Buena Vista Reports That Disposable DVD Test Successful (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Really! Do you remember what titls are only available for rent through NetFlix that can't be purchased?

 

[Eric Peterson]

#1 - There will be larger numbers of these discs. If you figure each disc in a rental scenario is rented at least 20-30 times. If this new format were to take even 1/3 of that market that would mean 2-3 times as many discs will end up in the landfill.

#2 - I believe the original proposal included having recycling centers at the location of the purchase, which means having to return them. This eliminates the whole convenience issue.

#3 - Will local recycling centers accept these?

#4 - This is a bit of a generalization, but the people that make up this kind of market are people driven by convenience. Recycling is not a convenience.

#5 - And on top of all that, when the rental cycle is over, the disc cannot be sold as used and put into someone else's collection for an extended period of time.

etc..., etc...., etc....

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Quote: "How are disposable rentals any worse than for-sale discs?"

Perhaps nothing means anything, really. Everything ends up in the trash eventually - in two days or in two hundred years. Hmmm... I still think there's something wrong here...

 

[John Prator]

I know that in the local Diamond Shamrock gas station that I go to all the time they have these "throw away" disks and I have yet to see a single person even give them a single glance. Asked the clerk if they ever sell them and he said "I haven't sold one yet". They will soon go the way of Divx.

 

[DaveF]

Eric,
See #1.

Clearly ez-D creates more trash. But I don't see this as a serious critique given the excesses of home-theater hobbyists (myself included), nor compared to the trash generated with typical movie watching (at home or the theater).

 

[Justin_M]

And how is that different then the 2 "Try AOL" discs that I get every week? Do those just evaporate after I throw them in the trash or are they magically turned into a natural resource?

oxonce

 

[Robert Dunnill]

Perhaps new technology now available will change that. For example, there is a company in New York which is now marketing a process that turns carbon-based materials (including plastics) into crude oil.

In any event, the garbage volume that disposable discs would amount to isn't all that onerous. Look at the waste that is generated by aspects of the home theater hobby: styrofoam packing from component boxes, shrink wrapping from various kinds of packages (including DVDs), and the vast amounts of energy that go into producing electronic components.

RD

 

[Tony Whalen]

I said it in another thread, and I'll say it here.

Let's all head out to EZ-DVD locations with push-pins, and poke holes in the packaging!

 

[Larry P]

Where do you go for 87 cent five night rentals? And how much of a selection do they have?

Does anybody know who has the best rental deals in Florida?

For the most part I see these Di$ney things competing with BlockBu$ter, at least here in Florida and if it causes BlockBuster to have to compete more then I say, great.

Has anybody seen the packaging on these? I hope they clearly state in large print about the discs expiring in two days. People are going to sour to these really quick if they pick them up thinking they are getting the regular edition. Knowing Eisner though, he probably wants to trick people into thinking they are getting the regular edition that doesn't self destruct.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Its a local place, not really a chain store or anything, and they have a wide selection. Newer releases cost a little more and are rented for less nights but they have a lot of older titles and they don't really take long to downgrade something from a new release status.

Its all not that important to me anyway since I rarely rent anything.

 

[DaveF]

And then we can scratch regular DVDs to show how pathetically fragile they really are! Maybe that will help us finally get a deent video media. :rolleyes

 

[Tony-B]

Patrick,

I can just see Baghdad Bob saying that these are doing well! That was great!

Next article: "Disney hires Baghdad Bob as new spokesman"

 

[Malcolm R]

Disney has a website for these things. Their FAQ addresses a number of points in this thread.

 

[Josh Simpson]

To bring back an old thread, I haven't really been looking, but do they still sell disposable dvd's? I saw them at first, but not lately.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

I have never seen them for sale. I hope they went the way of their predecessor, DIVX. What a couple of rotten-to-the-core ideas. I hope all involved lost their shirts.

 

[Chris Farmer]

I think they're gone. The above FAQ link now just redirects to Buena Vista's main site.

 

[Rolando]

Thank God!

I agree with Jeffrey. I hope there are some people pennyless in the street for thinking this up. Teach others to steer away from this kind of crap.

Now if only the mindds behind HDMI only HD-DVD/Blu Ray or any kind of "connection" phone or otherwise required for playability of software would meet a similar fate.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I think Croupier was available only through Netflix for a year or so before it became available for sale in R1.

With studios being so worried about piracy, I can't imagine these disposable discs helping their cause.

For example: If Million Dollar Baby came out only on a disposable format, wouldn't a higher percentage of people just buy the disposable disc, rip it and burn a DVD-R which will last indefinitely? I think many people who would've paid the $20 or so to buy a normal DVD version would just do this without that option.

 

[Joseph S]

Ivy Hill reports everyone loves snapper cases because some guy from across the pond really likes them.

This thing is a failure because they're far more likely to see people ripping and burning these things rather than "renting" them multiple times if they don't also put out a real DVD of the title.