# ClearPlay for Movie Content Filtering



## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

Just wanted to share what I consider some cool and applicable technology my family uses for watching movies we consider need some "taming". I'm sure quite a few of you have heard of ClearPlay players/membership, but as an owner of one for over 5 years, I thought I'd share my thoughts.

ClearPlay essentially sells you a modified DVD player with 1080p potential upconvert (it's actually an HDDVD player...I keep pestering them to create a BD and streaming media solution :rant that has the capability to use filtering files ClearPlay creates for movies. More on the filtering further on. You can buy the player by itself or with a membership (monthly or annual) or a membership alone. The membership cost is reasonable, I think, considering the number of movies we watch, and they usually have some kind of deal going on. Obviously they push getting an annual membership, and they pass on a bit of a savings for doing so.

The player itself is nothing spectacular, and unfortunately for those of us who want the best video and sound quality there is no word whether a BD player is in the works. It's apparent they picked the wrong side of the HDDVD vs BD battle, because they touted to me the ability to do full HD with HDDVDs (Whaaa? I don't have any of those, and no one makes them anymore!). For outputs there are HDMI, composite, and component.

I didn't kid myself that I was going for sound/video quality with ClearPlay, and that wasn't my reason for it either.

The cool part of ClearPlay is it's ability to filter objectionable content from movies through filter files and parameters you set such as language, nudity, violence, drug use, etc. Some of the parameters are a little goofy, like "dishonoring parents", but you can adjust each one to a filtering level of "None", "Least", or "Most". 

With your membership you get access to unlimited filters (they are pretty good about getting filters for new movie releases within a week) you download onto a USB thumbdrive and plug into the player while watching a movie.

I personally don't enjoy hearing crude language or the Lord's name taken in vain, nor do I want sensuality or extreme violence in my home. The filtering isn't perfect, let me get that out of the way. Sometimes it can be downright annoying having a not-so-seamless viewing experience. However, the majority of the time the filtering is done very well and it is apparent that the ClearPlay technicians took great care to get the cuts, sound, and jumps the best they could to take out the objectionable content while leaving as much of the storyline intact.

So if you like the idea of keeping movie content at a level of language, violence, etc. you are comfortable with in your home, and don't mind sacrificing some video/sound quality as well as maybe missing a few minutes of a movie, I would suggest taking a look at ClearPlay.


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