I wasn't too sure where to post this, so if this is the wrong forum for this please move it instead of locking it.

and now.....for my post:

A friend of mine said his wife heard on the news today that some company is trying to standardize "Self Destructing" DVDs for video rental stores. Supposedly this is to prevent late fees, but video rental stores make a killing on the late fees. The only reason I can see for this is to prevent (or try to prevent) DVD copying. Has anyone else heard about this, maybe could even offer some more info? I for one don't think this is going to happen, kinda like those HD DVDs.

P.S. I searched the site for "Self Destructing DVDs" but came up with no posts, so if this has already been posted, please post the link to the post...... I think I said "post" too many times.....

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POST!

It has been posted several times, quite a while ago. You can search in the DVD Talk Forum for the threads. Try using one word at a time. Maybe "oxygen" or "reaction".

how could that prevent copying

do you want to copy a dvd thats going to stop working?

although, why you wouldnt just chop that part out when you copy is beyong me

Although we don't allow discussions of how to copy DVDs, theoretically it could be done as soon as the DVD was opened. There's no part to chop out, the entire DVD self-destructs after a couple of days. The chemical reaction with the air causing that would not be copied.

That's the conclusion we came to as well. We are trying to figure out what the financial gains are for the video rental stores. Unless they end up paying like 5 cents for each of their copies, then they would turn around and "sell" them for like 3 or 4 dollars. Also, like you said, it wouldn't stop people from copying them. I would assume as long as the disc can be read it can be copied. I guess they have their reasons for them. Does anyone know of any offical word about these, or are they just roumored to be?

The company, Disney, is not aiming these DVDs, dubbed EzDVD, at video rental stores. Instead, they are to be sold in supermarkets, gas stations, and other places where people might be insteresting in an on-the-spot purchase of a DVD they can "rent" and not return.

Yeah, this is supposed to be competition to the Blockbusters of the world. A store that sold these as their main source of business would not last. No late fees, no automatic returns to the store, it wouldn't work.

But, put a $4 copy of Signs in the checkout lane of the loacl supermarket, and you may have something. That, and people are less likely to return a DVD "that don't work no more" to a supermarket or 7-11.

Still a really bad concept.