ClearPlay

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ClearPlay is an advanced parental control feature the filters regular DVD movies. ClearPlay is a technology that allows you to skip and mute over content you don't want to see. ClearPlay allows you to selectively skip over profanity, graphic violence, and adult content in regular DVD's.

1 How it works
2 Copyright laws
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] How it works

First, you have to obtain a ClearPlay-enabled DVD player, which is available online or in some retail locations. The DVD player has technology built into it that controls the playback of the movie by reading a file (or Filter as it is called) that is created by a ClearPlay Filter editor. That Filter knows exactly (to the frame) where the offensive content is located. Second, you have to have the Filter files for the movie you want to watch. To get these Filters you have to buy them from ClearPlay or join ClearPlay as a member to get unlimited access to the full library of movie Filters. As of this writing, there are thousands of movies available and they typically create Filters for most newly released DVD's. If you're a member, you download the files to a Filterstik (a small USB flash drive) and then insert the Filterstik into the ClearPlay-enabled DVD Player. Then when you put in a regular DVD in the player it gives you the choice to watch the DVD normally or with ClearPlay filtering on. It also allows you to customize what you want to skip if you so choose. There are many categories of content that you can filter (Sexual Situations, Bloody Gore, etc.) and you can select from four levels of filtering in each category. You can basically customize the playback to be appropriate to the particular audience, be it children, teens or adults.

[edit] Copyright laws

Early in the development of the ClearPlay technology it was challenged in court by Hollywood on the grounds that it was a violation of copyright laws. However, in 2005, Congress passed the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act that explicitly clarify the copyright laws to allow for someone to skip or mute the playback of a DVD in their own home as long as they are not modifying the original material. It clarified that ClearPlay is indeed legal and all court proceedings ended.