Geek Not Nerd

I recently purchased a ClearPlay DVD player for my wife. She wanted something that can filter the content of the movies for our kids. I was a little sceptical about how well such a product would work. I ran across the ClearPlay DVD player at Best Buy. The player cost about $80.00, with a 1 year subscription to the service. This was almost a deal breaker for me, more money for more services. I don’t think so! But I figured at least the device comes with year of service. If i don’t like the service at least I’ll have another DVD player.

Installation was just like any other DVD player setup. Connections are, Component, Composit, and S-Video. Supporting 720p in high-def, not much for up scaling might I say. Comes with a basic IR remote, and a pair of component cables. The content filter works via a USB memory stick that is provided. The memory stick plugs into the front of the device. When the memory stick is plugged into a PC with Internet access. An auto install of the update software begins. You must install this software and register your DVD’s serial number to get access to the movie updates. Using the serial number on the back of the device is how they track your membership for updates. Memberships range from 7.99 per month, 79.50 per year, 149.00 per 2 years, and 199.00 for 3 years. Yep, sounds kinda expensive.

The player dose a good job of filtering with little to no problems. Using typical mute to block unwanted language and audio. One of the more impressive aspects is the player’s ability to cut out violent or adult scenes. One thing I should note is that the USB stick has to be connected to the player for the filter to load. Granted you only need to do this the first time you load the DVD. After that it will recall the filter every time you insert the movie.

All and all it works as advertised. I have only had a few mishaps with the playback and a small learning curve on applying the filters. For more detailed information check out the web site at http://www.clearplay.com/.