V-Chip Lock Menu: V-Chip Definitions
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.
The V-Chip ratings information can be divided into two classifications, TV Ratings that include Content Categories and Movie Ratings. These are explained below.
TV Ratings:
Used with TV programs and made for TV movies.
TV-YYouth, designed for children under the age of 7.
TV-Y7Youth, 7 years old and older. Designed for children 7 years old and older. TV-GGeneral Audience. Designed for the entire family to view.
TV-PGParental Guidance. Parental Guidance is recommended, may not be suitable for some children. TV-14Adolescent 14 years old and older. Not recommended for children under the age of 14.
TV-MAMature Audience. Recommend for adults only.
Content Categories:
Used in association with the TV ratings above.
FV Fantasy Violence- applies to TV-Y7 only.
DSexual Dialog- applies in different degrees to TV-PG and TV-14.
LAdult 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
TV Rating | FV | D | L | S | V |
TV-Y | | | | | |
TV-Y7 | X | | | | |
TV-G | | | | | |
TV-PG | | X | X | X | X |
TV-14 | | X | X | X | X |
TV-MA | | | X | X | X |
Movie Ratings:
Used with theater released movies and direct-to-video movies.
GGeneral Audience- Designed for the entire family to view.
PG Parental Guidance- Parental Guidance is recommended, may not be suitable for some children. PG-13Parental Guidance 13 years old and older- Not recommended for children under the age of 13.
RRestricted- Restricted in the theater to 17 years old and older unless accompanied by an adult. NC-17No Children- Restricted in a theater to 18 years old and older.
X Adult- Designed for and restricted in the theater to adult audiences only. Contains explicit sexual content.
IMPORTANT: If you select to block programs that carry the V-Chip rating “Programs Not Rated”, you may block news or emergency bulletins. Care should be used when blocking not rated programming.
When you select a TV or Movie rating, you are selecting the highest level of program that will be allowed to be viewed. As an 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. 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. When you select a TV Content category, you will block all TV programs that have the same content category listing. As an 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.
IMPORTANT: V-Chip is effective for programs viewed on Ant-A and Ant-B, for devices connected to Inputs 1-5 for programs viewed on Ant-DTV and IEEE 1394 devices. It is not applicable for devices connected to Component 1 and 2, and Inp-DTV.
IMPORTANT: Videotapes, laser discs, and DVD’s may not contain V-Chip rating signals, in this case V-Chip cannot block the program or movie.
IMPORTANT: 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.
