Jonathan Burk
Second Unit
RCA DRC 232N DVD Player
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2598456
www.clearplay.com
I recently was able to borrow the new "ClearPlay" DVD player available from Wal-Mart. While I am not a fan of edited films in general, there are a few movies my 7 and 5 year old have been interested in seeing, and I thought this might be a good opportunity to get some first hand experience. My mother-in-law is also staying with us, and this would give us the opportunity to watch some movies that would otherwise be skipped (my in-laws are long time fans of the "Family Gaurdian" boxes).
My impression of the DVD player itself were largely positive. I have several players at home, ranging in value from $45- HTPC, and the RCA compares very well with other players in the ~$70 range. I would have no problem recommending it to someone even if they had no intention of using its ClearPlay functionality. The player has a progressive scan output, and I found the picture quality to be very good, but not quite as good as my usual Sony DVP-755. There are plenty of options for hooking it up via composite or S-video, and audio can be analog stereo or coaxial digital (can't remember if it has a S/PDIF).
I was also impressed with the player's ability to play MP3 cd's; it can shuffle or program the songs, is lacking on my Sony.
But of course, I was most interested in ClearPlay. The ClearPlay feature is enabled through the parental control feature, where disc access can be controlled through the use of a password. For each film you wish to censor, you must have a ClearPlay filter. The "filter" is a small file that tells the player when to mute the sound, or skip a segment of the film. The player comes with 100 built in filters, with many recent and popular films represented. I noticed popular films such as "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "The Patriot", "The Matrix", "Pirates of the Caribbean", and "Terminator 3".
Each filter has a variety of parameters, covering different types and levels of violence, language, and sexuality. This allows you to pick what you want to filter, and the ClearPlay responds accordingly. So if you chose to, you could watch "Terminator 3" with ClearPlay censoring every use of the Lord's name in vain, but leaving the violence intact. The flexibility is impressive, and I'm sure it largely depends on the care taken by the author of the filter.
In addition to the 100 filters on the player, additional filters for 500+ DVD's are available on the ClearPlay website. New filters are also released as new DVD's come out. Individual filters can be downloaded for $1.50 each, or different subscription plans are available to give you access to current or catalog titles. The player can only hold a certain amount of filters, and you can delete the ones you will never use to make space for others.
To test the player, I watched segments from several films, and at my wife's request, "Maid In Manhattan". My overall impression was a very good one. The player did exactly what it was supposed to; for "Maid in Manhattan", it muted about 20 words ranging from the Lord's name, to what I would assume was the "F" word. There was also an entire scene skipped, which I assume was a sex scene. The muting of the words was very precise, as opposed to "Family Gaurdian" which cuts out entire sentences, and can become really annoying.
For violence, I tested "The Matrix", and the player did a good job of leaving the scenes largely intact, but cutting out the most disturbing mayhem and destruction. I was extremely impressed with the amount of editing done in some scenes without losing the plot of the movie. Likewise, I the muted words never interfered with understanding what the characters were saying (or trying to say).
The verdict? I'm buying the player, and subscribing to get more filters. When I watch a film alone or with my wife, we probably won't use the filtering (or we might set it to excise less stuff than when the kids are around). But there are many films my kids would enjoy that could use a good filter (especially for the language), and ClearPlay seems to offer a package that works for me.
I highly recommend it, and look forward to further improvements in the process.
I'm also completely happy with the "artistic" considerations for the filtering, since the player is merely acting as an automated "mute" or "fast forward" button, which I'm sure many people do anyway. The disc itself is intact, and this only increases the demand for unedited, studio released product (the filtering won't work on bootlegged product).
Also, even ClearPlay admits that the filters don't make all movies suitable for all tastes. Parental and personal discretion is still needed.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2598456
www.clearplay.com
I recently was able to borrow the new "ClearPlay" DVD player available from Wal-Mart. While I am not a fan of edited films in general, there are a few movies my 7 and 5 year old have been interested in seeing, and I thought this might be a good opportunity to get some first hand experience. My mother-in-law is also staying with us, and this would give us the opportunity to watch some movies that would otherwise be skipped (my in-laws are long time fans of the "Family Gaurdian" boxes).
My impression of the DVD player itself were largely positive. I have several players at home, ranging in value from $45- HTPC, and the RCA compares very well with other players in the ~$70 range. I would have no problem recommending it to someone even if they had no intention of using its ClearPlay functionality. The player has a progressive scan output, and I found the picture quality to be very good, but not quite as good as my usual Sony DVP-755. There are plenty of options for hooking it up via composite or S-video, and audio can be analog stereo or coaxial digital (can't remember if it has a S/PDIF).
I was also impressed with the player's ability to play MP3 cd's; it can shuffle or program the songs, is lacking on my Sony.
But of course, I was most interested in ClearPlay. The ClearPlay feature is enabled through the parental control feature, where disc access can be controlled through the use of a password. For each film you wish to censor, you must have a ClearPlay filter. The "filter" is a small file that tells the player when to mute the sound, or skip a segment of the film. The player comes with 100 built in filters, with many recent and popular films represented. I noticed popular films such as "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "The Patriot", "The Matrix", "Pirates of the Caribbean", and "Terminator 3".
Each filter has a variety of parameters, covering different types and levels of violence, language, and sexuality. This allows you to pick what you want to filter, and the ClearPlay responds accordingly. So if you chose to, you could watch "Terminator 3" with ClearPlay censoring every use of the Lord's name in vain, but leaving the violence intact. The flexibility is impressive, and I'm sure it largely depends on the care taken by the author of the filter.
In addition to the 100 filters on the player, additional filters for 500+ DVD's are available on the ClearPlay website. New filters are also released as new DVD's come out. Individual filters can be downloaded for $1.50 each, or different subscription plans are available to give you access to current or catalog titles. The player can only hold a certain amount of filters, and you can delete the ones you will never use to make space for others.
To test the player, I watched segments from several films, and at my wife's request, "Maid In Manhattan". My overall impression was a very good one. The player did exactly what it was supposed to; for "Maid in Manhattan", it muted about 20 words ranging from the Lord's name, to what I would assume was the "F" word. There was also an entire scene skipped, which I assume was a sex scene. The muting of the words was very precise, as opposed to "Family Gaurdian" which cuts out entire sentences, and can become really annoying.
For violence, I tested "The Matrix", and the player did a good job of leaving the scenes largely intact, but cutting out the most disturbing mayhem and destruction. I was extremely impressed with the amount of editing done in some scenes without losing the plot of the movie. Likewise, I the muted words never interfered with understanding what the characters were saying (or trying to say).
The verdict? I'm buying the player, and subscribing to get more filters. When I watch a film alone or with my wife, we probably won't use the filtering (or we might set it to excise less stuff than when the kids are around). But there are many films my kids would enjoy that could use a good filter (especially for the language), and ClearPlay seems to offer a package that works for me.
I highly recommend it, and look forward to further improvements in the process.
I'm also completely happy with the "artistic" considerations for the filtering, since the player is merely acting as an automated "mute" or "fast forward" button, which I'm sure many people do anyway. The disc itself is intact, and this only increases the demand for unedited, studio released product (the filtering won't work on bootlegged product).
Also, even ClearPlay admits that the filters don't make all movies suitable for all tastes. Parental and personal discretion is still needed.
