Petteri Pyyny
10 Sep 2003 7:43
Disney begun its first commercial trials with disposable DVDs yesterday in the United States.
DVDs that aim to challenge the rental discs, are wrapped in air-tight packaging and once opened, the disc will become unreadable after 48 hrs. The idea behind this environmental catastrophe is the fact that such discs can be sold virtually anywhere without worrying about returning them back to the store after viewing. By using these discs, local grocery stores can compete against likes of Blockbuster and the discs would benefit people who are simply too lazy to return their movies back to the store on time.
Discs will carry a suggested price of $6.99 and are available in Austin, Texas; Peoria/Bloomington, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; and Kansas City, Missouri. The technology behind the concept is developed by a company called Flexplay and the format is called as EZ-D and is claimed to be 100% compliant with current DVD-Video specs.
Source: Reuters/MSNBC