September 28th, 2011
Recently we explained how to set up DISH Network parental locks, but did you know your TV also offers parental controls?
These controls are based on the FCC regulated V-Chip guidelines, which require all TVs 13-inches and larger to be equipped with technology that allows the blocking of content based upon its rating.
Here are the ratings:
All Children — This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.
Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6. This program is not expected to frighten younger children.
Directed to Older Children — This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy or comedic violence, or may frighten children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish to consider the suitability of this program for their very young children. Note: For those programs where fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative than other programs in this category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV. For programs designed for the entire audience, the general categories are:
General Audience — Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages.
Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
Parental Guidance Suggested — This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the program contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L), or some suggestive dialogue (D).
Parents Strongly Cautioned — This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended. This program contains one or more of the following: intense violence (V), intense sexual situations (S), strong coarse language (L), or intensely suggestive dialogue (D).
Mature Audience Only — This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
This program contains one or more of the following: graphic violence (V), explicit sexual activity (S), or crude indecent language (L).
If you are having issues with parental controls blocking out certain content and you’ve verified your DISH Network receiver’s locks are not the cause, you may want to refer to your TV’s owner’s manual to ensure the V-Chip settings are correct.
Categories: DISH & TV news
September 9th, 2011
Do you worry about your children stumbling on something on TV they shouldn’t see? DISH Network makes keeping adult content away easy with parental controls!
You can access the Locks menu from your DISH Network main menu.
Shows and movies can be blocked according to Motion Picture Association of America and TV Guideline Monitoring board ratings or based on expanded ratings such as language, nudity, sexual content, and violence.
Channel locks can be used to prevent access to particular channels.
This option disables the buttons on the front of your receiver. Helpful if you have small hands that like to play with buttons and lights. You would have to rely fully on your remote if you select this option, so make sure to keep it in a safe place.
If you have already set up a password you can use this option to change it.
Pay Per View and Video on Demand content can be blocked to prevent unwanted or accidental ordering. Note in this image above that this option currently states “Unlock PPV”, that means that PPV is currently locked. All of the locks will display this way if they are currently locked. So if you have already set up the Front Panel Lock, it will show as “Unlock Front Panel”.
This will remove all adult channels from your program guide.
You can use this option to either hide or show channels you’ve locked. If you hide them, the channels you’ve locked or that fall outside of the parental guidelines you’ve set will not show up in your program guide. If you show them they will be visible, but will still prompt for your password when you access them.
Option number three is the most important on this menu, as you must lock your system when you are done setting up your locks for them to take effect. If you make changes on the Locks menu but do not lock your system the changes will not be saved.
Remember, parental locks must be set up on every TV, even if you have a dual receiver for two TVs. The two different tuners in a dual receiver can have separate parental locks set up on each. This allows for you to customize the viewing experiences in your home. For instance, you can place a parental lock on the living room TV to prevent young eyes from accessing HBO, but you won’t have to worry about entering a password every time you want to watch True Blood on the television in your bedroom.
Categories: DISH & TV news