Disney has figured out how to avoid the revenue-endangering permanence of DVDs: DVDs that self-destruct.
The red DVDs turn an unreadable black 48 hours after their packages are opened — exposing them to oxygen, which reacts with the disc in a process similar to how Polaroid film develops.
The DVDs, which are being distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney’s home video unit, will carry a suggested price of $6.99. Some retailers are expected to sell them for as little as about $5, said Alan Blaustein, chief executive of Flexplay, which owns the self-destruct technology.
The advantage to the disposable DVD format — known as EZ-D — is that such discs can be sold anywhere and never need to be returned, potentially turning any retailer into a competitor with video rental chains such as Blockbuster Inc.
Hrm.
Okay, upon another thirty seconds of consideration, I can go for this. There are a number of movies I’m interested in seeing, but I hate doing rentals, and I don’t want to shell out $20 for the disc. If I could get them disposable — especially if, say, they came with a coupon for the “real” DVD — I would probably see more movies than I do.
Hmmmm.
Still feels like a money-grubbing plot, though.
(via Doyce, who has finally redone his archive format, huzzah)
Umm… I redid my archives (and mentioned it in a post) last month. 🙂
Huh. I missed it. Or, rather, I noticed it, but only noticed the Magic Number, not the archive format.
(via Dave, who has finally noticed that Doyce redid his archive format, huzzah)
I like the fact that you can trade in six for a free one.
If only they exploded in a puff of smoke, it would make the whole process more exciting somehow.
Yeah, like IMF videos. “This DVD will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.” Phsssst!
More spork to fill the landfills with. That’s just great.
At the risk of sounding like I’m minimizing the problem, let me minimize the problem: even assuming a bought and played a disc a day all year, I would end up with a minimal amount of landfill trash compared to far more bulky packaging that’s routinely used. Heck, a lot less than if I ate a Lean Cuisine every night, for example.
In other words, I don’t see that as a reason not to have the product.
Landfill is a problem. This is a trivial addition to it.
Just what we need… more environmental waste. Are they going to make it biodegradable, too? They’re basically coming up with a DVD format that’s going to result in a useless hunk of plastic within 48 hours. I’d feel better about this if there was some kind of recycling program to reclaim the dead discs.