V-chip set-up instructions

Today, there is a culture of violence pervading our communities and the available TV programs do much to encourage it among the youthful watchers. If you would like to block off TV programs which have been rated unsuitable because of violence, bad language, or sexual content, the information below will be of interest.

TV program ratings

All TV sets (less than 20 years old)., have controls to block unwanted programs from being shown. All TV programs are encoded for this purpose by the National Cable and Television Association as follows:
TV-Y Unsuitable for very young children
TV-7 Unsuitable for children under seven years
TV-14 Unsuitable for children under fourteen years
TV-G Suitable for the general public
TV-PG Parental Guidance Recommended
TV-MA Only suitable for mature audience

Programs are reviewed and rated by the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board. This board consists of a chairman and six members each from the Broadcast, Cable, and Program Production industries plus five non-industry members selected by the Federal Communications Commission.

How to set-up your TV to block undesirable programs

The procedure for adjusting your TV set to block selected categories of programs is as follows (nomenclature of controls may vary somewhat from one TV manufacturer to another):

1. On your remote control choose "menu"
2. Go through menu items and select "V chip"
3. Chose "Pin"
4. Insert a four digit pin number (e.g. 2288) You cannot change this without knowing the pin number you inserted - so record it in a safe place."
5. Choose "TV Parental Guidelines"
6. Block categories of your choice
7. Choose "Return" to return to TV screen.

When you wish to undo this blocking, go through steps 1,2, 3, 4 and choose "off". Also, to change the pin, go through steps 1,2,3,4 and choose "Change Pin" and insert the new pin number (record).