Disney's self-destructing DVDs idea

Started by Raikus, May 16, 2003, 03:54:01 PM

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Raikus

May 16, 2003, 03:54:01 PM
Disney to Begin Renting 'Self-Destructing' DVDs

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."
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

dufresne

#1
May 16, 2003, 03:55:38 PM
wow, that's pretty stupid.
There are shadows in life, baby.

godardian

#2
May 16, 2003, 04:15:28 PM
Not to mention environmentally unsound.

I still hate Disney more for their shitty full-frame New York Stories DVD, though.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

BonBon85

#3
May 16, 2003, 11:53:38 PM
Didn't they learn anything from that failed experiment known as divx - (no, not the compression codec, Circuit City's attempt at making dvds you don't have to return). I don't see them following through with this.

godardian

#4
May 16, 2003, 11:57:30 PM
Quote from: BonBon85Didn't they learn anything from that failed experiment known as divx - (no, not the compression codec, Circuit City's attempt at making dvds you don't have to return). I don't see them following through with this.

Yeah, I'd be at Circuit City, and I'd see all these great titles, and then I'd be like... "Wait... you take it home and you can only play it once." It seemed like a terrible idea, just terrible.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

Duck Sauce

#5
May 17, 2003, 03:22:25 AM
I also wish Disney would release Song Of the South on DVD in the US

bonanzataz

#6
May 18, 2003, 01:55:02 AM
dare to dream, duck sauce. there's black people used in a deragotory manner and disney doesn't peddle racism...

:roll:
The corpses all hang headless and limp bodies with no surprises and the blood drains down like devil's rain we'll bathe tonight I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls Demon I am and face I peel to see your skin turned inside out, 'cause gotta have you on my wall gotta have you on my wall, 'cause I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls collect the heads of little girls and put 'em on my wall hack the heads off little girls and put 'em on my wall I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls

Rudie Obias

#7
May 18, 2003, 02:06:08 PM
Quote from: godardian

I still hate Disney more for their shitty full-frame New York Stories DVD, though.

does it not come in widescreen?
\"a pair of eyes staring at you, projected on a large screen is what cinema is truly about.\" -volker schlöndorff

godardian

#8
May 18, 2003, 02:25:33 PM
Quote from: rudieob
Quote from: godardian

I still hate Disney more for their shitty full-frame New York Stories DVD, though.

does it not come in widescreen?

Nope. I really might as well just have put in my raggedy old VHS copy and saved my money. I guess the picture is slightly clearer, though. I don't know. I'm quite bitter about it. I don't know when... I don't know how... but that Mouse is goin' down!
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

bonanzataz

#9
May 18, 2003, 09:54:57 PM
if walt was still around and making corporate decisions today, that company would be amazing. today, with eisner running things, disney just seems to be an uncaring corporate entity, only in it for the money. walt was doing it not for money, but because he truly wanted to push the boundaries of animation. the old disney films transcend the animation to effectively tell a story while the new ones don't care about the stories or the characters but just want to have franchise tie ins with mcdonalds. they have the videos go out of print so that people will go out and buy them as quickly as possible and whole generations miss out on the greatness of the old ones. i hate those disney bastards.
The corpses all hang headless and limp bodies with no surprises and the blood drains down like devil's rain we'll bathe tonight I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls Demon I am and face I peel to see your skin turned inside out, 'cause gotta have you on my wall gotta have you on my wall, 'cause I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls collect the heads of little girls and put 'em on my wall hack the heads off little girls and put 'em on my wall I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls

Duck Sauce

#10
May 19, 2003, 01:42:44 AM
Quote from: bonanzatazif walt was still around and making corporate decisions today, that company would be amazing. today, with eisner running things, disney just seems to be an uncaring corporate entity, only in it for the money. walt was doing it not for money, but because he truly wanted to push the boundaries of animation. the old disney films transcend the animation to effectively tell a story while the new ones don't care about the stories or the characters but just want to have franchise tie ins with mcdonalds. they have the videos go out of print so that people will go out and buy them as quickly as possible and whole generations miss out on the greatness of the old ones. i hate those disney bastards.

Eisner is what saved the company in the 80s, but I think he has overstayed his welcome, and he wont leave unless he dies since his buddies control the board. Walt was a genius but may not have been able to survive in current economic climate. Walt was great, expected the best, spent money and did things different.

moonshiner

#11
May 21, 2003, 07:31:31 AM
Quote from: bonanzatazthey have the videos go out of print so that people will go out and buy them as quickly as possible and whole generations miss out on the greatness of the old ones.

i think this is what the Disney pundits would call "the Vault". it's one of my biggest peeves with Disney, but all the suckers known as consumers fall hook, line, and sinker for the rush on getting the movies.
the rumble of the train trails off to infinity, a place where no one goes anymore

JC, no not that one

MacGuffin

#12
March 12, 2004, 12:55:27 AM
Disposable DVDs to spin faster

A five-month test of low-cost disposable DVDs has yielded enough positive response from their sale in pizza and convenience store chains to prompt Buena Vista Home Entertainment and its partner Flexplay Technologies Inc. to double its retail presence. "We are extremely happy with the test, which proved that there is a consumer desire to have an alternative to traditional video rental," said Lori MacPherson, BVHE vp brand marketing and product manager. "That's why we are more than doubling our retail test markets and adding additional titles." Detractors of the disposable discs, called ez-D, have cited a lack of top-shelf titles available on the format, which was developed by New York-based Flexplay in cooperation with GE Plastics and is manufactured by Technicolor. The discs are playable for 48 hours.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Jeremy Blackman

#13
March 12, 2004, 01:02:20 AM
Couldn't you resurface one of these DVDs to eliminate the chemical process? (assuming it's just a coating)

Raikus

#14
March 12, 2004, 11:25:30 AM
You'd have to utilize some type of sealant that keeps air away from the disc surface while still allows a laser to read it correctly. Plus I think it's chemically bonded to the disc surface so you really wouldn't be able to use a stripping compound without damaging the disc.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.
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