Oh my Gosh, the implications are scary

[Lex]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/1...dvd/index.html

Well, to summarize for those that prefer a short version of the article. Technology has been created to allow a DVD to self disctruct after a set period of time, say 36-60 hours. This could be the worst form of DIVX in the making. I think it's time for another NO campaign. Don't buy the teaser discs, do not touch this technology...

Lex

[Chris D]

Yeah, I just read the same CNN article. They're packaging it under a cute James Bond "This disc will self-destruct in 36 hours" thing. Sad, but who knows how to stop them.

Hopefully, it will just be used for promo discs to get out info to potential customers, not in actual retail products.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Brandon B]

There was a similar technology out about 3 years ago, using high capacity fluorescing dyes that could be tuned to allow 1 read, 3 reads, 5 reads, etc. before failing, or work forever. I have stock in the company. It's at about 7 cents a share now.

Before you bag on me for supporting evil, their version of the DVD was extremely high capacity, the built in lifetime was an optional part of the technology.

Point being, it didn't take off then, maybe won't now.

BB

[George Bellefontaine]

Techno whiz kids never give up, do they. Well, I doubt if this will go anywhere. It better freakin' not.




My Homepage!

[David Meek]

DIVX died an ignoble death and this one should also. It DOES have application in some industries, but not in home theater IMHO.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Andrew Pratt]

came across this today..

Introducing...self-destructing DVDs

By RON HARRIS -- Associated Press


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- On a dismal, rainy day after watching Mel Gibson battle the English in "Braveheart," wouldn't it be nice to simply throw away the DVD instead of slogging the rental back to Blockbuster?

Technology that makes DVDs self-destruct in a few hours or days has already been developed, raising the prospect of a world without late fees.

In one recent promotion, Atlantic Records made a limited run of DVDs containing footage of the hip-hop group Nappy Roots that was viewable only for a few hours before the disc "expired."

MGM Studios used self-destructing DVDs with music videos and trailers to promote the new James Bond movie, "Die Another Day." Movie critics were told the DVD would self-destruct in 36 hours -- a nod to 007's gadget-providing character Q.

And self-expiring discs also showed up at MTV's recent Latin American awards show in Miami.

But to reach consumers more broadly, any promising technology needs to make sound business sense. In an entertainment industry where profits depend in part on multiple rentals and late fees, disposable discs represent a disruptive technology, and none of the big players have endorsed it publicly.

New York-based Flexplay, which ensured the timely deaths of these promotional DVDs, has yet to produce any full-length movies with the technology, in which chemical changes eventually render discs unusable.

Providence, R.I.-based SpectraDisc developed similar technology and has courted most of the major studios, but none has been willing to sign a production deal.

"The decision process has been in stall mode now for at least a year and a half," said SpectraDisc chief executive Nabil Lawandy. "It's all in the hands of the content providers. They have the leverage along with distribution."

Flexplay's chief executive, Alan Blaustein, agrees the science is ready to go, even if Hollywood is not.

Another reason major studios could be wary is that Flexplay and SpectraDisc may not have resolved potential intellectual-property issues surrounding their patented technologies.

Both Flexplay and SpectraDisc add a chemical time-bomb to DVDs that begins ticking once the package is open and the discs are exposed to air.

SpectraDisc applies an outer chemical layer to the disc that begins evaporating and changing in color as the expiration time nears. Flexplay integrates its chemicals into the inner layers of the disc.

SpectraDisc DVDs turn blue. Flexplay discs also turn darker, becoming so opaque that the laser inside a DVD player no longer can read the disc.

The technology can also work on music CDs and software CD-ROMs, according to SpectraDisc, but movies are the target, since consumers generally buy music and software to keep.

At Netflix, the online movie-rental service, self-destructing DVDs would be a natural fit -- customers won't have to mail back discs after watching them. Founder and CEO Reed Hastings said Netflix will use whatever DVDs Hollywood decides to produce -- but he doesn't see these among them.

"A cool technology doesn't amount to a hill of beans unless the studios decide to support it," Hastings said.

None of the major moviemakers contacted by The Associated Press -- Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Vivendi Universal, MGM and The Walt Disney Co. -- would comment on plans to make self-destructing movies.

If such technology were to reach the market, it could force movie-rental houses to rethink their pricing. Blockbuster collects 15 percent to 20 percent of its revenue through late fees, said Ryan Jones, an analyst for The Yankee Group.

Nonetheless, Blockbuster says it'll bite if consumers demand them -- even if it means no more late fees.

"Our goal isn't to make money through extended viewing fees," said Karen Raskopf, a Blockbuster spokeswoman. "Our goal is to satisfy customers with the movies they want in the format they want."

Raskopf said late fees were necessary when movies came only on video tape because they were expensive to buy. DVDs are cheaper for Blockbuster, so the company can consider disposables, she said.

While self-destructing DVDs would give content providers more control over distribution, it still wouldn't prevent illegal copying.

"It only takes a half an hour to rip a DVD," Jones said.

The entertainment industry already has found other ways to limit distribution.

Recording labels commonly send music critics promotional material laden with low-tech copy protection. For example, tapes of new songs are sometimes sent in portable players glued shut to prevent copying.

Self-destructing DVDs would create considerable waste. A study conducted for Flexplay by environmental policy expert Jonathan Koomey found that if disposable DVDs made up 10 percent of all U.S. video rentals, an additional 350 million DVDs would be discarded, creating 5,600 metric tons of solid waste annually. The environmental impact would be mitigated somewhat by fewer cars making return trips to rental stores, Koomey suggested.

SpectraDisc's self-destructing DVDs can be reused if a new coat of the play-limiting chemicals is reapplied, Lawandy said. Flexplay's discs can only be broken down and recycled as plastic waste.

[Matt Broeska]

"...wouldn't it be nice to simply throw away the DVD instead of slogging the rental back to Blockbuster?"

no it wouldn't! what the hell is the matter with people? buy things that expire and throw them away... yah... because going back to your video store is such a chore! that upsets me beyond belief. man, go for a walk or a bike ride and return your movie. what ever happened to conserving?!

[Lex]

Let's see. I open a movie from the rental store. Phone rings, and what do you know, it's that chick I been wanting to meet for so long, :boobies: and she says, hey, I got tickets to a show in Atlanta, want to go with me for the weekend? Ok! I am there!

So, I leave for a weekend of fun. (wink wink), DVD on the coffee table. It's a ticking timebomb! I come back a couple of days later, exausted from you know what and pop in the movie. Great I say! Then as it nears the end, right when the villian is about to be exposed in this scary movie, a skull and cross bones pops on the screen, similar to the fashion of the one in Independence Day and says, "This movie is :## . Movie over!

Wait, I haven't finished it yet! Sorry chum, head on down to blockbuster and rent it again. This one's a toaster coaster!

:evil:

The preceded was an enactment. Had this story been true, well we know I wouldn't have gotten any. :rf

Lex

[David Meek]

Hehe, Lex you're killing me! :rf




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[George Bellefontaine]

That's funny, Lex. :LOL:




My Homepage!

[Brandon B]

Some quotes from an article on this:

Disposable DVDs

Although the idea of disposable DVDs is not exactly environmentally friendly, Nabil Lawandy, chief executive of Spectra disc in Providence, R.I., claims his company is doing everything possible to make the single-use DVDs green.

"It's ideal for consumers. You can open and watch the movie any time you want and it doesn't take a special trip to Blockbuster's," Lawandy says. "Once you use the disc, you put it in the recycle bin."

The discs are designed with two coatings, explains Lawandy. One coating prevents tampering while the other is designed to turn black — and black out the movie — three days after the disc is removed from its package. He says if consumers send back the discs, his company can replace the coating and use the discs again. He hopes a rebate system might encourage customers to do so, but the DVDs aren't yet available to purchase.

New York-based Flexplay has designed disposable DVDs that can't be reused, only recycled. So far, the DVDs have only been used in promotional mailings, not widespread movie releases.

A Westlake, Calif., company, Now Showing, introduced what they call "Returnless Video" last year. The tapes are played like any other videocassette, but after the second viewing, they are automatically erased and can then be reused as blank cassettes.

Regardless of the efforts of companies to create reusable or recyclable products, Dadd argues that customers ultimately decide how much they will reuse and throw out.

"It's about personal choice and commitment," she says. "But sometimes when retailers push disposables, it's difficult to stand by personal commitment."

At least the one company is considering environmental issues. Wankers.

BB