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Limited-Use DVD Technology

Posted by timothy on from the may-it-meet-the-fate-of-divx dept.

ps_inkling writes: "Two companies are creating different techniques to make DVD discs unusable after a set period of time. SpectraDisc has a patent on a limited-play DVD technology; FlexPlay is currently developing limited play DVD technology. The SpectraDisc technique is to coat the DVD with a film, then wrap the DVD in an anaerobic package. The idea is to sell these 'play-once' DVD movies at a substantial discount to regular DVDs as a way to compete with pay-per-view or movie ticket outlets."

10 of 619 comments (clear)

  1. waste by Krimsen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "creating more waste faster than ever imagined"

    I don't get it.

    1. Re:waste by damiangerous · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hence, I won't be compelled to rent another on impulse.

      Of course you will. How did you get the first one? The idea is not to have specific stores for them anymore, but to make them ubiquitous. You'll see them every time you go grocery shopping, or to Wal-Mart, or even fill up your gas tank.

    2. Re:waste by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      According to the Blockbuster web site, the rent on average 1700 videos an hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They also have about 1/3 of their market. So, so total market size for video rentals is around 44.6 million videos a year.

      This figure is for total number of rentals, and might also include video games and non-video rental items but just for the sake of showing how off these figures are, let's just assume that this is only DVD rentals.

      So 10% of this figure would be about 4.4 million DVD rentals. That means that people use over 10 gallons of gas per video rental and 25 kg of carbon emissions! I think that 10 gals/video is quite funny since Blockbuster claims that there is a store within 10 miles of almost every metropolitan house.

  2. I thought this had been done with DivX... by WildBill1941 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And it failed miserably. My uncle's got a DivX player that's near-useless. He should've got one that also played regular DVDs - but hey, he was an early adopter. I don't think limited-use discs or other media makes sense. People want to *own* the movies and music they buy. Otherwise, everyone would listen to the radio all the time, or get pay-per-view movies on their cable or satellite. But hey - what do I know? I'm just an American Consumer - I vote with my dollar. And my dollar won't be buying a use-once disc. Unless you can rip it to DivX;-).

    1. Re:I thought this had been done with DivX... by Malcontent · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "I vote with my dollar. And my dollar won't be buying a use-once disc."

      You seem to be under the mpression that this technology is aimed at consumers. It's not. It's aimed at publishers. You will not have a choice of paying one dollar for a one-use disc and 10 dollars for a unlimited use disc. You will only have the choice of paying 10 dollars for a one-use disc.

      --

      War is necrophilia.

    2. Re:I thought this had been done with DivX... by cadallin451 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Exactly, one of the huge things that companies have been able to miss (although I have no idea how) is that most people are honest, but you can push them to far. If they feel they are being cheated, or otherwise screwed-over, they lose their moral hang-ups over breaking the law. The real answer to this is to create a few open, easily used formats. DVD is about right, although macrovision should be removed, since it's a pain. I'd also favor widespread use of a 3in DVD format like the Gamecube media, for the purposes CDs are currently used for.

      Widespread paranoia over piracy is completely unfounded, the only example of an unprotected format, the CD, was wildly successful, while overly protected ones have failed miserably. I would even go so far as to attribute DVDs success to the cracking of its copy-protection.

      The media industry now faces a choice, they can either listen to consumers and release unprotected, recordable, easy to use formats, or die, as consumers turn to other (possibly illegal) sources for the products they want.

  3. Difference by emmons · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The difference between Circuit City's fiasco and this is that divx required a special player which dialed an 800 number to see if you're eligible to play the disk. That part wasn't so horrible. The bad part is that CC wasn't making any money with it so they dropped it and screwed all the people who had paid extra for the specialized players.

    These new ideas are entirely different.. they rely on the disc itself to limit how many times you can play it. I, for one, wouldn't mind paying $1-2 for a DVD which allows me to watch a movie a couple times until the coating on the disk makes it unreadable. You only have to read it once to rip it. ;)

    --
    Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
  4. Shooting itself in the foot by Platinum+Dragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An introduction of this technology will almost certainly increase DVD piracy, as people will see an opportunity to get a full movie cheap. FlexPlay, at least, claims their discs will work in all DVD drives, including DVD-ROMs. The market for DVD burners, currently technophile and media professional toys, may witness a small upsurge in demand, and ripping tools will become popular as the damn-copyright set notes the obvious ways around the time limit - make copies of the discs.

    There's no way this can come to any good. Abort mission.

    --

    Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
  5. play once dvd + betty and joe customer = bad by DRACO- · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A play once dvd priced at $5.88 or just a buck would severely break a store. Customers wont know the difference from the play once dvd's or the standard dvds. They will see that cheap price for say, Fast and the furious and nab it before someone else does. Then when they get home the kids will spark up the dvd player while mom is in the kitchen cooking. Mom calls the kids for dinner and the kids stop the dvd player and have dinner. The family retires back to the living room and starts the dvd from the beginning only to find mom is not going to see any of it because the dvd has alredy burned off it's boot sector.

    You will turn up with upset customers, fast.

    I work at a walmart in the nortwest houston area. I can vouch for the fact that customers are not very quick at understanding things much less take the time to read anything. All they see is a Price, and an object they want. A while back we were stocking Jarassic part 3 in dvd. One full screen, one wide screen. Most customers dont have a clue there a difference and have a problem with the wide screen letter box format. Most of them come back and ask about full screen. They didnt see a little sliver of text at the bottom of the dvd that said wide screen.

    Customers arent very bright when they come in stores. They will plow through water on the floor, spilled legos, anything. They never see signs higher than 6 foot, (never can find the 2 signs in the store both with 3 ft letters saying restrooms).

    Customers seem to check their brains at the door and dont understand what Out of stock means and ask, "well, what does that mean?" Out of stock means out of stock, there is not a magic hat we can pull a 19 inch tv out of and if you ask me again Im going to scream!

    These things are going to be bad stuff. Just think, they might write games to these discs. Then we will have a war on our hands.

    DRACO-

    --
    Consider yourself blessed if you are sneezed on by a dragon and only get wet, it could have been a fireball.
  6. Capitalism Beats Environmentalism once more by gessleX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The United States, a disposable nation. We build our lives around the convenience of Dixie cups, Saran Wrap, dime store paper plates, a Ziploc bags.



    Now, disposable movies. Like we needed one more thing for the landfill?



    CSS encryption + these two companies = more AOL cds



    Waste products.



    As Nancy Reagan was once said, "Just Say No!" :)