From August this year Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) will
be piloting a new DVD that self destructs after 48 hours. Retailers
hope to use this to expand their existing DVD businesses, while
making movie rental more convenient for consumers.19 May 2003
BVHE, a Division of the Walt Disney Company, announced the innovation, called EZ-D, along with technology company Flexplay Technologies Inc, on Friday.
The innovation involves the amendment of a standard DVD so that it has a 48 hour viewing window that begins when the disc is removed from its packaging. A chemical process reminiscent of rusting then takes place whereby the disc, initially coloured red, slowly turns black.
After 48 hours of play, the DVD will no longer be readable by the DVD player and can then be recycled – or thrown in the bin, as the consumer sees fit. No amount of reprogramming will lengthen the viewing time although, as with a normal DVD, copies can be made during the playing time.