I hate disposable DVDs and hope they never catch on. I've been reading about them for a while.

eddy | November 12, 17:30 CET

I never heard anything about disposable dvd until this article - thanks for the post it is an interesting subject.

Passion | November 12, 18:09 CET

I thought they already did the disposable dvd thing. It was called DivX and it bombed.

ZachsMind | November 12, 18:17 CET

It seems weird that anyone would try again with this after the failure of DivX, especially because people would probably just copy the disc onto a permanent disc or their hardrive or whatever, making the disposable factor pointless.
But if it makes it easier for some good indie films to get released, good luck to them.

buffbuff | November 12, 18:28 CET

eddy - just curious, why are you so anti disposable disks? It sounds like a rather neat idea to me.

I am in favour of exploring anything and everything that could provide an alternative business model to the current distribution systems in both cinema and TV. I have no idea if these disks are a good idea in the big scheme or not, but at least they are trying something different that gets films directly to the consumer.

It’s often so bloody hard to find information about and see independent films, so anything that potentially makes it possible for less mainstream fare to reach an audience must be a good thing. (without having to pay full price for the DVD or wait ages till it comes out)

I also still feel strongly that alternatives which would have made it possible to have another season of Angel outside the current business models were never completely explored. However I admit that probably this is wishful thinking on my part and it was just too early to go there.

What I am trying to say is, the more people think about new and different ways to deliver films/programs, the better in my book.

Thanks for putting up the link, I thought it was really interesting.

miranda | November 12, 18:29 CET

I’ve been seeing more push for the Flexplay disposable DVD as an avenue for Indie films or small productions and I think that it is basically a bad idea. I’m not an echo-weenie by any stretch of the imagination but I’m glad that this won’t take off.

They are trying to play the Flexplay EZ-D off as an easier way to view a DVD than a rental since you don’t have to take the DVD back to where you got it. Uhhh, but then they want you to mail them to GreenDisk or find a collection center that you can drive to. How is that any different than mailing a regular DVD back to NetFlix or dropping it off at Blockbuster?

Then think on how NetFlix and Blockbuster will take one disc and let maybe a hundred people watch it. Flexplay will have to produce 100 EZ-Ds to allow the same 100 people to watch the show on a disposable medium.

Since they are saying that they will cover the cost of recycling through GreenDisk or their collection centers, I’d bet every dollar in the bank that their business model is dependant on the lion’s share of their product never getting to a recycling bin.

As for copy protection, the media business has to accept that as long as the consumer can view or listen to their product they will be able to copy it. Just find a business model where the majority of people find it easier, more convenient and morally acceptable to get the media through legitimate channels.

writer | November 12, 22:23 CET

Since CDs and DVDs can be made cheaply enough to be given away free with magazines, papers or just given out (How many AOL discs have YOU had?) I wonder if someone will try selling movies for a dollar a pop? Ten or fifteen bucks is a lot to pay for a movie you may only watch once or, if you haven't seen it, may not even like. Sell them for a tenth of the price and you might sell twenty times as many. Do the math....

At that price no one would bother copying them or lending them to friends, they'd just buy it themselves.

zz9 | November 13, 01:17 CET

The whole disposable DVD thing is a pipe dream. Divx might have actually suceeded, because it was before software DVD decryption (and DeCSS), and it still bombed. Now, anyone with enough savvy to do a google search can find out how to rip and burn the movie to a regular DVD and keep it for as long as they like. It doesn't even matter that most consumers probably won't, when the MPAA catches on to ~10% who do they'll cry rape and claim losses in the 100 millions and we'll be right back to where we are.

Plus there's the environmental impact. Its bad enough the millions of pounds of plastic already going into landfills from AOL and other promotional disks that hardly anyone wants. Could you imagine if every disk Netflix or Blockbuster rented was One Use Throw Away? This is incredibly shortsighted.

I'm all for MPAA trying to amend their business model to fit reality, but this is the wrong way to go about it.

sTalking_Goat | November 13, 02:36 CET

We need to figure out ways to throw less away. This is a horrible idea, and the notion that it's somehow OK because Indie filmmakers will benefit is ludicrous.

Ubqtous | November 13, 05:02 CET