I couldn't find if this was posted yet, so I decided to share it for those interested:
Red discs turn unreadable black 48 hours after being opened.
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES. Sept. 8 - If Walt Disney Co. gets its wish, an experimental type of DVD will begin flying off store shelves on Tuesday - and self-destructing 48 hours later.Disney movies on disposable DVDs are set
to arrive in convenience stores, pharmacies and other outlets in a four-city test of whether Americans will pick up a limited-life DVD rather than dropping by a video rental store.
THE RED DVDS turn an unreadable black 48 hours after their packages are opened, exposing them to oxygen which reacts with the disc in a process similar to how Polaroid film develops. The DVDs, which are being distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's home video unit, will carry a suggested price of $6.99.
Some retailers are expected to sell them for as little as about $5 said Alan Blaustein, Chief Executive of Flexplay, which owns the self-destruct technology.
The advantage to the disposable DVD format - known as EZ-D - is that such discs can be sold anywhere and never need to be returned, potentially making any retailer a competitor with Blockbuster Inc. "It should be 'aisle two, bread, aisle 4, EZ-D,'" said Flexplay's Blaustein, who predicted families would continue to rent videos and start buying the disposable DVDs as well.
Stores in Austin, Texas; Peoria/Bloomington, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; and Kansas City, Missouri will begin stocking the disposable DVDs including titles such as "Signs" and "The Recruit". Toys R Us, Phillips 66, Circle K, CVS and Walgreens are some of the chains participating. A full list is at http://www.ez-d.com.
Red discs turn unreadable black 48 hours after being opened.
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES. Sept. 8 - If Walt Disney Co. gets its wish, an experimental type of DVD will begin flying off store shelves on Tuesday - and self-destructing 48 hours later.Disney movies on disposable DVDs are set
to arrive in convenience stores, pharmacies and other outlets in a four-city test of whether Americans will pick up a limited-life DVD rather than dropping by a video rental store.
THE RED DVDS turn an unreadable black 48 hours after their packages are opened, exposing them to oxygen which reacts with the disc in a process similar to how Polaroid film develops. The DVDs, which are being distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's home video unit, will carry a suggested price of $6.99.
Some retailers are expected to sell them for as little as about $5 said Alan Blaustein, Chief Executive of Flexplay, which owns the self-destruct technology.
The advantage to the disposable DVD format - known as EZ-D - is that such discs can be sold anywhere and never need to be returned, potentially making any retailer a competitor with Blockbuster Inc. "It should be 'aisle two, bread, aisle 4, EZ-D,'" said Flexplay's Blaustein, who predicted families would continue to rent videos and start buying the disposable DVDs as well.
Stores in Austin, Texas; Peoria/Bloomington, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; and Kansas City, Missouri will begin stocking the disposable DVDs including titles such as "Signs" and "The Recruit". Toys R Us, Phillips 66, Circle K, CVS and Walgreens are some of the chains participating. A full list is at http://www.ez-d.com.
