The V-Chip

The V-chip is a technology that lets parents block television programming they don’t want their children to watch. The V-Chip electronically reads television programming ratings and allows parents to block programs they believe are unsuitable for their children. As of January 1, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission required all new television sets 13 inches or larger to contain the V-chip technology. 

The rating for a show is encoded into the program, and appears in the corner of your television screen during the first 15 seconds of a program and in TV programming guides, ( click here for more details on the ratings system ) and the V-chip technology reads the encoded information and blocks shows accordingly. Based on the selections you have made when setting up your filtering, the V-chip will automatically block programs, channels, etc. based on those parameters.

For more information on the setup and usage of V-chip technology, please refer to the Users Guide that you received with your television set.