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Wikipedia

Flexplay

January 26, 2023

Not to be confused with VCDHD.

Flexplay is a trademark for a discontinued DVD-compatible optical video disc format with a time-limited (usually 48-hour) playback. They are often described as "self-destructing", although the disc merely turns black or dark red and does not physically disintegrate. The technology launched in August 2003 as a joint-venture with Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the name eZ-D. The Flexplay concept was invented by two professors, Yannis Bakos and Erik Brynjolfsson, who founded Flexplay Technologies in 1999. The technology was developed by Flexplay Technologies and General Electric.

Flexplay
A sealed Flexplay disc
Media typeoptical disc
Capacity4.7 GB (single layer), 8.5 GB (dual layer)
UsageRental Videos
Extended fromDVD
ReleasedAugust 2003
DiscontinuedApril 2011

Origins

The technology was originally intended as an alternative means for the short-term rental of newly released movies. Since the disc is capable of being used in any standard DVD player, the manufacturers hoped that it would succeed where other time-limited DVD technologies, such as DIVX, failed. Test marketing of eZ-D discs began in August 2003, but was canceled early when consumers rejected the concept. Owing to fears of cannibalizing DVD sales, movies were made available on eZ-D between 2 months and several years after being released on DVD and were priced at US$6.99, both factors that significantly limited consumer demand.

SpectraDisc was another such technology, and on January 13, 2003, Flexplay Technologies acquired all of the SpectraDisc Corporation assets.[1] SpectraDisc discs worked in a similar way as Flexplay discs, only not starting as red and turning blue instead of black.[2]

Specifications

Flexplay discs do not bear the DVD logo. When asked whether Flexplay discs do or do not comply with DVD forum standards, a company spokesperson replied that "Flexplay DVDs are produced to be readable in DVD players adhering to DVD Forum specifications."[3]

A Flexplay disc is shipped in a vacuum-sealed package. There is a clear dye inside the disc, contained within the bonding resin of the disc, which reacts with oxygen.[4] When the seal is broken on the vacuum-packed disc, the layer changes from clear to black in about 48 hours, rendering the disc unplayable.[5] If unopened, the shelf life of the sealed package is said to be "about a year".[5] The DVD plastic also has a red dye in it, which prevents penetration of the disc by blue lasers, which would go straight through the oxygen-reactive dye.

The Flexplay discs are dual-layer DVD-9 discs. The difference from standard DVDs is the composition of the resin adhesive holding the inner and outer layer together, which is sensitive to oxygen and darkens within a pre-set time, usually 48 hours, when exposed to air.[4] The replacement of the adhesive results in only minimal altering to the DVD manufacturing process. The time of the darkening can be influenced by varying the exact composition of the resin. For the DVD-5 discs, where there is no layer of bonding resin in the optical path, a surface coating can be used.

According to the vendor, "Flexplay discs are fully recyclable and conform to all applicable EPA environmental standards." Some environmental groups have endorsed the product due to Flexplay's recycling plans and partnership with environmental industry leaders such as GreenDisk, leading to the creation of the first DVD recycling operation. Others such as the Grass Roots Recycling Network nevertheless have objected to the creation of a short-lived "disposable" version of a traditionally durable product.[3]

Chemistry

The reactive layer contains a polymer resin that acts as a carrier for a suitable leuco dye, which, upon contact with atmospheric oxygen, oxidizes to form an opaque or semi-opaque material.

Some of the dyes used are methylene blue, prussian blue, brilliant cresyl blue, Toluidine Blue O, Basic Blue 3, Methylene Green, Taylor's Blue, Janus Green B, Meldola's Blue, Thionin, Nile Blue, and Celestine Blue. The leuco dye is prepared by chemical reduction using a suitable reducing agent. The method commercially used by Flexplay and SpectraDisc employs methylene blue reduced by sodium dithionite.

In order to prevent the oxidation from being triggered during manufacture of the discs, and in order to avoid the need for manufacturing in an inert atmosphere, the leuco dyes are further chemically modified to their blocked forms. Such blocked leuco dyes are the leuco dye precursors that form the leuco dye by a slow, controlled chemical reaction. Leucomethylene blue can be reacted with triisopropylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, forming triisopropylsilyloxycarbonylleucomethylene blue (TIPSOCLMB), which is stable in presence of air oxygen. In presence of nucleophile reagents, e.g. water, the blocked leuco dye compound undergoes hydrolysis, releasing the unblocked leuco dye. This reaction is slow (several days to a week), and the hydrolytic compound is supplied either as atmospheric moisture, or in the formulation of the resin.

The rate of the deblocked leuco dye oxidation is dependent on the pH of the resin polymer matrix. By adding basic compounds (for example, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2] octane (DABCO), or other amines), the pH is increased, and the reaction rate increases correspondingly. Correspondingly, by adding strong protic acids (for example, camphorsulfonic acid), the reaction rate can be decreased and the lifetime of the disc prolonged.

The residual oxygen can be removed from the substrates used for disc manufacture by storing them under a vacuum or oxygen free atmosphere (e.g. pure nitrogen) for a period of time (hours to days). Alternatively, an oxygen scavenger (e.g. iron(II) salts, tin(II) salts, or organometallic compounds) can be added to the polymer formulation, reacting with the oxygen present in the polymer matrix in shorter timeframe than the hydrolysis of the blocked leuco dye takes.

The reaction timing can be further controlled by addition of other substances. As the diffusion rate of oxygen through the polymer layer is more or less constant, a supply of suitable antioxidants (e.g. organometallic compounds) which react with the oxygen preferentially to the leuco dye leads to gradual depletion of the antioxidant compound. Only after the antioxidant is consumed, the leuco dye starts being oxidized, achieving the period of delay of the reaction onset, followed by a rapid reflectivity degradation. Stannous ethylhexanoate can be used here as the antioxidant organometallic. Various resin-soluble tin(II) and iron(II) compounds can be used, e.g. chelates and fatty acid salts. Other usable compounds are e.g. hydroquinones, alkylhydroxylamines, dithionates, reducing saccharides (e.g. glucose), α-hydroxyketones (e.g., hydroxyacetone), substituted boron hydrides and silicon hydrides.

The oxidized dyes in the expired discs absorb primarily at the wavelength of the current diode lasers (red, 650 nm) used in the DVD players. However, the new generation of DVDs is designed to use blue lasers at 450-460 or even 405 nm, for which the methylene blue is essentially transparent. While SpectraDisc did not take this in account, the Flexplay discs incorporate a red color filter, blocking blue lasers from reading the disc, expired or not. Acridine Yellow can be used for this purpose, together with 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene, and a scale of different azo dyes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and other dyes. The dyes can be added directly to the polycarbonate resin the discs are made of.

Additionally, other methods of the disc degradation are proposed to be deployed together with the primary one; the concern of the technology developers here is that while the dye oxidation mechanism prevents the disc from being read by current consumer technologies, the information on the disc, recorded in the pattern of the pits in the reflective layer, remains intact and could be recovered. One of the methods is to make the two reflective layers in the DVD-9 disc of different metals (e.g. aluminium and silver), and separate them with an ionic conductor separator. The atmospheric oxygen then undergoes electrochemical reaction in such crude fuel cell with the silver as cathode and aluminum as anode, leading to growth of dendritic silver through the dielectric layer. When the silver reaches the aluminium, an electric short circuit forms, and galvanic corrosion then rapidly degrades the reflective layers. Many other mechanisms are proposed for this slower, less controlled "backup" method of data destruction, ranging from corrosion of the reflective layers to degradation of the polymer matrix of the disc itself.[6]

Releases

The Disney organization announced in 2003 that it would issue some releases on Flexplay ez-D discs (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Recruit, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Hot Chick, 25th Hour, Heaven, Equilibrium, Frida and Signs).[3][7]

Discs were test-marketed in Austin, Texas. One grocery chain dropped the discs in February 2004, saying "It didn't turn out to be an item that our customers were looking for."[8]

In 2004, Flexplay was purchased by The Convex Group who also own the Lidrock and HowStuffWorks brands. Flexplay discs were priced at around US$4.99, a price comparable to that of a two-day DVD rental.[7]

The first Flexplay disc to receive national consumer distribution in the U.S. was a 2004 Christmas movie entitled Noel, which was released "trimultaneously" to theatres, to cable TV, and to Flexplay disc. Reportedly theatres were angered at the simultaneous release, and as a result the movie actually received screenings in only a few dozen theatres.[7]

In June 2008, Flexplay announced that Staples would be selling Flexplay discs in their retail stores.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Flexplay® Technologies Acquires Assets of Spectradisc Corporation". www.flexplay.com. from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "CD Media World - Self-Destructing DVD's". cdmediaworld.com.
  3. ^ a b c . March 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-19.
  4. ^ a b "How Flexplay DVDs Work". HowStuffWorks. 2003-09-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  5. ^ a b "Flexplay Commercial". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Staff, WIRED (November 13, 2004). "Hurry Up and Watch: DVDs Time Out". Wired – via www.wired.com.
  8. ^ "Stores nix disposable flicks". Wired. January 29, 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2007. Quote attributed to Susan Ghertner, environmental affairs manager for the Austin-area H-E-B stores.
  9. ^ "Flexplay disposable DVD revived at Staples". Video Business. May 23, 2008. from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2008.

External links

  • (archived on December 1, 2010)
  • How Flexplay DVDs Work
  • United States patents 6,511,728, 6,537,635, 6,641,886, 6,678,239, 6,709,802, 6,756,103, 6,780,564, 6,838,144, and 6,839,316 by Flexplay Technologies

January 26, 2023
flexplay, confused, with, vcdhd, trademark, discontinued, compatible, optical, video, disc, format, with, time, limited, usually, hour, playback, they, often, described, self, destructing, although, disc, merely, turns, black, dark, does, physically, disintegr. Not to be confused with VCDHD Flexplay is a trademark for a discontinued DVD compatible optical video disc format with a time limited usually 48 hour playback They are often described as self destructing although the disc merely turns black or dark red and does not physically disintegrate The technology launched in August 2003 as a joint venture with Disney s Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the name eZ D The Flexplay concept was invented by two professors Yannis Bakos and Erik Brynjolfsson who founded Flexplay Technologies in 1999 The technology was developed by Flexplay Technologies and General Electric FlexplayA sealed Flexplay discMedia typeoptical discCapacity4 7 GB single layer 8 5 GB dual layer UsageRental VideosExtended fromDVDReleasedAugust 2003DiscontinuedApril 2011 Contents 1 Origins 2 Specifications 3 Chemistry 4 Releases 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOrigins EditThe technology was originally intended as an alternative means for the short term rental of newly released movies Since the disc is capable of being used in any standard DVD player the manufacturers hoped that it would succeed where other time limited DVD technologies such as DIVX failed Test marketing of eZ D discs began in August 2003 but was canceled early when consumers rejected the concept Owing to fears of cannibalizing DVD sales movies were made available on eZ D between 2 months and several years after being released on DVD and were priced at US 6 99 both factors that significantly limited consumer demand SpectraDisc was another such technology and on January 13 2003 Flexplay Technologies acquired all of the SpectraDisc Corporation assets 1 SpectraDisc discs worked in a similar way as Flexplay discs only not starting as red and turning blue instead of black 2 Specifications EditFlexplay discs do not bear the DVD logo When asked whether Flexplay discs do or do not comply with DVD forum standards a company spokesperson replied that Flexplay DVDs are produced to be readable in DVD players adhering to DVD Forum specifications 3 A Flexplay disc is shipped in a vacuum sealed package There is a clear dye inside the disc contained within the bonding resin of the disc which reacts with oxygen 4 When the seal is broken on the vacuum packed disc the layer changes from clear to black in about 48 hours rendering the disc unplayable 5 If unopened the shelf life of the sealed package is said to be about a year 5 The DVD plastic also has a red dye in it which prevents penetration of the disc by blue lasers which would go straight through the oxygen reactive dye The Flexplay discs are dual layer DVD 9 discs The difference from standard DVDs is the composition of the resin adhesive holding the inner and outer layer together which is sensitive to oxygen and darkens within a pre set time usually 48 hours when exposed to air 4 The replacement of the adhesive results in only minimal altering to the DVD manufacturing process The time of the darkening can be influenced by varying the exact composition of the resin For the DVD 5 discs where there is no layer of bonding resin in the optical path a surface coating can be used According to the vendor Flexplay discs are fully recyclable and conform to all applicable EPA environmental standards Some environmental groups have endorsed the product due to Flexplay s recycling plans and partnership with environmental industry leaders such as GreenDisk leading to the creation of the first DVD recycling operation Others such as the Grass Roots Recycling Network nevertheless have objected to the creation of a short lived disposable version of a traditionally durable product 3 Chemistry EditThis article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia s inclusion policy February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The reactive layer contains a polymer resin that acts as a carrier for a suitable leuco dye which upon contact with atmospheric oxygen oxidizes to form an opaque or semi opaque material Some of the dyes used are methylene blue prussian blue brilliant cresyl blue Toluidine Blue O Basic Blue 3 Methylene Green Taylor s Blue Janus Green B Meldola s Blue Thionin Nile Blue and Celestine Blue The leuco dye is prepared by chemical reduction using a suitable reducing agent The method commercially used by Flexplay and SpectraDisc employs methylene blue reduced by sodium dithionite In order to prevent the oxidation from being triggered during manufacture of the discs and in order to avoid the need for manufacturing in an inert atmosphere the leuco dyes are further chemically modified to their blocked forms Such blocked leuco dyes are the leuco dye precursors that form the leuco dye by a slow controlled chemical reaction Leucomethylene blue can be reacted with triisopropylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate forming triisopropylsilyloxycarbonylleucomethylene blue TIPSOCLMB which is stable in presence of air oxygen In presence of nucleophile reagents e g water the blocked leuco dye compound undergoes hydrolysis releasing the unblocked leuco dye This reaction is slow several days to a week and the hydrolytic compound is supplied either as atmospheric moisture or in the formulation of the resin The rate of the deblocked leuco dye oxidation is dependent on the pH of the resin polymer matrix By adding basic compounds for example 1 4 diazabicyclo 2 2 2 octane DABCO or other amines the pH is increased and the reaction rate increases correspondingly Correspondingly by adding strong protic acids for example camphorsulfonic acid the reaction rate can be decreased and the lifetime of the disc prolonged The residual oxygen can be removed from the substrates used for disc manufacture by storing them under a vacuum or oxygen free atmosphere e g pure nitrogen for a period of time hours to days Alternatively an oxygen scavenger e g iron II salts tin II salts or organometallic compounds can be added to the polymer formulation reacting with the oxygen present in the polymer matrix in shorter timeframe than the hydrolysis of the blocked leuco dye takes The reaction timing can be further controlled by addition of other substances As the diffusion rate of oxygen through the polymer layer is more or less constant a supply of suitable antioxidants e g organometallic compounds which react with the oxygen preferentially to the leuco dye leads to gradual depletion of the antioxidant compound Only after the antioxidant is consumed the leuco dye starts being oxidized achieving the period of delay of the reaction onset followed by a rapid reflectivity degradation Stannous ethylhexanoate can be used here as the antioxidant organometallic Various resin soluble tin II and iron II compounds can be used e g chelates and fatty acid salts Other usable compounds are e g hydroquinones alkylhydroxylamines dithionates reducing saccharides e g glucose a hydroxyketones e g hydroxyacetone substituted boron hydrides and silicon hydrides The oxidized dyes in the expired discs absorb primarily at the wavelength of the current diode lasers red 650 nm used in the DVD players However the new generation of DVDs is designed to use blue lasers at 450 460 or even 405 nm for which the methylene blue is essentially transparent While SpectraDisc did not take this in account the Flexplay discs incorporate a red color filter blocking blue lasers from reading the disc expired or not Acridine Yellow can be used for this purpose together with 9 10 bis phenylethynyl anthracene and a scale of different azo dyes aromatic hydrocarbons and other dyes The dyes can be added directly to the polycarbonate resin the discs are made of Additionally other methods of the disc degradation are proposed to be deployed together with the primary one the concern of the technology developers here is that while the dye oxidation mechanism prevents the disc from being read by current consumer technologies the information on the disc recorded in the pattern of the pits in the reflective layer remains intact and could be recovered One of the methods is to make the two reflective layers in the DVD 9 disc of different metals e g aluminium and silver and separate them with an ionic conductor separator The atmospheric oxygen then undergoes electrochemical reaction in such crude fuel cell with the silver as cathode and aluminum as anode leading to growth of dendritic silver through the dielectric layer When the silver reaches the aluminium an electric short circuit forms and galvanic corrosion then rapidly degrades the reflective layers Many other mechanisms are proposed for this slower less controlled backup method of data destruction ranging from corrosion of the reflective layers to degradation of the polymer matrix of the disc itself 6 Releases EditThe Disney organization announced in 2003 that it would issue some releases on Flexplay ez D discs Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl Bridget Jones Diary The Recruit Rabbit Proof Fence The Hot Chick 25th Hour Heaven Equilibrium Frida and Signs 3 7 Discs were test marketed in Austin Texas One grocery chain dropped the discs in February 2004 saying It didn t turn out to be an item that our customers were looking for 8 In 2004 Flexplay was purchased by The Convex Group who also own the Lidrock and HowStuffWorks brands Flexplay discs were priced at around US 4 99 a price comparable to that of a two day DVD rental 7 The first Flexplay disc to receive national consumer distribution in the U S was a 2004 Christmas movie entitled Noel which was released trimultaneously to theatres to cable TV and to Flexplay disc Reportedly theatres were angered at the simultaneous release and as a result the movie actually received screenings in only a few dozen theatres 7 In June 2008 Flexplay announced that Staples would be selling Flexplay discs in their retail stores 9 See also EditPlanned obsolescence DIVX and DVD D other disposable disc formats Disc rot the unintended decay of optical discs due to physical or chemical deteriorationReferences Edit Flexplay Technologies Acquires Assets of Spectradisc Corporation www flexplay com Archived from the original on May 24 2005 Retrieved May 4 2019 CD Media World Self Destructing DVD s cdmediaworld com a b c May 2003 gt Disney Debuts Time Limit DVDs NACS Online March 19 2007 Archived from the original on 2007 03 19 a b How Flexplay DVDs Work HowStuffWorks 2003 09 04 Retrieved 2020 04 04 a b Flexplay Commercial YouTube a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Limited play optical devices with interstitial reactive layer and methods of making same Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved April 4 2020 a b c Staff WIRED November 13 2004 Hurry Up and Watch DVDs Time Out Wired via www wired com Stores nix disposable flicks Wired January 29 2004 Retrieved February 10 2007 Quote attributed to Susan Ghertner environmental affairs manager for the Austin area H E B stores Flexplay disposable DVD revived at Staples Video Business May 23 2008 Archived from the original on January 11 2009 Retrieved June 13 2008 External links EditWebsite archived on December 1 2010 How Flexplay DVDs Work United States patents 6 511 728 6 537 635 6 641 886 6 678 239 6 709 802 6 756 103 6 780 564 6 838 144 and 6 839 316 by Flexplay Technologies Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flexplay amp oldid 1130117584, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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