German company ODS is now making DVDs of half the normal thickness: 0.6mm instead of 1.2mm. Ordinary double-sided DVDs are rigid because they are made by glueing two 0.6mm single-siders back-to-back. The ODS EcoDisc is made from one single-sider, so is flexible and uses half the polycarbonate. This can save a little on production costs, and every little helps if the discs are made in millions. A few newspapers are now using EcoDiscs for their cover-mounts. The risk, which ODS acknowledges, is that some slot-loading players, particularly in Apple Macs, may swallow the disc and refuse to eject it. The owner may then have to pay for the drive to be dismantled. EcoDiscs now carry a warning, but the company admits people often only read warnings after it is too late. The DVD Forum, which sets the standards for DVD, does not approve. It has now issued an 'important notice' that a '0.6mm thick Optical Disc does not use the DVD Format in a proper manner. It is only imperfectly and inappropriately using the Format. Such a Disc is not compliant with the DVD Specifications.'
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