Didn't They Learn Their Lesson With DIVX

The idea of disposable dvd's seems to have died seems to have died on the vine. Now that we can simply download movies off the internet, this no longer makes any sense.

I agree with asdf! Remember when the "longbox" packaging for CD's was stopped over the concern for landfill space? Except this plastic crap will NEVER decompose! If there is any justice, these things will oxidize prematurely (within a few hours), or even better oxidize before opening, or in the DVD player, at a critical scene! When you consider that most "non-fi" and low end "mid-fi" gear isn't worth repairing after warrantee, how many of these people will really care about just chucking the software?

I'm OK with it. As long as 'new' DVDs are clearly marked & are clearly distiguishable from 'permanant' DVDs, 'new' DVDs & 'permanent' DVDs can be played on current equipment, the prices of "permanant' DVDs don't go up without reason.

I fourth asdf, dummies never learn!

I third asdf. Whoever brain stormed the idea of disposable CDs, koodles to him. Whoever implemented that idea, though, is WACK!

I second asdf's opinion...

I think our society should start moving away from being so disposable... I see no need for this and think they should be publically humiliated for it.

Just what we need, more disposable plastic crap for our landfills.

You got it in one .. we vote with our wallets. In fact for some time I have considered that my purchase choices are a more powerful weapon than my ballot box vote in terms of shaping the future of this and my home (UK) country.
Go buy used CDs and LPs now, and get a quality, repairable redbook transport.

Um, granted, DIVX was a failure, and this sounds like more of the same. But what's wrong with it? This isn't going to replace permanent DVDs that you can buy. It's just another rental option, one that saves you the second trip back to Blockbuster (or shipping costs back to Netflix, which would allow Netflix or its competitors to lower their prices).

And suppose they extended it to CDs? That would give you a low-cost way to try out a CD without paying full freight. Perhaps they'd even credit you the cost of the rental if you bought the permanent disk. You wouldn't want to do that with thousands of disks, but for items that particularly intrigued you, it might make sense.

As for quality, your player either reads the bits or it doesn't. A well-designed transport should have no problems. But then, not everybody has a well-designed transport.