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.
