Disneys self destructing dvds roll into Fl.

[BRERALEX]

Disney self-destructing DVDs rolling into Florida
Friday March 12, 3:39 pm ET


LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. DIS.N> hopes to capitalize on exploding interest in its self-destructing DVDs by expanding trials of the discs into Florida and other major markets in April, the company said on Friday.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's video unit, plans to cut the price to $5.99 from $6.99 as it nearly quadruples the number of outlets with the discs, aimed chiefly at video renters who find returns a hassle, a spokesman said.

Environmentalists criticize the waste of discs that must be thrown away, while Disney says it has a recycling program and that the customers love the convenience.

The self-destructing EZ-D DVDs, developed by privately held Flexplay Technologies, quit playing 48 hours after they are opened as a chemical reacts with air, obscuring the tracks on the disc so a laser cannot read them.

That means retail shops and other companies can join the competition for distributing home movies without having to set up systems for returns and tracking videos.

7-Eleven Inc. (NYSE:SE - News) convenience stores and pizza chain Papa John's International Inc. (NasdaqNMZZA - News) are both carrying the discs in the trials, Disney said.

Disney so far is releasing the disposable DVDs after the original DVD lands in retail stores so that they do not compete with first-run home video rentals and sales.

The entertainment giant, which says embracing technology is a key strategic goal, is also testing a set-top box called MovieBeam that stocks a regularly updated selection of movies and recently licensed digital rights management programs from Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News), with an eye to distributing its films on the Web.

Disney will expand the EZ-D trial to Florida as well as Phoenix, Arizona, San Antonio, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, in April and May. The DVDs launched last September in four cities.

More than 2,500 outlets will carry the disposable DVDs, up from about 700 in the first phase of the trial, a Disney spokesman said. There are no plans yet for a national roll-out.

 

[KNWVIKING]

***"LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. DIS.N> hopes to capitalize on exploding interest in its self-destructing DVDs by "***

What "exploding interest" ?

 

[BRERALEX]

i thought it was the opposite and was surprised to see this being rolled out. I actually thought i had read they were abandoning the idea but i guess not.

Im.....exploding.....with interest.

lately the company seems to be exploding with editted for content

 

[dcentity2000]

Good afternoon dear viewer.

The footage that follows is of a top secret nature and, should you choose to accept it, involves risk of the very highest nature.

Your assignment is to watch this DVD without once leaving to go to the restroom, top up on popcorn or fetch water for any purpose. Upon completion of this objective you will be required to march to your local store to purchase ten copies of this film.

This message shall self-destruct in five seconds



Rich::

 

[WDWHound]

They test marketed these in my area recently and to say that they bombed would be an understatement. I cant beleive they are moving forward with this.

 

[ChrisFL]

Originally posted by WDWHound
They test marketed these in my area recently and to say that they bombed would be an understatement. I cant beleive they are moving forward with this.

I can, remember Disney DivX?

 

[mitros]

Yea, what gives? they previously said the idea went over like a lead balloon! IMHO, I never thought the idea was very good.

 

[Micca]

Yawn. Divx revisited indeed.

 

[roymccoy]

We already own a few "self destructing" DVD's.

Cinderella II
Peter Pan II
LIttle Mermaid II
101 Dalmations II
Lilo and Stitch II
Jungle Book II
Tarzan II
Atlantis II
Lion King 1 1/2 (Gotta love those show tunes!)


A lot of what Disney has put out lately has "self destructed" as far as I'm concerned.


Roy

 

[frannn]

I'm expected to pay 5.99 for the sole privelage of watching a Disney DVD 1X (within 48 hours), then somehow getting it back somewhere to be recycled, or throw it out? All because I am so busy or tired to return the DVD to a rental store? How did I get this DVD in the first place- didn't I have to get off my butt to buy it, or did I order it from the web while sitting in my recliner (in which case I would pay extra for shipping)? Is this the same dvd I can buy a month after it comes out for approximately 12. more , and it will play repeatedly, any time my family would like to watch it? Sorry for the sarcasm, but I find this a waste of money (unless you have the money to waste).
Oh, what do I know? I still have analog cable.

 

[Sarangel]

Not to mention anyone who *really* hates going to the DVD rental store has already gotten a Netflix subscription, and can watch the movie as many times as they want...

I suppose we should chalk this up as another way Eisner has chosen to waste company funds.

Sarangel

 

[YoHo]

Mybe they are looking to compete with AOL in the worthless coaster department.

I know I haven't gotten an AOL disc in days. I have nowhere to set my drink.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by YoHo
Mybe they are looking to compete with AOL in the worthless coaster department.

I know I haven't gotten an AOL disc in days. I have nowhere to set my drink.

Bite your tongue! Now that you have me thinking of it, our household has not seen any AOL discs lately either - thank goodness!

 

[mitros]

If anyone needs some more AOL coasters, c'mon down to florida. A lot of the Burger Kings as well as the post offices have plenty on hand!

 

[JoNo]

You know it wouldn't surprise me if someone found a way to hack these DVD's making them playable well beyond 48 hrs. Anyone remember the whole "you can't make an mp3 file of this music cd" bit? Well someone in the music industry said their NEW format couldn't be hacked for anything. What happened? 3 guys from MIT draw a ring around the cd with a marker and it copied just fine.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by JoNo
You know it wouldn't surprise me if someone found a way to hack these DVD's making them playable well beyond 48 hrs. Anyone remember the whole "you can't make an mp3 file of this music cd" bit? Well someone in the music industry said their NEW format couldn't be hacked for anything. What happened? 3 guys from MIT draw a ring around the cd with a marker and it copied just fine.

The copy protection on these DVDs is chemically based. When you break the seal on the package and expose the DVD to air, a chemical process begins that slowly darkens the surface of the DVD. within 48 hours, the surface turns completely black and is unplayable from that point on. Unless someone comes up with a common chemical that can stabalize the DVD, it seem unlikely that a "hack" will be found (and I don't these will ever be popular enough for people to bother).

 

[Snowgod]

You can't hack it but you can copy it to a computer. Just get a mac with a dvd drive and mount it on the desktop. Now copy it to you hard drive an you have a working digital copy.

there is nothing that can't be hacked. If you build it they will hack it.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by Snowgod
You can't hack it but you can copy it to a computer. Just get a mac with a dvd drive and mount it on the decktop. Now copy it to you hard drive an you have a working digital copy.

there is nothing that can't be hacked. If you build it they will hack it.

That is true. Any DVD copy program should work on these puppys as long as you act before DVD becomes unreadable.

 

[JoNo]

*has a dvd burner... guilty of copying dvd's* If i'm not mistaken, don't the people who HAVE a copy of the movie on DVD HAVE the right to copy onto their own computer? Much like ROM's (nintendo game copies) & MP3's?

 

[Mr D]

A person could supposedly have a DVD player in an enclosed case and replace the air with nitrogen, but thats too much effort for poor quality stuff or just take the disks and recoat them in a clear solution to seal them from the air, I have one of those to repair my XBOX disks.

The whole reason of owning DVD's is to have a long term library with high quality that doesn't degrade over time.