Flexplay Introduces 'EZ-D,' The 48 Hour DVD

Yahoo! News ^ | Friday May 16, 12:00 pm ET

[HighWheeler]

EZ-D Will Feature Titles From Buena Vista Home Entertainment Including The Recruit, The Hot Chick, 25TH Hour, Frida & Signs

NEW YORK, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexplay Technologies, Inc, a privately held company based in New York, today announced that Buena Vista Home Entertainment Division of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS - News) will use its flexible play DVD technology to make movies available to consumers in test markets beginning this August. The introduction of this innovative product, branded "EZ-D," will include BVHE titles The Recruit, Rabbit Proof Fence, The Hot Chick, 25th Hour, Heaven, Equilibrium, Frida and Signs.

EZ-D will incorporate Flexplay's proprietary flexible play technology into a standard DVD. A Flexplay enabled DVD is similar to a conventional DVD, except that it has a 48 hour viewing window that begins when the disc is removed from its packaging. Consumers will then be able to enjoy the movie as many times as they wish during this time frame. After 48 hours of impeccable play, the DVD will no longer be readable by the DVD player and can then be recycled. A Flexplay enabled DVD works in all players, DVD drives and gaming systems designed to accept a standard DVD. GE Plastics, a division of GE (NYSE: GE - News), has been a key strategic collaborator in the advancement of Flexplay's proprietary technologies, developing a new patented Lexan® resin co-polymer essential to the flexible play design.

EZ-D's goal is to expand the overall home entertainment market by appealing to consumers whose rental consumption has diminished due to the perceived inconvenience of the current rental process. EZ-D will give these consumers easy access to recently released titles in places they already shop and the opportunity to watch them at their convenience without worrying about returns, late fees or scratched discs. EZ-D offers retailers the opportunity to expand their existing DVD business; and for first time DVD retailers, easy entree into the growing DVD category.

"We are thrilled that EZ-D discs containing Buena Vista Home Entertainment content will be available to consumers beginning in August," said Alan Blaustein, CEO of Flexplay. "We believe that EZ-D will become synonymous with Flexplay's innovative technology and that consumers and content providers will soon appreciate the convenience and ease that a Flexplay enabled EZ-D will offer."

Bob Chapek, President of Buena Vista Home Entertainment said, "We are very excited to be utilizing Flexplay's technology to introduce EZ-D. This is a great opportunity for us to test consumer receptiveness to this new product in a live market setting. We believe consumers will enjoy the benefits of EZ-D without the inconvenience of making extra trips, returning movies, and paying late fees."

Art LeBlanc, President of Flexplay noted, "This is a breakthrough in the DVD manufacturing process and the introduction of EZ-D represents a major technological achievement for the industry."

GE Plastics' new Lexan® resin co-polymer used in the Flexplay DVD is an essential component of the flexible play technology and is a result of the company's two-year strategic development program with Flexplay. The new co-polymer represents a technical breakthrough for Lexan® resin.

"Our strategic development efforts with Flexplay have resulted in yet another innovative product milestone for our Lexan resin," said John Dineen, Vice President and Global Lexan Business Leader for GE Plastics. "This is exciting new technology that can help revolutionize and expand the DVD marketplace. We are fully committed to maximizing this technology globally."

About Flexplay Technologies, Inc.

Flexplay Technologies has pioneered the flexible play DVD. A Flexplay enabled DVD is similar to a conventional DVD, except that it has a pre-set viewing window that begins when the disc is removed from its packaging. During this viewing window, the Flexplay DVD plays like a standard DVD, and offers the same great picture and sound that consumers expect from their DVDs. After this viewing window the disc will no longer be readable by the DVD player and can then be recycled. A Flexplay enabled DVD works in all players, DVD drives and gaming systems designed to accept a standard DVD.

Flexplay's patented technology allows content providers to seize new and powerful distribution opportunities that offer their consumers a greater level of convenience and control. A Flexplay enabled DVD can be used in a variety of industries and applications including: movies, music, video games, television programming, and software. Flexplay enabled DVDs are also suitable for a variety of promotional applications. For more information on Flexplay, please visit our Web site at www.flexplay.com.

About Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized leader in the home entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista videocassette and DVD product. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.

About GE Plastics

GE Plastics is a leading producer of engineering thermoplastics, with major production facilities worldwide. GE Plastics materials, including LEXAN® polycarbonate, are used in a wide variety of applications such as CDs, automobile parts, computer housings, cookware, outdoor signage, cell phones, bullet resistant shielding and building materials. Through its LNP Engineering Plastics business, the company is a worldwide leader in the custom compounding of engineering thermoplastics. GE Plastics is also a global distributor of sheet, film, rod and tube products through GE Polymershapes and GE Structured Products. In 2003 GE Plastics is celebrating 50 years of innovation and the 50th Anniversary of LEXAN polycarbonate, discovered in 1953 by GE chemist Dr. Daniel W. Fox. The company's Web site is located at www.geplastics.com. For more information about LEXAN, visit www.gelexan.com

LEXAN is a registered trademark of the General Electric Company.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

IIRC, isn't this the same deal as the DIVIX format that flopped?

[SunStar]

Yes.

[HighWheeler]

The only way I see this working is if you can buy at the grocery store for 2/3 of the cost of renting it the 5 days from Blockbuster.

That means they have to make, package, and ship each DVD to the grocery store for about a buck, since you can only make money on it one time.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[El Sordo]

Doesn't seem like it will catch on.

[KarlInOhio]

No. IIRC Divx required special players that could call back to check on approvals (privacy problems) and you couldn't move a Divx DVD you purchased from one machine to another. This is some Mission Impossible "this DVD will self destruct in 48 hour" technology. Just long enough to burn a copy on a DVD recorder.

[Paleo Conservative]

[KarlInOhio]

I'm building a vacuum enclosure to open, play and reseal these DVDs just to stick it to the studios.

Actually it is a pretty cool idea. The plastic is a transparent red which turns to black after the seal is broken. I don't know if it will beat rentals, but it should be interesting to watch.

[Myrddin]

Can it be copied to a DVD-R that doesn't expire? I'm wondering if the nature of the 48 hour lifetime is exposure to air that causes degradation of the data. DIVX flopped because of the need for special hardware that needed an activation key. You could buy a permanent key, but why bother when DVD movies on non-DIVX variety are available and never expire.

[Redcloak]

They'll run into problems if they aren't liberal about what "48 hours" means. Renters will squeal like stuck pigs if the things go opaque at 47 hours and 30 minutes.

[cake_crumb]

"EZ-D will incorporate Flexplay's proprietary flexible play technology into a standard DVD. A Flexplay enabled DVD is similar to a conventional DVD, except that it has a 48 hour viewing window that begins when the disc is removed from its packaging. Consumers will then be able to enjoy the movie as many times as they wish during this time frame. After 48 hours of impeccable play, the DVD will no longer be readable by the DVD player and can then be recycled."

So in other words, the thing self destructs, and we probably don't even get a nickle deposit back on the 'empties' when we return them to be 'recycled'. Just how much is the consumer expected to pay this Disney company for the privilidge of watching one of those things?

[Smittie]

I want to know how the thing will be able to count the time, DVD players don't have clocks.

Of course if you're watching mission impossible it could tell you this DVD will self destruct in 10 seconds.

I can see Disney releasing all their movies in this format to try to make everyone buy them over and over.

How many of these things will end up in landfills? Nobody's going to recycle these things.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Ah, similar idea without the proprietary playback machine. Still seems a little fishy to me! :)

[SamAdams76]

How many times would a person want to watch a movie in 48 hours? I only watch a rental movie once. If it's a worthy movie I would want to see again, I'll buy it later for my libarary. Then I'll be able to watch it as many times as I want.

Why not make a DVD that can only be viewed once, no matter when it is viewed? That way the consumer can watch it that night or six months later - it won't matter when. Also, it should be priced at about the same price as a standard rental (about $4). That makes it worth it to me. If I like the movie, I'll eventually buy the $15 DVD for my library. If I don't like the movie, at least I won't have to lug it back to Blockbuster's. I can use it instead as a drink coaster or as a frisbee to whip at the cat next time it scratches the furniture. Nothing worse then having to make a special trip to the video store to return a DVD that sucked.

[BritExPatInFla]

Q- I want to know how the thing will be able to count the time, DVD players don't have clocks.

A- The dvds are coated with a dye that will become opaque 48 hours after coming into contact with air. So, simply rip a copy to your computer with a freeware program like DVD Decrypter and watch it over and over, but then again, that would be illegal.....

[-YYZ-]

What do they mean by "recycled"? I can't see dropping it in the blue box (or whatever they use where you live, if anything), as most (all?) plastics recyclers have no use for polycarbonates. Still, it's an interesting concept. If this media was recordable, you could set up a kiosk with a high-speed DVD-burner in the grocery store or wherever and turn out the disks on demand, uploading new releases to it by broadband.

[fporretto]

This is actually pretty interesting. If it took hold, it could halve the number of trips you have to make to the video rental place -- which are a major irritation if all you need to do is return something -- and it would greatly reduce the amount of inventory tracking the rental place would have to do. (Renting merchandise is a much more demanding information management chore than selling it.)

It's not for everyone, of course. I like to have permanent copies of the movies I've loved, so I'd stick to "standard" DVDs. But for those who prefer to rent, it could be a blessing, especially if it can be made price-competitive with existing DVD rentals.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason:
http://palaceofreason.com

[MississippiMan]

DIVX rides again. Sheesh.

MM, Netflix renter for years

[Paul C. Jesup]

This will NEVER fly because at Movie Gallery I can rent ANY DVD (Now or Old) in the store for $1.99 for SEVEN DAYS (a 168 hours) and if I am late in returning a DVD they charge me an extra $1.99 for another week of viewing.