I mean I just got mine for Christmas. Yea it is cool and everything but they messed up big time on one thing. The “disc” itself was a bad idea or the way they packaged it. Since it is a cd, look how long it takes a cd last even if you try to take care of it. That’t right now very long. And that is “YOU” trying to take care of it.
But with a “RENTAL” dvd disc forget it. I mean I am watching them and all of a sudden I see a glitch(I feel like I am in the matrix or somthing) the screen stops or skips to a new place. And then the other day half way through the movie it stops and would not continue. What the…? I was po’d.
Anyway they should have developed some type of case that holds dvd so the “HUMAN” hand will not touch it, spill crap on it, break it, scratch it and so on and so on.
What do ya’ll think will the “disc” itself be the demise of DVD? Or as least the rental market. Maybe we shouldn’t chunck our VHS players yet huh?
Oh btw do not try to invent this without cutting me in. This was my idea and I will subpeana(sp really could care less about spelling legal words correctly)this document as proof of me thinking of it. 
Cost is king. The duplication costs for CD’s and DVD’s are a few pennies nowadays. Wrapping any kind of mechanical shroud around that (you’re thinking of something like 3.5" floppies, right?) would increase the cost many-fold, for basically no gain to the manufactures.
For rentals, I figure Blockbuster will just make a deal with the companies. Something where they get the DVD’s at cost, but pay a percentage of the rental fee back to the distributor. That way they can retire the discs as soon as they get scratched without losing much money. It would work out better for everyone.
WB, I’m not trying to knock you here, but I gotta wonder about your DVD player. I’ve had my player for almost two years now, and I have played DVDs that have been scratched to hell, and while it may make the top or bottom 10% of the picture “fray” (for lack of a better term), it has never skipped to a new place in the movie or stop and would not continue.
What kind of DVD player did you get?
(You very well may have a great DVD player and got a disc that was beyond watchable – But , if you spent $80 on a DVD player, you gotta remember you get what you pay for.)
mouthbreather,
It is a Hitachi. Is that a bad one? Did my wife go cheap on me as far as a present? 
I’ve had rentals both from Hollywood Video and Netflix.com stop on me and not continue to play. In every case, I’ve taken them out and wiped them down with a lint-free cloth, and the problem went away.
Bill,
Well…erm…not to cast aspersions on your wife’s loving gift,
but…
She could have gone with a better model. Let’s leave it at that. I received a Sony for Christmas (our wives were apparently passing notes :)) and have been very happy with it.