Petteri Pyyny
11 Dec 2003 14:07
Flexplay Technologies, a company behind the environment-destroying EZ-D format, which is also known as "disposable DVD", says that it has managed to develop a dual layer version of its product. So far the EZ-D discs have been limited to DVD-5 size, i.e. 4.38GB per side, but with the new technology, each side can hold the same amount of data as a single DVD-9 disc can (appx. 8.5GB).
This makes it easier for movie studios to distribute their material in two different formats -- currently virtually all new DVD releases are released in DVD-9 format, but the current EZ-D format requires DVD-5 -sized, thus requiring a separate authoring and possibly encoding process for the material.
Only company which has tested EZ-D commercially, is Disney. Each movie disc costs between $5.99 and $6.99 and are packaged in air-tight wrapping. Once the wrapping is opened, the disc will develop a chemical process which makes the disc unreadable after 48 hours. After that, consumer simply throws the disc to a bin.
Source: Video Business Online (requires registration)