OT; Flexplay

Spot|DSE wrote on 1/29/2004, 9:01 PM
Has anyone seen these yet? Brilliant and fun. At the Sundance Film Fest, they distributed Mission Impossible on them. They self-destruct in 48 hours.
http://www.flexplay.com/dvds.html
I wish I'd not opened mine....I kinda thought it would last til I actually played it. It doesn't. But I was disappointed that it didn't smoke and Peter Graves didn't show up in my hotel room when it destructed. :-)
For those interested, Evatone in Florida replicates these. Pretty cheap, too.

Comments

mark2929 wrote on 1/30/2004, 5:40 AM
Sounds like an Excellent idea. I would rent one. Of course they can still be copied. Still one more step in the fight against Piracy.WHAT would be good is If they were reusable where you went back and got another film put on it. Or even double sided. With a film on each. Be really good for the rental business.

Spot I was looking at Avid AND see that you can watch your edits in real time. But This is something you can do on Vegas WITHOUT A mOJO.. RIGHT... oR Is it more than. Or am I missing my MOJO.. iS this something Vegas could improve on In Vegas 5.. Perhaps
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/30/2004, 6:43 AM
Mark,
The disks ARE recycleable, just not by consumers. They can't be copied, or rather from the propaganda at the film festival they can't be. Something to do with various heat levels from ripping or playback. I didn't dig as deep as I could have. I was just stunned at the thought of a self-destructive disk.
Avid does require the Mojo for external views without rendering, yes. Vegas doesn't. One advantage of the Mojo is that it can output various types of files, whereas Vegas can only output one in real time.(DV) But that's the main advantage.
Former user wrote on 1/30/2004, 7:04 AM
They tried this with VHS tapes several years ago. They could only be played so many times before they destructed (I don't remember how they destructed). This idea faded away because nobody wanted them. I look for the same thing to happen here. Like you said, you didn't realize it started when you opened it so imagine if you have spent your money for a movie, started watching and got destracted, went back to finish and couldn't.

Circuit City used to sell limited use movies that you had to dial in to get access and then it wouldn't play after a certain time. Again, like the dodo bird.

Not real appealing to the average consumer I would think.

Dave T2
Chienworks wrote on 1/30/2004, 8:36 AM
This seems like something that only benefits the producers of the media. I can't see any consumer being the slightest bit interested unless there was some extreme advantage added on. For example, if i could get a movie in this fasion for $1 instead of paying $3 to rent it or $19 to buy it, i might consider it. If the price was anywhere close to the usual rental fee then why bother with it? Another example might be if the movie was made available in this fashion only then the consumer would have no choice. Even still though, unless the price was dirt cheap (probably less than the replication & distribution cost), i think lots of consumers would give it a miss rather than spend the money. I don't see this distribution method being feasable because the cost is probably more than consumers would want to pay for something so temporary.
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/30/2004, 8:42 AM
Dave, I'd forgotten about the Circuit City fiasco, I do recall it well now that you bring it back up.
Kelly, the disks are slated to eventually sell at about 1.50. I don't know if it will bode well for rentals, but it bodes well for instance, for handing out demos of a video that you don't want people to have access to in a few months or weeks, or whatever. Maybe it's a timesensitive deal. No way will this become a mainstream use. I see it for rentals, demos for the Oscars and Emmy's, Film festivals, etc.
If it smoked and smelled funny, and played the Mission Impossible theme when it went defective, it would be worth the extra buck just for the "cool" factor.
Jsnkc wrote on 1/30/2004, 8:54 AM
I just saw on our local news last night that these things have been tested in a few markets and due to poor sales they probably will die very soon ... just like the last time they tried this.
corug7 wrote on 1/30/2004, 10:02 AM
FYI: The "last time" they tried this was with a format called DIVX (no smiley face), and the main reason it failed is because it competed with DVD, and the silly call in thing. There were only a couple of players that supported DVD as well. I think it is a decent idea, but for those who are environmentally conscious, the fact that these are made to be throw away (how many people are actually going to take them to be recycled?) will be troublesome. Just my opinion.
Jsnkc wrote on 1/30/2004, 10:34 AM
Especially with things out there like Netflix, $20 a month as many DVD's as you can watch, no return dates or late fees and they send them right to your door. Seems kind of silly to me to pay $7 for a disc that will die 48 hours after you open the package, when there are things like netflix out there. If they were like $2 a disc it might be worth it, but there would be no profit so it would probably never come to that.
mark2929 wrote on 1/30/2004, 1:34 PM
This is just the sort of thing that depends on Marketing Its unbelievable what the public buy If a Cool PR Campaign is setup. Just look at some of the cars On the road or Pinnacle even, to see what I mean.

Anyway I reckon that if the discs could be put in a machine containing all the information for any film to be put on, at any time. Then the initial purchase of the disc may cost. But then the rental company would only have to have one machine instead. Saving all that square footage. Also the savings on disc packaging ect. These savings Could all be passed on to the consumer.

People would look after there copying disc "UNLIKE NOW where a lot go walkabout" as they would have to shell out for a new one

They could also make ideal Chrimbo prezzies. Perhaps three days would be better though. And without the self destruct Mechanism
Jsnkc wrote on 1/30/2004, 2:19 PM
"Its unbelievable what the public buy If a Cool PR Campaign is setup"

Good point is the Ipod, Apple had a huge marketing campaign, tons of people bought one, to be honest, they aren't that great. I purchased one last week and was very dissapointed in it. VERY low battery life (I was getting 4 hours Max), Terrible sound, and awkward controls. Yet they still sell millions of these things. Needless to say I returned mine immediately and got a Iriver iHP-120 instead. The sound is 100 times better, accepts more formats, easier to navigate (once you get used to it) and has lots more features. Problem is Apple has millions of dollars to waste on marketing, Iriver doesn't. Therefore Apple will sell more based on that becasue people think that is the coolest player to have, even though it is FAR from the best player.
farss wrote on 1/30/2004, 2:39 PM
SPOT,
this idea is as old as movie making. Remember the original nitrate stock? It could do exactly that. Thta's why cinemas are still burdened with out of date fire regulations.

Just in case you don't remember, if the film jammed in the gate it literally caught fire and the whole reel could very easily go up in a ball of fire. The same material (cellulose nitrate) is still the main component in cordite. Sadly many masterpeices have been lost as the stock also slowly 'burnt' in the air leaving nothing but dust.

So I'm certain it wouldn't be too difficult to make a DVD that did just that. Coat the back with that material, after so many plays the laser burns through the metal layer to ignite an underlying layer. Mirgtn't do much for the DVD player though but hey it'd almost be worth the price fo a new one to amaze your mates.

BillyBoy wrote on 1/30/2004, 2:41 PM
Sounds more like another media industry rip-off. Isn't it bad enough that CD's have one or two decents songs and the rest are garbage? Now there's self-destructing DVD's? I would paid for it with my disvolving cash. Put in the register, but the time it gets to the bank, its gone. Seems fair. LOL!
corug7 wrote on 1/30/2004, 2:56 PM
Farass isn't that far off. I might be wrong, but I think the way these self destruct is by way of the ink oxidizing (oxidising for you English blokes), similar to the way copper turns green. That's why Spot said he shouldn't have opened it, I think. A silent poof!
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/30/2004, 3:39 PM
yeah but DIVX, aimed at the masses via Circuit City had a lot of hoops.
Think of these for promotion of movies, goods, services, etc. Premiere screenings, etc. Software demos. Film Fests, Your cousin's wedding. (disk might last longer than the marriage)
Give to a client to view a project that you don't want them to have permanent access to.....
Lots of uses. Lasting up to 4 days, that's a pretty good deal, IMO. At .50 to make them.....
epirb wrote on 1/30/2004, 4:03 PM
I wonder if you keep them in tupperware, maybe with an orange peel , if they will last up to 7 days . ;)
BTW I wonder if they are the same guys who built my old Philips CD burner, it lasted only 4 days too!!
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/30/2004, 4:13 PM
Good idea! I don't know if you can say "cordite" legally on the web any more though.
filmy wrote on 1/30/2004, 4:56 PM
I don't know if it is "Flexplay" or not but I do now that late last year some studios were trying out limited use DVDS - they called them disposable and they were being test marketed in supermarkets. From what I remember they were available in Vending machines and it was 5 or 6 dollars with a 'no return' policy. You got home watched the DVD for as many times as you wanted over a 48 hour period and then they became unusable.

Let me do a quick look up - - - Ok, here from September 2003. Yeah, I guess it was FlexPlay.

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Disposable DVDs, dubbed EZ-Ds--are hitting retail shelves in four markets today.

The vacuum-sealed disks have a suggested retail price of $6.99 and become unplayable 48 hours after the consumer opens the package.

According to Video Store Magazine, the disks will be tested by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Flexplay in Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; Charleston, S.C.; and Peoria/Bloomington, Ill.
The initial DVD titles to be tested in sales are The Recruit, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Frida, The Hot Chick, 25th Hour, Heaven, Equilibrium and Signs.

Buena Vista President Bob Chapek has stated that the company is testing the concept to help reclaim former renters who stopped renting because of late fees and return trips. Video Store Magazine reports that most of the stores set to test the product are in the food, drug and convenience space, including H-E-B, Cub Foods, CVS, Walgreen's, 7-Eleven and Kwik-Shop. Some entertainment specialty stores--including FYE, Hastings and Movie Gallery--also will offer the product in the four- to six-month test.

"Consumers today want convenience more than ever. It's a question of how each individual customer in each individual market responds," Jeff Lenard, NACS director of communications, told the magazine. "Ultimately, our industry is about selling time, literally. If this addresses the definition of convenience for many consumers, it could be viable. It's not enough to serve what the customer wants. You have to identify what the customer doesn't know they want and offer that."

The companies have worked with local recycling organizations to develop multiple recycling options for the disks.
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