A couple of days ago my partner and I bought a new film, The Contract, from HMV and last night we decided to watch it.We settled down to watch it and I struggled with the shrip wrap as I always do. Imagine my surprise then when after removing the shrink wrap I was presented with a case that I still couldn't open. The problem appeard to be a new anti-theft device that I haven't seen before. From the outside it looks like a red button or tag where the clip that holds the case closed is located. We wanted to watch this film there and then (although we didn't actually get to in the end) so I decided that I would remove the clip. I had a quick Google for how to remove this type of clip and found plenty of posts from people having the same problem as we were but no one giving a solution - so for all those frustrated by this new anti-theft device here is a way to remove it.

I have photographs of this process but at the moment I have no way to get them from my phone to my computer so I'll describe the process and add photographs later.  I realize that this tag is designed to prevent theft of the DVD and should probably have been removed in the store but this is obviously a new device and was covered by shrink wrap. I presume that HMV have taken stock of these by mistake or before the required removal devices had been installed. The device is pretty easy to remove anyway so I fail to see how it is going to significantly reduce theft. At the end of this article I offer some thoughts on how a home made device could be made to cleanly remove this clip.

Removing this red tag from the DVD case will result in some damage to the case but that damage will be minimal if you are careful. It is certainly small enough on the case I opened that I won't bother replacing the case. If you want a laugh have a read of this thread where several people talk about how they destroyed the case and or the DVD trying to get the tag out. The tools you will need for a successful removal are a small flat head screwdriver and a thin flat piece of metal. For the latter tool I used an old spatual from my chemistry days but something like a feeler gauge would be ideal.

Step One 

The first step is the one that causes all the damage to the case. Use the screwdriver to bend the red clip up as far as it will go. Insert the screwdrver under one of the short ends and lever up. At the same time pull back the top of the case so that you can open the case. This step is relativly easy but you have to bend the case quite a bit.

You should now have the case open and, if it's a clear case, you should be able to see the rest of the clip. It is designed not only to stop you from opening the case but also from removing the DVD itself from the case. The clip runs under the tabs that hold the DVD in place and stop them from being pushed down to release the DVD.

Step Two 

The next step is to snap off the end of the tab. This is easily done by carefully sliding the screwdriver down the long side of the tab. The end of the tab appears to snap off quite cleanly and pings off across the room. At this point I thought the clip would be easy to remove but that is not the case. I think the end of the tab is designed to snap off to make it harder to remove the tail end of it.

Step Three 

The last step is to remove the tail of the tab - this is fiddly but fairly simple. A small metal tab is lightly sprung and designed to catch on the case as you try to remove it. It is designed such that if you slide a screwdriver in to push the metal tab down the rest of the tail end then catches on the opposite side of the case thus stopping removal. The tool to use is something like a 1mm feeler gauge. It is slim enough not to cause the bottom of the tail to catch on the case but also stiff enough to push down the metal clip.

Push the tail as far in as it will go and insert the feeler gauge through the hole that the clip obviously comes out of. Push down the metal clip with the feeler gague then push up on the tail from the back of the case. Carefully slide the tail out of the case. Your DVD is now free from it's anti-theft shackles.

Hand Held Removal Device 

I haven't built this device and I don't suppose I ever will but if I routinely needed to remove these clips this is a design I would try.

This removal device requires two magnets and some way to mount the magnets on your fingers. You could use rings or just tape them to your fingers. One of the magnets needs to be strong the other not so. The strong magnet is placed on the back of the case near the head of the tab. It is used to pull down the metal clip that stops the tab from being removed. A regular iron magnet is probably not strong enough to pull the metal clip down so you will need a rare earth magnet. Once the first magnet has pulled the clip down the second magnet is used to lift the tab out.