Disney To Test Self-Destructing Discs (1 Viewer)

[Thomas Newton]

"We'll test various scenarios, but there will definitely be a (full-priced) sell-through window before the limited-play window," Chapek said. "We can't have even a modest amount of sell-through cannibalization."

I am sure there will be lots of renters eager to wait several weeks for $6.99 bare-bones discs, when they could have watched the real discs for less than half that.

 

[Thomas Newton]

"Thank God for DVD-R burner"

I'm not sure that I'd care to focus a DVD-R burner's write laser on a disc that has chemical self-destruct mechanisms.

C:> PLAYDVD

"This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours ..."

C:> BURNDVD

"This computer will self-destruct in 10 seconds ..."

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

quote...
"This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours..."

Man, does it sound like a James Bond villian came up with this or what!?

 

[Larry P]

They should have made these good for three days. Two days is a little shrewd, especially for the Seven Dollar price tag.

Higher rental fees and shorter windows are one of the main reasons that people stopped renting in the first place.

Overall I have to admit that it's a neat idea. Whether we like it or not, the rental buisness is going to be around forever probably so they have to come up with something new for it. But Seven Dollars for two days doesn't cut it!

Even though Blockbuster admonished it, does anyone think they might switch to this technology in the future? They are a sinking ship and they will have to do something radical if they're going to survive.

How expensive will the keep cases that these discs come in be to produce? It sounds like they might have to be fancier than regular keep cases even.

 

[David Susilo]

Uhmmm, Thomas, I meant for me to make a copy of that DVD for future viewing.

Besides, reading won't affect reading. It's just like if you spray painted your DVD, laser just won't read it but won't be broken because of it.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, I can picture Michael Eisner with a monocle, stroking a white cat, pinkie poised at the lip.

 

[Thomas Newton]

David,

You might want to review the description of this forum:

Note: Please, no discussions about copying video/audio sources, defeating copy-protection encoding, and obtaining illegal, bootlegged product. Thank you!

Now on to the real question: How long would one of these discs last if only read underwater by sharks that had frickin' lasers mounted on their heads? :p)

 

[Keith M.]

"developing a new patented Lexan resin co-polymer"

Just cant help but think of Christmas Vacation w/ Chevy Chase when I read this...

This is the most ridiculous product I have ever heard of...

Is it that hard for people to just rent a movie?? Give me a break, you would think someone learned from the Divix fiasco...

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Since the chemical reacts with oxygen, you could probably get an extra day or so of play out of it due to water's lower O2 content

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

That's just swell, Jeff...if your the incredible Mr. Limpet or Sponge Bob Square Pants. But us land dwelling folk are screwed!

Keith,

if you applied a coating of that stuff to a sled you could fly like a bat out of hell down the hill, you may even leave flame trails behind!

"Later dudes!"...WHHOOOOOOSHHH "Oh Shiiiiitttttttttt!!!!!"

 

[Thomas Newton]

That's just swell, Jeff...if your the incredible Mr. Limpet or Sponge Bob Square Pants. But us land dwelling folk are screwed!

Are you trying to tell us that these discs are "all washed up"?

 

[Dan Rudolph]

If I remember my super-cooling correctly, there's no reason you couldn't make a player that would operate under mineral oil. If you stored the discs in there, they would work forever.

 

[Greg_D_R]

If I remember my super-cooling correctly, there's no reason you couldn't make a player that woudl operate under mineral oil. If you stored the discs in there, they would work forever.

I am absolutely NOT saying anything about porn here. No way.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

quote...
"Are you trying to tell us these discs are "all washed up?"

Nope, i'm saying this idea sleeps with the fishes!

 

[Bill>Moore]

Why, oh why do they keep doing this?

I'm one of the target demographic who would actually use this on occasion. I travel constantly and am gone for stretches at a time, making Blockbuster or any other rental a non-option when I'm on the road. Still, I hate this self-destructing disc crap and no way will I do anything to make it work. I'll just keep bringing my own movie and TV show DVDs with me and wait for this thing to go the way of Divx.

 

[Jan Strnad]

I don't worry about the packaging. If they can package bologna in airtight packages, they can do the same with a DVD. In fact, I don't worry about any of that other stuff--harming my DVD player, being crackable, etc.

But..come on. At 7 bucks a pop, it doesn't compete with a rental. Around here DVDs rent for 99 cents/day (Long's Drugs) up to $4/5 days (Hollywood Video). If you think you might possibly want to watch the movie again someday, you're better off buying a real copy at Costco or Sam's Club than buying the self-destroying version twice.

At a more competitive price...say $4...there goes the profit margin.

I'll bet they sell a lot of these things...once...to people who don't realize that their new Disney DVD is going to self-destruct in two days. Then, hoo-boy, are the customers going to be pissed off! Stores are going to hate these things once irate customers start bringing them back. Then sales will drop to nothing and the whole fiasco will be over.

Funny how greed blinds people.

Jan

 

[Qui-Gon John]

It would seem to me, if the degradation will be due to air getting to it, then it would have to be something on the surface of the dsic, as others have suggested. So, it would also seem running it through a Disk Doctor several times, once you buy it, would remove said coating and it would be useable indefinitely, (or at least as long as regular DVD's). I might buy 1 and do this, just as an experiment.

Also, the chemical degradation, how can they be so certain it will be 48 hours. What if you try to watch it at 44 hours and it already doesn't work? Can you get a refund?

 

[Sean Aaron]

I don't get the point of this at all. It sounds like someone in marketing thought they would be clever and target some untapped market or something...is Disney losing money on home video? Are they this desperate for a new revenue stream? You would think they would do something with low initial investment and higher returns than this.

In the UK we've had rental windows on many titles (including Disney) for some time -- is this not effective? Are people who cannot be bothered to rent really so numerous that they're a potential revenue stream? I find this hard to believe -- especially not at a price twice what a rental costs!

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, and what if you start watching the movie at hour 47? Will it suddenly stop after an hour? Shouldn't you be able to watch the entire movie since you started it prior to the 48 hour expiration?

 

[Tommy Ceez]

Disney's expanding thier business and opening up a line of automobiles!

Thier first car...
something called an Edsel!