The Self-Destructing DVD That Failed: Retro Review of FlexPlay
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- FlexPlay was one of the more interesting takes on temporary disposable DVD rentals. Circuit City tried its own DIVX which multi-million dollar failure due to ridiculous DRM standards and the necessity for a phone line for verification. Unfortunately, due to the strong-arm Blockbuster corporation and other limitations such as shelf life and price, Flexplay became one of the larger product failures of the last decade.
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I hate to say it but I'm really impressed at how clever this was...even if it was a stupid idea.
austin huw you doin my man! chech out the chineses tablet vid and maybe review it on ur channel???
I couldn't agree more. It's brilliant chemical engineering at its finest. If it weren't for the lousy shelf life and crappy marketing team, this could have been huge! I would have bought a rental for $3-4 that I didn't have to return if it were in the grocery store checkout line. Blockbuster just had too much power back in 2003. And the price on this was very, very wrong. Thanks for watching, bud. :)
Snazzy Labs I agree with this; I would still buy them today. Maybe if RedBox(Is that nation wide?) harnessed this technology.
I absolutely agree. If it was made in 2022, it would make even less sense then it did then.
I bought this disc and copied it right away- I have the intro uploaded here. I got a bunch of the later Flexplay discs at Staples when they were being cleared out and copied those also.
I love your channel!
Link plz?
Whats up at 2:37 Lol
Subliminal messaging. Illuminati confirmed.
CD Boobs
2:36 The crap?
@@ProtoV33MK1 nah it was just a joke he put in there
2:37 what's with the wacky frame here in the middle?
What was that at 2:37? Subliminal sexiness?
Christian Tamayo My sexiness has never been subliminal.
You could extend the life of these discs by putting them in the freezer. Also, Video CDs were the first digital format to have movies released on them in the '90s, not DVD, although VCDs were mostly popular in China and the Pacific Rim countries, where VCRs had not caught on yet.
That is just a straight up ignorant statement; the VCR was MOST DEFINITELY as common in Asian countries like it was in the rest of the world. When VCD and LaserDisc came along, it was quickly adopted in Asian countries for pre-recorded material because the high humidity in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast China, etc. destroys cassette tape via mold.
I would have to say that the idea of a self destructing DVD has actually stayed relevant in the form of iTunes rentals. You have 48 hours to watch your iTunes rental after you download it then it expires, however, an iTunes rental only lasts 30 days, not a whole year before "expiring".
Interesting how the idea behind this product is still somewhat in use today!
I was on a retro early 2000s tech spree, playing old games on a 2002 powerbook, and you come out with this. What a pleasant piece of retro technology to learn about!
2:37 the single frame lol
Wow... You have taught me something new. I didn't even know that flexplay ever existed. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Quinn :)
And thank YOU for watching Paul! Stay snazzy. :)
Blockbuster closed most of its stores in January 2014 due to competition from media streaming services.
I went to school with the kids of one of the leads this company - something LeBlanc - we actually had a school meeting where this guy brought these things in. Our town has always been ahead of the curve for waste management, and even a few kids inquired about the environmental impact that these things could have. At the time though electronic waste wasn't seen as big of a problem, someone brought up the counter point that you could get a handful of disks at the local post office that were nothing more than 700 minutes of AOL, this guy was so excited and proud about this technology you could just tell it.
Another amazing video! Please keep the Retro Reviews coming Quinn.
finished its rendering process completely. Does it really turns black?
Has Someone a photo of it, or an idea where I can buy old flexplay discs? 😅
This is a great video Quinn! This is leagues ahead of what you were making when I started watching a long time ago!
Great approach on making a video, AGAIN! You're always thinking outta the box! I peeped that Surface Pro 3 haha, how are you liking it?
I have a DVD-D (Another version of this) of Tokio Hotel's "Schrei Live", still sealed.
Tokio Hotel is my favorite band so I love to have their music on different formats, like UMD, VCD, Mini CD, etc.
As a former Circuit City employee and manager who sold literally hundreds of Divx players I can say that the tech was simply ahead of its time. People were concerned that having a phone line connected to a dvd player was an invasion of privacy. that "big brother" was keeping dibs on what you were watching. If we could only have seen 15 years into the future to see that every device in your home could or is connected to the internet it wouldn't have been such a big deal. At the time you could get a movie for about $2.99-$4.99, who had faster than 56K to try and download movies?
I don't disagree that DIVX wasn't a cool technology, but it was just too much of a hassle-especially considering that the DIVX players couldn't even play a regular DVD. Netflix was a much better suited option for most.
A Divx player absolutely played DVDs. it did everything that a normal DVD player did and would play DIVX. We had units from RCA, Proscan, JVC, and Panasonic that were almost exactly the same as the companies dvd player with the addition of a phone jack and divx ability. I would sell DIVX players as dvd players with an advantage telling people that if you want a dvd player get the divx because it does the exact same thing plus more at the same price (and it payed me 2-3 times more in commission).
Uh, Tab was never banned in the US; in fact, it's still available in grocery stores (though I haven't drank it in many years).
And hilariously, I just found a sealed Flexplay movie disc at my local Volunteers of America thrift earlier today. 90 cents for a sealed disc of worthless plastic! (movie is There Will Be Blood)
Incredible editing and very informative!
But that Subliminal Image @ 2:37 LOL
Did you try to watch the DVD ?
Great video as always! You always have the coolest content.
***** Thanks for watching, bro!
I seen those sneak in pics around 2:34-2:38
Seeing this video on my suggestions. Very interesting video. I'm amazed it doesn't have more views.
I didn't know this existed, thanks for showing this(: Great video by the way(:
Nice graphics on this video. I like it without the fancy intro and I actually learned something new!
why did you open it if it was one of the the last ones ???!!!
did that became black after 48 hours?
Bahahhahah! CD nips at 2:37 😂😂😂😂
Great video. Never even heard of this stuff before
I've never even heard of these and I was selling DVD players at The Good Guys when DVDs came out.
I know, right? I had never heard of them until a few weeks ago when I was looking at obsolete mediums of content delivery.
I love your retro reviews 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Wow. I had no idea anything like this even existed. Even though it failed, it's pretty awesome.
You've outdone yourself on this new video. Congrats and keep it up.
Thank you so much for the kind words! It took me about 9 hours of work in total so I'm glad you liked it! Haha. (I was in zombie mode last night), but it was all worth it! Stay snazzy. :D
Snazzy Labs I love your vids. I remember watching a few years ago drop tests for the iPhone 3G whit the Switcheasy cases. One of the best UA-camrs out there. I am sure you are going to reach 1 mil. subs in no time!
Snazzy Labs wow 9 hours for a 3min video? didnt know it took that much time!is it lining the audio with video that was most time consuming?
My local dollar general often sells mediocre movies on dvd/bluray for $1 now which is hilarious.
From what I saw it eas marketed as "will play on any DVD player" - so it didn't have that shitty Reginon Code (that alwas kept annoying me)?
2:37 SPOTTED!!! Snazzy Labs
This is my favorite video ever of my entire life ever for ever. Nice.
Hey Quinn! As I'm one of your biggest fans ever, and as I wrote before that I really consider your channel being the best on UA-cam, I can't find someone else that I can trust about his opinion on the headphones that I'm planning to buy! So I'm talking about the Bang and Olufsen H8 here! I mean as a the price is kinda hefty, w're talking about $499 here, I need to make sure that I'm not over spending but I don't have much experience in the headphones world to be honest, and for me the sound quality is of extreme importance! Given the unbelievable design and innovation that they have, would you recommend them? Thanks!
stfuplznoname same There are far better headphones for that price, but if you're looking for nice sound and designer looks, that's not a bad option. Once again, though, there are other options that are more bang-for-your-buck.
honestly if done right this idea had more potential than people give it credit for... if the discs, say, were easily biodegradable (somehow) or costed a few bucks less, I could have seen it catching on.
well... we started watching videos on the Internet in the late 90s but yes most places it was more like 06
Absolutely excellent video Quinn!
Thank you so much for watching!
2:36 Wtf!?
i still have a "sweeney todd" unopened disc.... lol.... i kinda dont want to open it.....
If you still have one you have not thrown away although not playable anymore, you have a drink coaster. Someone would probably see Flexplay and say "I remember these".
$5-$7 was way too high
Maybe $1-$2 and it would have worked.
Just go to red box
2:36 easter egg
2:36 wtf haha
Snazzy, Divx players absolutely played dvds as well as divx
Nice Surface Pro 3 Snazzy Labs :)
This was interesting, nice vid man.
Graysen The Otaku Glad you liked it! Thanks for being snazzy!
Open them in a vacuum chamber and play it as long as you want 😉
2:37 wtf? XDD
2:37 nice photo hehe
What the fuck snazzy what was the at 2:37. Is this the 25 frame.
What made them think that making a DVD that worked for only 48 hours was going to be a success?
I found a unopened one at goodwill today lol
There is a difference between giving dvds away that won't destroy themselves after 48 hours of being opened and selling self destructing discs that become useless plastic pieces of shits that you either toss out or return to a recycling center. Which is dumb considering how the product was marketed.
2:37 ?
Hmm this was a really interesting video, it was definitely a cool concept even tho it didn't take off,
This product shows chemical engineering at its finest. If they could have just fixed the few flaws it could have changes how things are today! But then theres Blockbuster ruining the idea just because they have money :(
I love LaserDisc better than DVDS
Omg 2:37 😂😂😂
Interesting. Good idea at the very least.
Why buy the self-destructing Flexplay when we can buy the everlasting Flex Tape?
Im going to watch this video 50 times lol
Nice subliminal.
I remember these, I thought they were cool because the bottom was red
Inception, I watching a video of you on a surface pro, on my surface pro
This message will self destruct in 1, 2, ...
This is mission impossible type stuff :D
2:39...,,wow
2:36...?
I see what you did there!!!
I remember Blockbuster. Because there's two stores in my town.
Hm, sounds like you have 2 of the 40 franchised locations that are left!
Snazzy Labs We used to have a Blockbuster near my house until they closed it in late 2010. Pretty cool store. It stayed abandoned for like 2 years with the sign still up and everything until a book store moved in. I still have my membership card. "Remember to rewind!" But since I have Dish Network and have had them since 2000 I have full blockbuster streaming so I never even went to the store!
Hey false advertising !...I thought you meant you found one that actually 'failed' to self destruct and was still playable (:^)
2:37 wtf bro
Someone messed up on a edit
Nipple disks.
I SAW THE HIDDEN PICTURE!!
2.37
Did anybody else thought that the dvd will literally self destruct and go boom? Very misleading title.
2:37, real mature.
JSB HIFI I'm a real mature guy.
Don't worry I took a screenshot.
I see paul walker 3:23
I like the concept of a "renting DVD" that you have 48 hours to watch, except that it is completely stupid and unnecessary.
eTechMaster22 It is now, but it wasn't before the days of streaming. :D
Haha. 2:36
that's going to be sucky as hell who made these discs the Tyrel corporation who wants to purchase an movie on an disc that last one year the answer is nobody would they would expect their collection to last for years it must be an sordid waste of income this is the worst concept since the CAD discs that started in the late 70's I have laserdiscs that lasted way longer and still plays smoother but this you might as well not bothered and save it on beer and chips.
I honestly had no idea these had even existed. Brilliant design, stupid concept.
RIP Paul Walker
cool creative content
Omar Correa Thanks for watching, Omar!
you do know that we all saw that right?,...
This old DVD? Yep.
lol I heard Coca-Cola used to advertise in cinema the same way so people would think subconciously think of a coke and buy one during the break.
yes and no.. they were fast displays of a coke bottle during the movie which you conciously did not see but somehow did register subconciously.
no its mid-movie
Liked this a lot! Really enlightening, would love some more tech gear that died in the early 2000s!
Heh, TIL.
I'm trying really hard to not argue with a six year old video, but to mock the giveaways of DVDs because fast food places were giving them out (which was a boon for families that couldn't afford DVDs but could keep them from these companies...and of which I still have a few) just seems a bit much. But there's a lot of mocking in this one, and my guess is that this is standard issue and something that I'll just have to live with.
I prefer regular DVDs over these
Stop laughing at old media, it's so childish