Self Destructing DVDs

For those James Bond/secret agent diehards, here is a little something that will bring an element of the movies to your home….well kind of… no visible destruction /cinematic explosions, but these self destruct dvd-d disk’s are bringing an element of mission:impossible to our living rooms. The dvd-d is a standard dvd disk that can only be used for a matter of hours before the data content is wiped. The technology used for DVD-Ds is differs from that used for disposable DVDs a few years back. While in its cardboard sleeve the disk is isolated from air. When the sleeve is opened, a special coating on the disc starts to decay due to a chemical reaction with the air. As the reaction progresses the disk surface changes its colour and after predetermined time, it becomes unreadable and unusable. The technology is completely safe and compatible with any dvd drive, including games consoles and can be used for any use, from movie rentals to personal use.(dvd-d-recordable option allows the technology to have many versatile uses) The dvd-d still provides excellent digital quality and sound, and all the standard features you would expect from a dvd – language selection, interactivity etc.

Currently this is being mainly used for movie rental, providing a greater freedom of choice, prominently this would be the convenience of not having to go backwards and forwards to the rental shop to return the dvd within a given time frame – great for nowadays when we just don’t seem to have enough time in the day for menial tasks like ensuring we return the film before we get charged another days rental! Greater freedom and flexibility is also evident in that you can choose when to view the film, in a day, week or year. The count down to destruction begins when the user opens the card board sleeve it is contained within, once erased, the data cannot be restored. The dvd-d comes in a cardboard sleeve and once viewed, the disk and sleeve are recyclable.

There are 3 kinds of dvd-d:

single view dvd-d – whereby once you have viewed the content, you can not play it anymore.

8 hour dvd-d – From the time the content starts, you have 8 hours in which to watch it, after the 8 hours has expired you can not play it anymore.

48 hour dvd-d – as with the 8 hour version, but this time you have 48 hours in which to complete viewing the content or view the content numerous times before the data on the disc erases.

Although the technology is pretty impressive, it is unlikely to become ‘the next big thing’ – it doesn’t provide any more security than encryption and just because the data erases doesn’t prevent the data from being copied before the disc becomes unusable. This is definitely more of a novelty item than anything else. Even in the movie sector it is probably not going to be sustainable in the near future. With the increase in popularity of downloading movies, we don’t see this particular medium taking off.

Prices start from about $6 / £3 for the movie rentals and are already on the market in many European countries.

Source – DVD-D

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