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Blog - This DVD will be auto-destroyed in 48 hours

Technology This DVD will be auto-destroyed in 48 hours

48DVDStarting tomorrow there's something new on conbini shelves, and it's called 48DVD. These DVDs of recent films cost only ¥600, but the catch is that they are only usable for 48 hours after opening the seal!

The technology behind the à la James Bond auto-destruction is a special coating on the disc which reacts to air contact and darkens the surface progressively until it's unreadable by the player's laser.

Once unusable, the DVD can be put in a provided envelope and dumped in a mailbox to send it to appropriate recycling where it will become a helmet or a pen.

Posted on September 16, 2005 at 14:03 | Tweet |


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Hmmz weird inventions sometime. What if the progression goes faster, and while you are watching the dvd. Then the iamge will go worse.

Plus ya obvously gotta pay the costs of returning the dvd aswell right?

Hmmz not my kinda thing tbh :P

Posted by Papigiulio on September 16, 2005 at 22:23


Returning the DVD is not mandatory, only available for the eco-concious, and it's free by using a provided prepaid envelope.

Posted by Patrick on September 16, 2005 at 22:43


is this the same thing that i think disney was using for awhile but quickly discontinued? is 600 yen the usual price for a rental?

Posted by william on September 17, 2005 at 01:23


Rentals for new movies are usually about 400-500yen for 1-2 nights, so this is a little more expensive. Some advantages I see compared to rental is that you don't have to rush to give it back, and also that you may have better luck to find the 48DVD of a popular movie than finding it available for rental. Also I would think that the 48 hours isn't too precise and that it's actually a bit longer so that they don't get complaints.

What really sucks so far though is the selection. They seem to only have three titles to start with...

I don't know about the Disney thing. I wonder if it was the same.

Posted by Patrick on September 17, 2005 at 02:34


that's something! don't think i really like the whole thing. but there's something about it that just feels real funky! probably the recycling part. if it wasn't for that it would just be stupid, don't you think?

Posted by jens on September 17, 2005 at 18:33


Yeah definitely!

Posted by Patrick on September 18, 2005 at 01:45


I wonder what kind of copy protection these DVDs will have? Seems like this would be a cheaper way for some people to bootleg newer releases...

Posted by Jon Pernell on September 18, 2005 at 12:12


So far the titles available as 48DVD (only a shameful total of three) aren't especially new (released 1-2 months earlier as regular DVDs).

Posted by Patrick on September 18, 2005 at 13:12


i'm with Jon. rip it down right away and forget about it.

On the other hand, i've never had a problem with getting rentals back on time, so it still wouldn't be worth it.

Anyone ever rented DVDs from a public library in Japan?

Posted by brent on September 21, 2005 at 17:26


My local library doesn't have DVDs (last time I checked anyway), but I've often rented VHS for free there, and it's a lot of fun!

Posted by Patrick on September 21, 2005 at 23:14



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