Filter
Top Products
78 Chapter 5. TV Menu Operations
V-Chip Ratings
TV Ratings:
Used with TV programs and Made-for-TV movies.
TV-Y Youth, for children under the age of 7.
TV-Y7 Youth, 7 years old and older.
TV-G General Audience. For the entire family to view.
TV-PG Parental Guidance. Parental Guidance is recommended, may
not be suitable for some children.
TV-14 Adolescent 14 years old and older. Not recommended for
children under the age of 14.
TV-MA Mature Audience. For adults only.
Content Categories:
Used in association with the TV ratings above.
FV Fantasy Violence—applies to TV-Y7 only.
D Sexual Dialog—applies in different degrees to TV-PG and TV-14.
L Adult Language—applies in different degrees to
TV-PG, TV-14, and TV-MA.
S Sexual Situations—applies in different degrees to TV-PG, TV-14, and TV-MA
V Violence (graphic or realistic)—applies in different degrees to TV-PG, TV-14, and TV-MA.
When you select a TV rating, you are selecting the least-restrictive program level that can be viewed. For
example, if you select TV-PG, you are allowing programs rated TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G and TV-PG to be seen and
blocking programs rated TV-14 and TV-MA. When you select a TV Content category, you will block all TV
programs that have the same content category listing. For example, if you select to block V (Violence) at the
TV-14 level, you will also block any program that has the V category listing at the TV-PG rating level as well.
Movie Ratings:
Used with theater released movies and direct-to-video movies.
G General Audience—Designed for the entire family to view.
PG Parental Guidance—Parental Guidance is recommended, may not be suitable for some children.
PG-13 Parental Guidance 13 years old and older—Not recommended for children under the age of 13.
R Restricted—Restricted in the theater to 17 years old and older unless accompanied by an adult.
NC-17 No Children 17 or under—Restricted in theater to 18 years old and older.
X Adult—Designed for and restricted in the theater to adult audiences only.
When you select a movie rating, you are selecting the least-restrictive program level that can be viewed. For
example, if you select a movie rating of PG-13, you are
allowing movies rated G, PG and PG-13 to be seen and
blocking movies rated R, NC-17, and X.
Programs Not Rated: Used for programs that are not rated,
such as news, sports, weather, emergency bulletins, or movies
prior to or without MPAA Ratings. This does not include
programs without V-Chip signals.
If you elect to block programs that carry the V-
Chip rating “Programs Not Rated,” you may block
news or emergency bulletins, when “None” or
“NR” Not Rated V-Chip rating is included. Use
care when blocking programming that is not
rated.
IMPORTANT
TV Rating FV D L S V
TV-Y
TV-Y7 X
TV-PG X X X X
TV-14 X X X X
TV-MA X X X
V-Chip Signal Information
When provided by the broadcaster, V-Chip ratings can be used to control which programs can be viewed or will be
blocked. When V-Chip ratings are sent, you will see the ratings when you change the channel or when you press the
INFO button on the remote control. Both TV and Movie ratings will display. TV ratings apply to programs and movies
developed for TV and may have supplemental blocking by content categories. Movie ratings use MPAA ratings for
movies released in theaters.
V-CHIP EXCEPTIONS:
1. V-Chip is not effective for programs viewed on devices connected to component inputs or HDMI.
2. Videotapes, laser discs and DVDs may not contain V-Chip rating signals. If they don’t contain the V-Chip signal,
V-Chip cannot block the program or movie.
3. Broadcasters are not currently required to include V-Chip rating signals at this time. If the broadcaster does not
include the V-Chip rating signal, V-Chip cannot block the program.