Say Anything Blog

RCA has developed a DVD player that will automatically censor objectionable material out of your movies for you.

From Wired Magazine:

People wanting to automatically mute the foul language in Seabiscuit or skip the violence in The Patriot have a new option -- a DVD player from RCA that filters content deemed objectionable.

Thomson, which owns the RCA brand, will sell the players in some Wal-Mart and Kmart stores as well as on Wal-Mart's website starting this month even as the filtering software they employ faces a legal challenge from Hollywood.

"I think there may be a market for something that gives the parent more control and does it in a way that doesn't alter the original presentation," said Dave Arland, an RCA spokesman.

The filtering software is from ClearPlay, which had offered it previously for watching DVDs on computers and talked to RCA last year about a standalone player. The partners are hoping the current stir over broadcast decency, spurred by Janet Jackson's breast-baring Super Bowl show, will help boost sales.

I really don't see this working out for a few reasons.

1. In order for the censoring to work you have to install software "filters" onto the DVD player. It ships with 100 filters for the latest movies, but you have to download new filters from the internet for newer movies.


2. Getting the new filters is cumbersome. You have to download the filter and burn it onto a CD then transfer it to your DVD player. Plus it costs you a $5/month subscription charge.


3. How good are these movies going to be with large chunks of their footage cut out? How many people who object to the violence in The Patriot are really going to want to watch the movie just for its non-violent scenes? There's a better way of doing this. Its called "don't watch the movie."


4. How effective will this really be for parents wanting to censor their child's movie intake given the fact that you have to have the filter for the movie your child is watching pre-downloaded and installed. Most kids, when trying to watch a movie their parents would object to, aren't going to give you any forewarning.

I think I'll stick to my own judgment when it comes to movies. I don't need RCA to do this for me.