Now Broadband TV Censorship

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  1. #31

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    PDLM : Every one is a rebel without a cause ..


  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Does TVB or ATV or Star Movies tell you that the version of the movie they are showing is different from the "original"? I think not.
    I don't watch local TV here much but I do remember back in the states that a lot of times the network would show a message to the effect that "the following film has been modified for television broadcast". Now sometimes that mean chopping off the sides so it'd fit the TV resolution but it can also be taken to mean that it's been modified in content.

    The fact that TVB/ATV/Star don't provide those disclaimers doesn't mean they are right to omit them. Perhaps they should have them.

    And in many cases it's not even clear what the "original" is - do you mean the US Cinema release, the UK Cinema release, the French cinema release, or what?
    Not to nitpick but the show/channel in question does have an original source and that's HBO as shown on cable networks in US. I can say the same for a lot of other shows / movies.

  3. #33

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    lostart, music to my ears!! thanks for saying it the way it should be said, took the words out of my quivering mouth.

    PDLM, you're one of the more sensible people here, so why think i'm "picking" on PCCW? did i mention the fact that their broadband service is only 8 meg to the switch box by the 7-11? or that out of a week the decoder they gave me goes on strike at least twice? no, those were left unspoken because it happens with every provider and i'm not picking on them.

    however, HBO's the only one i care about really, so that's why i focus on them. if star and TVB choose to be silly about censorship, let them, i don't watch those two much anyway.

    and lostart said it: it's so easy to see what the original is, i wonder why you'd even mention this, PDLM. the original is as seen on HBO in the US, that's all i want. this is why identifying altered content on HBO is so easy ,while on the other channels less so: i wouldn't be able to tell if star were modifying movies because i have no clearcut standard for them.

    BTW on buses and other advertising media never does it say HBO Asia anywhere: this goes back to my logic regarding the deception. plus they plug stuff like Deadwood. watching that show with no F's is like drinking water without liquidity.

    KIA: this is a cause, don't make it seem trivial. i'm trying to get people to notice and raise concerns if they have them. not wanting to go around in circles.

    Last edited by cerberus; 22-08-2006 at 07:38 PM.

  4. #34

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    still no word from the consumer council or HBO Asia. Why am i not surprised?


  5. #35

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    Well, Good Luck with contacting HBO because that would probably be your best bet. I don't think that there is any legal requirement to disclose that content has been altered. When you have the rights to broadcast content within a territory, you also have the rights to certain modification.

    The disclosure requirements in Asia just don't come close to those in the states.

    Whether they should is a different question, but that doesn't really solve the problem either. Bottom line is HBO is ahead of other channels with their 113 offering, and demand for more of the same has to be widespread enough before a seperate non edited feed would be put together.

    Effectively, is the demand in Asia for this strong enough to justify almost doubling manpower in certain functions? But that being said, keep us posted.


  6. #36

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    AJ, thanks for your sober and even-handed post.

    The demand must be very high for genuine, uncensored content. look at the popularity of cultures responsible for mature media, such as hip hop and urban themes. if you walk the walk, you must also talk the talk, right?

    a couple days back, Cinemax were showing 8 Mile without the language. it was beyond insulting. totally ridiculous. this patronizing of people by media must stop for the part of the word we live in to realize its potential.

    still nothing from either HBO Asia or the Consumer Council. I have talked a few times with PCCW and they said there's a few requests lodged with customer support regarding this issue, but beyond that it's all up to us to create forward movement.

    I suggest a petition. anyone interested in signing please stand up.


  7. #37

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    I'd sign a petition, throw eggs at HBO/PCCW, whatever. Censorship isn't just limited to the HBO/Max Pak Premium channels - anyone take a look at the 900 channels recently? EVERYTHING is censored - it is beyond laughable. And censorship aside, why they assume foks in HK are interested in B movies from the 80s (not that I have anything against those, but when your selection is limited to four channels, could they at least keep up with the times?) is beyond me. TV here insults everyone's intelligence.
    So yeah, anything that might improve what I get on TV even a little bit - sign me up!


  8. #38

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    Funny thing is that the 4 FREE public channels of ATV and TVB don't have any of the censorship. Because these feeds are only meant for the HK region (and don't suffer from the censorship laws of Singapore/Malaysia for example)


  9. #39

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    >> 4 FREE public channels of ATV and TVB don't have any of the censorship

    Self censorship .. and its political too.


  10. #40

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    What do you mean by "the four free channels don't censor their programs"? They censor all non-locally-produced nudity, profanity and violence.


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