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 Fant asy 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 d egrees 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 ratin g, you are selecting the leas t-restrictive program level t hat can be viewed. For
example, if you select TV-PG, yo u are allowing programs rate d TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G and TV-PG to be seen and
blocking programs rate d TV-14 and TV-MA. When you select a TV Cont ent category, you will block all T V
programs that have the sam e content category listi ng. For example, if you select to block V ( Violence) at the
TV-14 level, you will also block any program th at has the V category listi ng 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 Guida nce is recommended, may not be suitable for some children.
PG-13 Parental Guidance 13 years old and older—Not recommended for children under th e 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 audienc es only.
When you select a movie rating , you are selecting the
least-restrictive prog ram level that can be viewed. For
example, if you select a movie rat ing of PG-13, you are
allowing movies rated G, PG and P G-13 to be seen and
blocking movies rated R, NC -17, and X.
Programs Not Rated: Used for progra ms 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.
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 progra ms can be viewed or will be
blocked. When V-Chip ratings are sent, you will see the ratings when you chang e the channel or when you press the
INFO button on the remote control. Both TV and Movie ratings will display. TV ratings a pply to programs and movies
developed for TV and may have supplemental blocking by content catego ries. 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 compone nt inputs or HDMI. Many of these
devices, however, have their own parental control systems.
2. Videotapes, laser discs and DVDs may not contain V-Chip rating signals. If they don’t contain the V-Chip sig nal,
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 broadcas ter does not
include the V-Chip rating signal, V-Chip cannot block the program.
IMPORTANT
If you elect to block programs t hat carry the
V-Chip rating “Programs N ot Rated,” you
may block news or emergency bul letins,
when “None” or “NR” Not Rated V-Ch ip
rating is included. Use c are when blocking
programming that is not r ated.