This is a README for the Sensible Cinema edited movie playback player
for its other aspects like upconverting DVD/Netflix Instant player please see 
http://rogerdpack.t28.net/sensible-cinema/

=== 

Sensible-cinema allows you to apply pre-programmed edit lists
(e.g. Edit Decision Lists [2]) to the DVD's you own.  
I.e. you can edit a DVD to "mute out" or skip certain scenes, deemed objectionable.
This allows you to sit back and relax as you watch a more "sensiblized" showing of your DVD.

It is currently in alpha/beta, and is free (probably forever, as it is gplv3 currently).
It also includes a library of EDL's that go along with various DVD's.  We need volunteers/contributors
to help it grow!

To use, basically install, then insert an original DVD that you want to edited, then run sensible cinema.
It will pop up some windows where you choose what to do.

Note: please install from the zip files at https://sourceforge.net/projects/sensible-cinema/files/ 
and not from github's "download" button.  See the "install" section, below, for fine-grained install details.

Sensible cinema basically allows you to either create an edited video version of the DVD, onto your hard drive, 
and watch it there, or to playback a DVD or file (edited) via the use of EDL playback in some
pre-existing popular video players.

How? Sensible cinema basically takes the original DVD, slices out the bad parts, then combines it back
into a new file and gives you the result.
It is essentially a linear editor [1] that applies Edit Decision Lists [2] to videos.  It wraps
a few freely available open source programs [3] to accomplish the editing for you.
Note that the process can take several hours, so budget some time for it.

It also has a few "realtime viewing" options available, based on some freely available
open source popular video players [3].  These don't have any startup time to wait at all.

On a more moral note, just because an edited video lacks profanity/sex scenes...does not 
automatically make it a wholesome experience.
Sensible cinema does not a clean movie make of a dirty one, even without profanity.  
Don't watch it if it's not uplifting! Be nice to yourself!

dove.org and common sense media are good references for discovering the "uplifting" level of movies [4].
kids-in-mind.com is also a good reference for profanity levels, though sometimes it misses profanities,
and it also lacks timestamps to know when the profanities occur, and doesn't allow for community
contribution.  Hence this project existing.
Also note that even if you happen to have an edited copy of a DVD floating around, if you have kids, chances are they
will eventually find (and watch) the unedited originals, so be careful there.

That being said, some videos are quite enjoyable once you strip out profanity/questionable content.
It's your call.

Enjoy your movies!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_video_editing
[2] http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/edl.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edit_decision_list
[3] mostly GPL programs, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ VLC Media Player, Mplayer/mencoder, ffmpeg, et al.
[4] http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,00.html search for the word "wholesome"

== Installation ==

Installation and usage instructions available here: http://rogerdpack.t28.net/sensible-cinema
NB that you want to download it sourceforge, not from github downloads.

== Creating Your Own Edit Lists, or modifying previously existing ones ==

See the accompanying documentation/how_to_create_your_own_delete_lists.txt file.

== Creating an edited DVD ==

I don't actually know how to do this I've never burned a DVD.
See also is_it_legal_to_copy_dvds.txt for some caveats you should understand first.
Windows DVD Maker might help, http://www.dvdflick.net might help.
iDVD might help on mac.
DO NOT MAKE ILLEGAL COPIES OF DVD's. See also is_it_legal_to_copy_dvds.txt.

== FAQ ==

Q. How do I watch these on my TV, not just on my computer?
A. One way is to plug your computer into your TV.
  For instance, position a laptop near your TV and hook it in.  Newer TV's support this.
  Or buy a very long monitor cord and plug it in from your desktop/laptop.
  You could also buy a projector, attach it to your computer/laptop, and then use that to watch it.
  If you're interested in also being able to "beam" it from your computer to your game console (ex: PS3) ping me--I might have 
  something in mind that could help, though hasn't been created yet.  (Playon.tv does something like this, too, but
  I might come up with a competitor to it if desired, as the existing one costs money).
  You may be able to create your own edited version of a DVD, see section "Creating an edited DVD"
  Another good option is to purchase and use a clearplay player, with accompanying subscription.
  
Q. I want to give an edited DVD to a friend, how do I do that well?
A. Give them the original, non-edited DVD and then email them a link to sensible-cinema's website :)

Q. Can I use this with Windows Media Center?
A. Yes, just use some WMC plugin that allows you to "call out" to a 3rd party software to play your files.
   Then use the "advanced" mode "create side-by-side EDL file" to create an EDL for your previously existing file.
   Then make your WMC plugin "call out" to smplayer to play those files (through whatever means it necessary), and
   it will automatically pick up and use the EDL file.
   You could also use the same side-by-side EDL file with XBMC, which also honors them, though
   mutes are broken currently, so it will set it to just always skip. [note: this may not be implemented all the
   way yet ask on the mailing list if it is or not, for XBMC]

== Caveats ==

NB that "someone" has to first create a edit list, per DVD.
If one doesn't yet exist for the DVD you want edited,
you could create it yourself, or employ somebody to create it.  Make sure to submit it
back to us when you're done, so that the rest of the users can benefit from it.
Fortunately just one person has to do it, once, for everybody to benefit, and the 
editing process is not too bad.

We also have a subtitle parser which really helps locate profanity more conveniently, so that will help you
build your edit list.

Also note that if your DVD has scratches that cause it to skip, the time signatures will be off, 
so we recommend to always clean your discs first!

== Motivation ==

The initial motivation for the project was that I dislike deity profanity in movies.
And really any profanity is jarring, if you're not used to it in real life, and can
put me a bit on edge when I watch an otherwise enjoyable movie.
Also sometimes producers put in certain scenes (read: sex scenes) 
just to get a desired rating.
I don't want those scenes, but still want to be able to enjoy more movies :)

I once tried Clearplay (a "filter"ed DVD player)
but (for me) it didn't cut it.  It costs money monthly (I'm too cheap to pay--and many
many other people don't use it because of this...).  Casual users no longer have the
option to buy specific "filters" but are obliged to purchase a monthly subscription,
so it doesn't work for many casual users.
Their filters sometimes don't cut out all undesired content (ex: Saints and
Soldiers left several profanities in...which wasn't what I had
expected).  If your standards differ from theirs, you're out of luck.  
Clearplay apparently also runs a rather 
confusing subscription policy, or so I'm told [1], and their DVD players that 
are a bit weak at times [2].  Their DVD players aren't quite as readily accessible (read: 
can't buy them at walmart), nor as cheap to buy as some others.
Clearplay also doesn't seem to have much community collaboration/review (though you can email them feedback).
They also did't have filters for all movies that I, at times, wanted to watch edited (Condorman and Tron
lacking last time I checked...probably because they were too
obscure.  Also it doesn't have filters for educational videos, etc.) 
If there isn't a filter, you basically have to request one and then *hope* they get around to it.
It might take a bit longer than you'd hope (read: years). Or it might never be made.
Also, some people watch movies only on computer, and they
no longer seem to offer a computer player, just hardware players.  They also don't edit streamed
online movies either (last time I checked, anyway), nor offer an edited blu-ray player.
I also emailed them once (2003?) to inform them I'd be making an open source
equivalent, and haven't heard back, which I assume to mean implicitly
they're all for it (in reality this project is more like in-home cleanflicks than clearplay, anyway) 
Also clearplay isn't quite flexible enough, editing out only profanity/sex/violence et al (and based
only on their own criteria).  Some users may want to,
for example, skip the intro's to specific movies (like older movies with long songs and no 
content during the intro) because...they want to get to the movie faster.  
Or skip commercials in some personal DVD recording.
Or use it on their home dvd's.  Clearplay does not allow for any of these.  
Also clearplay doesn't seem to users for example leave comments on their filters, to improve them, etc.
Also you can't tell from clearplay's list whether a DVD is absent because it's clean, or because they
haven't done a filter for it.
Also sometimes certain DVD's "don't work" with clearplay for some reason (rental versions?) [3]

So overall I wanted to build my own that overcame some of these hurdles.

I also wanted to get a prototype out there of some ideas so that
others can't later patent them and pretend that they were first inventors later :)

See also the "Overly Verbose History" section.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YPRW7S/ref=cm_rdp_product
 "...I agree that it is not made clear on their website that if you don't continue your membership, you can't continue 
  to use the [previously downloaded] filters"

[2] http://deseretbook.com/ClearPlay-HDMI-DVD-Player-30-Day-Trial-Membership/i/5038491
 "We bought a clearplay player about 2 years ago. It worked great, until it just stopped working. I called their support line, 
  and they told us the model we got was defective, and that the new one was much better and we could get it at a discount, but 
  the next one just died also."

[3] http://blog.clearplay.com/2010/02/time-travelers-wife.html comments

== History ==

See the file history_and_related_works_list.txt for an overly verbose history.
Also see the file change_log_with_feature_list.txt.

== Related Works ==

See the file history_and_related_works_list.txt

== License ==

See the included LICENSE.TXT file for licensing and usage terms (basically it's released under gplv3).
Some other programs are (distributed separately and) used, if present. These are
typically released under their own copy of the gplv2 license, though some have differing licenses.

EDL files themselves are released under the Creative Commons License, however.
See first also the file "is_it_legal_to_copy_dvds.txt" for more information on legal use in your country.

== Troubleshooting ==

See the file documentation/troubleshooting.txt, or contact (see the feedback/development section).

== Thanks ==

Thanks to Jarmo for the win32-screenshot gem, the mini_magick gem authors, jruby guys, etc.  
The combination of these tools made programming this actually something of a pleasure, 
and a breeze cross platform.
Sensible Cinema leverages code from lots of other projects (see LICENSE.TXT)--many thanks to 
the authors and maintainers of said libraries, and anybody else I forgot to mention.
Sensible Cinema is a conglomeration of the good ideas from several people who contacted me
over time.  Thanks for your contributions.

== Feedback/Development ==

Feedback, including feature requests, comments, etc. all welcome:

Mailing List: http://groups.google.com/group/sensible-cinema, or just mail to sensible-cinema@googlegroups.com

If you're a developer and want to help out with programmming or look and feel, etc., please do!
See development.txt file, and also http://github.com/rdp/sensible-cinema

If you want to donate something, please consider donating to a charity of your choice.  
No really.

== Competition/use of files ==

Note that competition/use of files from sensible cinema is welcome!

In fact, the current end goal is to publish the edit lists (EDL's) to a separate repository with its
own API under the CC license, meaning that even "for profit" users can use them for whatever other use they want, hopefully
good uses :)  More direct direct competitors are also welcome here.  I only made this because I had to
and nothing like it existed, so if something else springs up, I'm actually happy to use it instead, too.