AfterDawn: News

Europe to offer movies on self-erasing DVDs

Italy, France, Germany and Scandinavia have begun offering DVD movies on a new format called DVD-D which is unique because it is self-erasing.

By self erasing I mean that the content on the discs are erased exactly 8 hours after the movie is first played in any DVD player or PC drive. The timer is slightly longer for DVD-Ds that have software on them, 48 hours to be exact. The new format is available at kiosks, bookstores and gas stations for about 1/3 the price of standard retail DVDs and seem to be growing in popularity.



After the time is up, inserting the disc into a player will give you a "No Disc" error message. More interestingly, there are recordable DVD-D discs available which can be recorded at up to 8x speed and DVD-5 capacity. After ordering the blanks, the client can then "specify how long the data is to remain, having the option of one-time viewing only, or a time period of 8 hours, 48 hours or otherwise."

It is important to note that it is unknown right now what copy protection is used on the DVD-D discs, if any or what copy protection potential clients can use to stop experienced users from copying the data to their computers. Even more importantly, the discs and packages are fully recyclable.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Apr 2008 19:02

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• 31 comments

• psplvanub

  a gold age for free movies. if we cracked psp we can sure as hell crack this

  18.4.2008 19:25 #1

• varnull

  And what about the cost to the environment?? Stupid wasteful idea. What are you supposed to do with these things when the time is up?? oh yes.. throw them in the trash... It's time the governments who blow on so much about recycling and renewables addressed the real core issues.. WASTE caused by over production and disposable goods.

  18.4.2008 19:47 #2

• tucker001

  I bought AnyDVD for a reason and stuff like this is one of them

  18.4.2008 19:59 #3

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by varnull: And what about the cost to the environment?? Stupid wasteful idea. What are you supposed to do with these things when the time is up?? oh yes.. throw them in the trash... It's time the governments who blow on so much about recycling and renewables addressed the real core issues.. WASTE caused by over production and disposable goods.Hey Jan, in my haste I missed adding a key point to the article. The discs and packages are fully recyclable.
  
  I will update it now, thanks for reminding me.

  18.4.2008 20:13 #4

• DTN107

  Quote:
  Hey Jan, in my haste I missed adding a key point to the article. The discs and packages are fully recyclable.
  
  I will update it now, thanks for reminding me.Although is it fully recyclable, just how many will recycle it?

  18.4.2008 20:34 #5

• CNDLG

  Originally posted by psplvanub: a gold age for free movies. if we cracked psp we can sure as hell crack thisIf they have no (time limiting) software on them, then they must have a physical component. The discs i have heard about have a peel off layer that you must remove to be able to read the disc. Once removed there is a chemical that reacts with the air to turn the surface from transparent to opaque. It give the user a given number of hours before its too dark for a DVD player to read. If thats the case good luck on finding any other solution other than ripping.

  18.4.2008 20:41 #6

• Hunt720

  Hmmm.. I'd say 8 hours is sufficient to copy a disc haha. Hell... you could copy it a few hundred times.. even if it was "one time use" you could still copy the data and put it on a Disc that didn't waste so much plastic on a society that won't take the time to sort it from their normal trash.

  18.4.2008 21:13 #7

• PantherM

  The real question is why is the "special" disk 1/3rd the price of a regular DVD? They contain the same data....and it sure does not cost 10 bucks to produce a standard DVD.
  
  Who are they fooling? Why not just cut the price of regular DVD's 66% and be done with it?

  18.4.2008 21:17 #8

• hulud86

  wow this is stupid. Why would people buy something that's going to self destruct? This can't be environmentally friendly. Yeah it can be recycled, but the production of dvd and compact disc is SO bad for the environment because of the emissions it puts out. This will only triple the production line.
  
  Sorry to get so Al Gore on you

  18.4.2008 21:44 #9

• tripplite

  i think is pretty dam cool:) .......i dont really see the point to it though.....i mean who wants a DVD that stops working after a few views? but its just kinda cool......can't think of a good reason to use it yet.......

  18.4.2008 22:51 #10

• varnull

  "This tape will self destruct in ten seconds"... and there was always a bin handy.. did you notice?
  

  
  
  Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work....

  18.4.2008 22:56 #11

• CNDLG

  Originally posted by tripplite: i think is pretty dam cool:) .......i dont really see the point to it though.....i mean who wants a DVD that stops working after a few views? but its just kinda cool......can't think of a good reason to use it yet.......Who wants it? the people that pay for rentals that they copy that are too lazy to take them back...just put them in the trash!!

  19.4.2008 02:19 #12

• ematrix

  I agree with PantherM... Why not just cut the price of regular DVD's 66% and be done with it? A lot of people don't use online movie rentals like iTunes, because the movies become inoperative after a few hours, and now here's a disc that does exactly the same.
  
  Granted that people that rent movies may find it appealing, but renting a movie from your local BB is much cheaper, and this format intents to inforce control on your viewing habits, which contradicts the sole purpose of getting movies on video, which is to view them, when and how it's convenient for you, as many times as you wish to, regardless if you bought or rented them.
  
  Imagine you actually get one of these DVD-D movies, you start watching it at home when you get back from work, and you fall asleep at the middle of it... by the time you wake up, the disc has self-erased.
  
  This is just one example of several inconvenient situations that consumers will face with this format, and i agree with hulud86, this can't be consumer and environmentally friendly, as once those discs are useless, they'll end up in the trash, and people will be left with nothing to show off for the money they spent on them.
  
  Finally, if they're able to offer you movies on DVD-D at 1/3 the price of standard retail DVDs, it only confirms us what all have been saying for the past years, that it actually costs much less than 5 bucks for them to produce a regular DVD movie, therefore why after ten years, they keep offering us overpriced DVD movies? GREED!

  19.4.2008 04:32 #13

• kiwi1

  With some of the rubbish movies I've seen lately, this will be a very nice feature.

  19.4.2008 04:37 #14

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by psplvanub: a gold age for free movies. if we cracked psp we can sure as hell crack thisinevitably! But every one is climbing on the DRM ladder recently to please the MPAA.
  
  @ kiwi1
  
  i fully agree, out of the many films i have seen lately only a handful are worth adding to my collection as hollywood much like game publishers now are relying on special effects to sell the media which mostly sucks.
  
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
  
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.
  
  How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/

  19.4.2008 04:44 #15

• pcrazy99

  I saw this in Arizona a couple of years back. In alot of gas stations and corner markets they had little racks with "disposable dvds" in them. After you played the movie it would erase. I guess they didn't take off because I haven't seen them around since.

  19.4.2008 11:53 #16

• runar

  Seems like another not so brilliant marketing idea. The only thing this really shows is indeed just how much overpriced a normal DVD is, if this costs 30% of a normal DVD and this probably still gives the studios at least 30% of the price, then the margins on a regular DVD are absolutely astronomical.
  So that is where they get all the money they pour into producing crappy movies that are not worth paying for in the first place.

  19.4.2008 18:53 #17

• Tashammer

  Originally posted by varnull: And what about the cost to the environment?? Stupid wasteful idea. What are you supposed to do with these things when the time is up?? oh yes.. throw them in the trash... It's time the governments who blow on so much about recycling and renewables addressed the real core issues.. WASTE caused by over production and disposable goods.varnull
  you are an optimistic dreamer aren't you? Bless you for trying. :-)
  
  Maybe we could name what you have the "King Canute Syndrome" (incidentally, i bet you know that you aren't the only one who has it).
  
  There we are standing on the beach ordering the oceanic tide to go back but to no avail. Sometimes one of us goes into the ocean, sometimes one of us comes out of the ocean, depends upon what we are trying to stop.
  
  Hmm, this has possibilities. The ocean and the waves are us, of course. the whitecaps and the surfers are, in this case, the scum or businessmen/robbers/banditti. :-)

  19.4.2008 23:29 #18

• Mik3h

  What's stopping me from recording from the output of my TV or my DVD player? Lol.

  20.4.2008 10:13 #19

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by Mik3h: What's stopping me from recording from the output of my TV or my DVD player? Lol.hmm, css, macrovision or any other drm they wish to use but seems its DVD it will be easily bypassed.
  
  if it were blu-ray discs, they could use the phone home ability to check if it was a valid serial number before playback is allowed!
  
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  
  The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
  
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.
  
  How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/

  20.4.2008 10:46 #20

• tripplite

  hey nobrainer? i got a question for you?
  
  why do you hate organized society soo much?
  
  

  
  

  20.4.2008 10:54 #21

• tleewade

  great just as good as disappirng money.

  21.4.2008 06:19 #22

• A_Klingon

  Originally posted by Mik3h: What's stopping me from recording from the output of my TV or my DVD player? Lol.Macrovision, of course.
  
  If the disposable disc contains the macrosucktion flag, you won't be able to (say) pipe the output from your dvd player into (say) a dvd recorder.
  
  Most (regular) dvds I've tried this with don't work either. My Pioneer dvd recorder stops dead in it's tracks with Macrosucktioned discs. [shrug]
  
  Gotta properly rip 'em first, I say. I'm sure the powers-that-be have already thought this thing out to the Nth-degree, *but*, assuming these silly little things hang around long-enough to catch-on, it should be a lot of FUN trying to beat this thing.
  
  Disney tried foisting this 'disposable-disc' thingee on us some years back, to a resounding failure. The whole concept hit the recycle bin almost before the used-up discs did. <gg>

  21.4.2008 08:11 #23

• varnull

  @ Tashammer.. That's exactly what people said to Cnut when he set himself up on a beach to show the futility of trying to stop the inevitable.
  
  These things aren't inevitable, they probably break quite a few European renewables laws. Then there is the "carbon offsetting"
  
  Never fear, some of us don't live with our heads stuck up our a$$es accepting all the BS that comes from hollywood blindly and without question.
  
  It isn't materials we are running short of.. it's energy. the best way to save energy is not, as some people think, by recycling.. Oh no.. It's by not producing time expired broken by design disposables in the first place therefore saving the energy twice.. once when the landfill filling junk is made, and again when it's recycled.
  

  
  
  Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work....

  21.4.2008 08:39 #24

• garmoon

  Well I can think of two big operations that would love the technology. Netflix and Blockbuster online mail outs. It would saving them current postage rates of 41cents(one way) US. Probably get the discs in bulk for a dime. $.30 profit on each mail out with no return postage. Environmentally, a disaster but so is bottled water! Whatever happened to drinking fountains and mayo jars for water on trips. It's bad enough, they can market AIR in a can, to blow away dust. Go figure. I want to be KING!

  21.4.2008 14:50 #25

• Tashammer

  @ Varnull
  
  totally agree. We need to get rid of "fashion" per se as all that it does is to require us to keep buying more and more.
  
  abolish "leisure time" - this does noting for us to develop as a species. All we do is the same thing with small toys growing to bigger toys going back down to small toys again e.g. toy boat to surf ski to run about to Queen Mary (that one is hard to get mooring for at the local boat yard), then back down to boat-inna-bath.

  21.4.2008 17:01 #26

• bangor09

  Originally posted by PantherM: The real question is why is the "special" disk 1/3rd the price of a regular DVD? They contain the same data....and it sure does not cost 10 bucks to produce a standard DVD.
  
  Who are they fooling? Why not just cut the price of regular DVD's 66% and be done with it?
  Amen to that!!

  22.4.2008 03:40 #27

• Rosetta

  I can see the potential in this idea, like if i am having a wine night with the girls and want a movie to watch it can be a cheap solution for buying something new and out of my usual comfort zone. But this solution simply can not compare to having that same movie conviniently downloaded on my hard drive.

  22.4.2008 10:18 #28

• amirza

  i am sure this has been trialed unsuccessfully before??

  23.4.2008 01:53 #29

• vrg

  Real cost of producing a DVD should be lessthan 50 pence. beacuase Moserbear selling new movie DVD's in india for Rs.34/= whih is lessthan 50 pence and blank DVD's are available for 10 pence.

  7.5.2008 12:56 #30

• iluvendo

  Originally posted by psplvanub: a gold age for free movies. if we cracked psp we can sure as hell crack this
  LOL
  

  If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck!
  "The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
  Ferengi 82nd rule of aquisition

  7.5.2008 20:17 #31