self-Destructing` DVDs

I don`t know if you`ve heard this story:

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours.
That is the warning The Walt Disney Co. 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 after a change in color renders them unreadable. They 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.

Chief Executive Alan Blaustein told Reuters he was also in conversations with other companies to use the self-destructing discs.

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."

Since Reuters originally posted the story, Di$ney have come out and admitted they`ll be charging $6.95 (roughly £4.25) a pop for these discs. I see them becoming as big a landfill problem as AOL discs and, of course, are yet another instance of Michael Eisner giving the public the finger.

J Mark Oates

Soon enough there`ll be players that can penetrate it and it`llbe a feature of all new DVD players

Such a wasteful thing to do.

So in other words, they`re prepared to let you buy a movie for around £4 if it`s self destructive, proving that it doesn`t cost as much as they say to produce DVD`s ( I know it`s not the standard format, but close enough) but if you actually want to own the film, you have to pay £15.

Obviously the technology is slightly different, but I can`t see them being radically different in production costs, and they`ll probably be released in Cardboard covers, but in my opinion this just goes to show how we`re all being ripped off when the average high street shopper pays upwards of £18 to own a DVD.

Can`t see this working to be honest, and as other people have mentioned, not the most environmentally friendly method iif they are to be stockpiled in rubbish dumps.

This item was edited on Monday, 19th May 2003, 17:51

Disney -what a disgrace and a rotten example to set kids in this already throways Mcd`s society.
how about a cardboard disc or maybe wood to go with all the `wooden` performances!

Sue Davies

Are we sure this story is true? It is so thoroughly un-green, and House of Mouse is so thoroughly pro-green (on the surface, anyway), that it does sound a bit apocryphal to me.

Shockingly wasteful, if it is true.

"They 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."

So all you need to do is turn a room in your house into a vacuum and - Hey Presto! cheap DVD`s!!

Of course having to wear breathing apparatus when you want to watch a DVD could take some of the fun out of it.

Oh, and you`d only be able to hear the sound through headphones in your helmet, but hey!.......cheap DVD`s!!!

The lovely people at Disney really don`t like the idea of members of the public owning copies of their films. Way back in the late `70s, they attempted to prevent electrical appliance manufacturers from producing domestic video recorders. When they finally conceded that there was nothing that they could do to stop the video boom, they released their back catalogue titles as Limited Edition VHS tapes. The sting in the tail was that the irreplaceable Limited Editions were of such a poor quality that Disney`s "Own it forever" slogan seemed like a right kick in the teeth when your substandard copy of Snow White was chewed-up by your VCR`s mechanism.

Years later, they`re now planning to openly sell DVDs with built-in obsolescence. Never mind the environmental damage that these non-recyclable discs will cause, there`s profit to be had! Surely, even in Dubya`s two-fingers-up-to-the-future America, there must be laws against pollution on this scale???

This item was edited on Monday, 19th May 2003, 19:01

Someone should start a petition about this...

Absolutely disgusting, and as someone has said great example being shown, throw it all in the ground no worries.Or burning them causes even more damage.
So has this idea origionated in the USA, land of the stuff the enviroment for profit brigade or what!!!!!!!.
I`d imagine these cost slightly more to make than ordinary ones.
If this crackpot idea ever comes to fruition, and with money behind it I`m sure it will I personally will refuse point blank to hire/buy one of these abominations.

As mentioned this really needs to be tackled and enviromental groups etc informed too.
" Wasteful Tits " are a couple of words that spring to mind.