Disney DVDs self-destruct after two days
That is the warning Walt Disney will issue this August when it begins to "rent" DVDs that are set to become unplayable after two days and that therefore do not have to be returned.
Disney home video unit Buena Vista Home Entertainment will launch a pilot movie "rental" program in August that uses self-destruction technology, the company said Friday.
The discs stop working when a process similar to rusting makes them unreadable. The discs start off red, but when they are taken out of the package, exposure to oxygen eventually turns the coating black and makes it impenetrable by a DVD laser.
Buena Vista hopes the technology will let it crack a wider rental market, since it can sell the DVDs in stores, or almost anywhere, without setting up a system to get the discs back.
The discs work perfectly for the two-day viewing window, said Flexplay Technologies, the private company that developed the technology using material from General Electric.
The technology cannot be hacked by programmers who would want to view the disc longer, because the mechanism that closes the viewing window is chemical and has nothing to do with computer technology.
However, the disc can be copied within 48 hours, since it works like any other DVD during that window.
Buena Vista did not disclose pricing plans but said the discs, dubbed EZ-D, would be available in August in select markets. They will feature recent theatrical releases including "The Recruit," "The Hot Chick," and "Signs."
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