Disney Disposable DVDs debut today

[tenders]

in the future,i can see rental stores like blockbuster switching to these disposable dvd's,or at least trying to.

the current price of the disposable will then likely drop,they would also not have to worry about late returns,or a non return. they would also not have to worry about selling their previously viewed dvd's. depending on the size of the store,they might also reduce staff by 1 or 2. the constant restocking of returned dvd's, as well as keeping track of the ones the rent,would no longer be necassary.
the only down side i can see is the increased stock.

[ZeroSix]

maybe i will pick one up since i live in Bloomington... They are supposed to be carrying them here as well.. [according to the local paper anyway]

To quote the paper:

"When disposable DVDs make their test-market appearance in Bloomington-Normal on Sept. 9, not everyone will be part of the experiment, including the nation's largest video rental chain.

Randy Hargrove, company spokesman for Blockbuster Video's corporate offices, says that Blockbuster stores in the Twin Cities won't be stocking the EZ-Ds for several reasons.

Chief among them: "We don't want to confuse our customers."

[mcdermd]

I think the biggest reason Blockbuster won't be stocking these is that they make bank off of DVD rentals. Unlike VHS where they have to pay high prices for "rental" copies (I thought it was something like $50-$80 per tape), they can buy normal consumer DVD's at wholesale prices and pay for the cost of the DVD stock in two rentals. After it's not a popular rental anymore - bang - it's on the previously viewed rack for $10.

What would be Blockbuster's financial incentive to sell EZ-D's?

[tenders]

i bet blockbuster will change its tune when they start loseing business

[Metaluna]

I can see a limited market for these things in places like airports, gas stations, tourist traps, etc. A lot of luxury SUV's now have DVD players built in to entertain the backseat passengers. I could envision some yuppie pulling in to a gas station in his H2 and picking one of these up to keep the brats quiet for a couple of hours during a long road trip. Or you pick one up at the airport before boarding a six hour flight. Might be worth $7 for a couple of hours of diversion. A rental in either of these situations would be impractical.

[macleod]

the discussion about blockbuster losing money made me think about a report that came out about their business. Basically (as with a number of businesses), they derive a percentage of their income based on late fees. By not having a late fee income, the disposable dvd's will hurt their income.

Of course I just learned that there is something with blockbluster about having a no late fee guarantee, which I believe they did to compete with netflix type companies. Although, probably in the fine print, you probably have to pay them X amount for this privelage and if you end up doing the math, your break even would be holding a movie for a month or something

[Cornucopia]

Not that I am currently thinking about buying even a single one of them, but I'm going to make a guess about how it's done and how to crack it...

For a chemical to be able to react with oxygen, it has to come into contact with it. For it to come into contact with it, it has to be surface mounted.

Therefore, go get a disc polishing thingy and polish off that surface mounted layer, boom regular DVD. (Polished even!)

Scott

*Gee, I hope I don't get tagged as a "Pirate" by Disney now.


>>>>Edit:
...or if it isn't totally surface mounted, but has side/bottom perforations to outside air, open underwater and transfer to shrinkwrap? or open in hot wax and let cool? Sheesh!

[handyguy]

Id just as well use Pay Per View.

[FOO]

If they don't do dual layer, It's far simpler to just backup it.

[dvdnew]

If they don't do dual layer, It's far simpler to just backup it.

Yours is single layer?

[FOO]

Si Senor

[Styro]

The only advantage I can think of for these disposable disc - legal dvd-r backups. Copying a rental is illegal, but copying a disposable you bought is creating a backup. All nice and legal. For $7 plus media plus burner cost plus your time and trouble (hmm, maybe its not worth it)...

-- Styro

[Gees]

This site: http://www.flexplay.com/dvds.html has an animation that shows it going red-black.

I am so curious to know - does the playback get worse and worse over time? or does it self destruct right at the 48 hour mark? Just don't see how that's possible.

Can you get your money back if it goes black at hour 23?

[daredevil]

I think 7$ for a true dvd is worth the price, for a thing you throw after 2 days it is robbery.

here in france we have a cdiscount.com wich sells true new dvd at an amazing price (0.99euros nearly 0.9$ -several are good movies such as 7samurais ) so I don't think disney will sell his crap at 7euros in france

[daredevil]

0.99euros is nearly 1.1 $ and not 0.9$

[tompika]

Yours is single layer?

Si Senor

Does the package include DVD Decrypter on a floppy disk?

[Gees]

I think we're all in agreement that for $7.00 this'll never fly. Maybe a buck or quid or two, but not 7.

I was telling my husband about all this and he had an interesting take on it. That this whole thing may have been marketed to the wrong industry.

It could be very attractive to the software development companies, to send out code for review. Anything not yet released.

or use for screeners?


- tompika's post = :cD

[The village idiot]

Probably best for screeners. By the time Leno or who ever is done with it, it would be black and the flunkie that grabs it out of the garbage couldn't rip it and distribute it. "Rentals" is just going to put the technology into the hands of the "evil hackers", and make them find a way to break the protection. That's the only reason Foo bought one. to see how hard it will be to get around the protection, and see what it looks like when it does take effect. I wish they were available where I am. I would have bought at least one for the same purposes.

The worst thing they could have done is release this to the public. there are a lot of really smart, and really bored people out there. Those people might find nothing more fun than breaking down the newest protection.

Besides, it's fun to push the rules

[Gees]

The worst thing they could have done is release this to the public. there are a lot of really smart, and really bored people out there.

Yes, and curious! I, for one, am dying to know how it's done. I would also buy one - just to satiate the maddening curiosity of it all. :cD

[ebenton]

Your old granny is on oxygen at home. You go out to the local 7-11 and buy some beef jerky or a pre-paid cell phone and one of these DVDs.
You go home and watch it and then go over to your granny's place and blow a bunch of oxygen from her spare tank or her oxygen generator all over the disk until it goes black. (no smoking or flames allowed) Then you take it back the next day and say you want your money back because this disk didn't even last 24 hours. Of course, it would be unethical to accept the $7.00, but it would be interesting to see if you could get the store to offer the refund.
Of course, that might not be the way these disks work. Maybe the quantity of oxygen to which they are exposed has no affect on accelerating the process. Maybe the first exposure begins a chemical process whose progress is unaffected by any further stimulus. It would be interesting to experiment.

*******WARNING***********
Just in case anybody takes me seriously. Oxygen is a dangerous substance. It is highly flammable. Do not play with it!

[tompika]

You go home and watch it and then go over to your granny's place and blow a bunch of oxygen from her spare tank or her oxygen generator all over the disk until it goes black.

Then I guess Michael Jackson shouldn't buy any of those Disneys

[ebenton]

So *that's* why he wears those masks over his face all the time, to keep the oxygen concentration down!

[Gazorgan]

It's sad to say, but I don't give it a month. Why? Because your average consumer is a MORON!!! Come on people. Why do you think Best Buy and all the others have their on Mail In Rebates? Because consumers never mail the stuff in. And along those lines, they NEVER read the signs. People are going to be returning these things left and right when they stop working. When you can buy new DVD's for $9.95 , what's up with $6.95 for 2 days? Even new releases are on sale for $15.95.

Now if they were $1.99 or $2.99 more in line with a rental price it may fly. I bet these things cost $$$ to make, since you have to manufacture and package (packaging is the rub) in an inert atomsphere.

[Chuffster]

Removing the part of the disc surface is unlikely to work unless the part which darkens is a layer sandwiched between two clear layers (the upper most being gas permeable like a contact lens). And that would require quite a significant amount of polishing to remove. Alternatively it could be that the clear layer is an entirely reactive and gas permeable material. Coating the disc with a non gas permeable material (laquer/varnish/whatever) would work in this instance.

Both methods require more effort (and possibly expense) than most people could be bothered with.

Realistically, when the disc can be ripped to a hard drive and burned out, what these types of disc offer is almost near the cheapness of a rental with a nice case you can keep to put your burned duplicate into.

[Dj Petro]

*******WARNING***********
Just in case anybody takes me seriously. Oxygen is a dangerous substance. It is highly flammable. Do not play with it!

Oxygen itself is not flammable. I needs another gas to be flammable or cause combustion.

As far as the chemical process goes... is it possible to attach a transparent layer with the reactive chemical to disc? Of course the air would get to it and start the process. But I suppose you can't remove that layer without damageing the disc.... I don't know. This is very interesting.

What we need is some Crank and form a think tank to come up with the answer.

_

[houtx67]

I couldn't tell from the scan, but since they are single layer, are these the full dvds or movie-only? Are they OAR?

[ebenton]

Oxygen itself is not flammable. I needs another gas to be flammable or cause combustion.

OK, Mr. Wizard, you're right, but get a lot of oxygen molecules attached to your clothes or your body hair or your furniture and provide a spark or flame, and you're asking for trouble.

Be that as it may, it would be interesting to have access to some of these disks with some good laboratory equipment to experiment with.

[The village idiot]

As I said... Anyone know a Chemistry major at any decent University?

[FOO]

I got one across the street but he doesn't care.

[Bob W]

My guess is the discs are coated with "iron oxide" which turns black when exposed to the elements. All you need to do is figure out a way to remove the oxide layer and away you go.