Vudu launches family viewing controls and "Mr. Mom" series

[Cranston37]

https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vudu-parental-controls-family-viewing-mr-mom-1203333293/

 

[Todd Erwin]

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I thought the movie studios didn't like that? This sounds like Vidangel which they had sued.

 

[Cranston37]

I thought the movie studios didn't like that? This sounds like Vidangel which they had sued.

Literally right in the article...

"Vudu worked with the studios to develop the Family Play feature"

 

[Chris Will]

Aladdin (2019) is in if the title using this feature at launch. What is so objectionable about Aladdin that it needs cleaned up?


I really like and appreciate what Cameron did for Avatar with the family friendly version. It doesn’t skip or bleep anything, it uses alternate dialogue to cut out the cursing and doesn’t mess up the flow of the movie. I have no problem letting my young kids watch this version. I’m not sure I’ll like Vudu’s version where it skips scenes or mute bad language. That just sounds too disruptive to the flow of the movie.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Vudu tried this before, and failed miserably, mostly because although they got the approval from the studios, they did not get them from the directors, who cried foul. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I think movies should be seen as the director intended. On the other hand, there have been a lot of movies shown at our "family" movie nights that we ended up sending the kids to the other room to watch a movie on their own because the movie was rated PG-13 mostly due to language that other wise would have been suitable for all members. Ant-Man and the Wasp was one example.

 

[Cranston37]

Vudu tried this before, and failed miserably, mostly because although they got the approval from the studios, they did not get them from the directors, who cried foul.

It was Sony, not Vudu...

https://deadline.com/2017/06/sony-c...-judd-apatow-seth-rogen-directors-1202112992/

 

[MatthewA]

Perhaps they're cutting the wrong things.

 

[Bob_S.]

I'm always for family friendly films, I guess that's why most of my collection is from the '30s-'50s. As long as the original is available, I don't see the problem. I understand that some movies can't be cleaned up or they wouldn't make any sense. But as an example: I would love to sit down with my family and watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles but because of the profanity, I've never bought the movie. By cutting out the profanity, you really wouldn't change the movie at all. Usually, I just wait until the tv version of a movie is on and I'll save it on my dvr. I guess it's better than nothing.

 

[David Deeb]

Movies have been edited for broadcast for decades. How is this really any different? Maybe some believe it is. Interestingly, many seek out various alternative broadcast cuts on disc releases, perhaps not because of language removed, and in many cases the language is still there, but still, it's a cut version.

 

[Cranston37]

The Vudu app on my Apple TV updated and it now features the new "Family Play" section. I look at a movie I knew fairly well, License to Kill" and as near as I can tell not one bit of violence had been cut.

Not sure if there's a setting you have to enable or what...

 

[Jesse Skeen]

On my Roku the movie freezes and the "Family Play" logo displays in the middle as it skips over naughty bits. If it's just dialogue, the audio signal cuts off completely, displayed on my receiver. Watching the same movies through a web browser is seamless. I tried Vidangel on the Roku a while back and that was seamless also, though it didn't provide 5.1 audio.

I'm generally against this but interested to see how it works. You do have to actively enable it in the settings in the lower display bar, and then a message will display that you are choosing to view the movie in an altered form. The Family Play section has the movies that this can be used on, but not all devices support it.