"This disc will self-destruct in 48 hours." No, we're not playing Mission: Impossible. The Disney Company really intends to put that warning on new "rental" DVD discs that become unplayable after two days and don't have to be returned.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's home video unit, will launch a pilot program in August using this self-destruction technology, the company announced May 16. According to Reuters, these discs stop working when a process similar to rusting makes them unreadable, with exposure to oxygen turning their coatings black and making them impenetrable by a DVD laser.
Disney hopes this technology will help it crack a wider rental market, Reuters added. But don't think it means the discs can't be copied. The self-destruct technology, developed by Flexplay Technologies with material from General Electric, is chemical based, with nothing to do with computer technology, the news wire said, but with a 48-hour window before self-destruction there's still plenty of time for pirates to copy the video material, even if hackers can't subvert the self-destruct mechanism.
Though pricing plans weren't disclosed yet, Buena Vista told Reuters the discs would hit selected markets with recent film releases.
