Parental Control PC TV Tuners provide the necessary hardware and driver interfaces capable of receiving program rating descriptors transmitted over broadcast analog and digital TV. The capability to block TV programs from viewing when the TV rating limit is met, and the capability to respond to changes in the TV rating system is provided by Windows Media Center (or similarly capable TV software). If you want to set rating limits on your family’s TV consumption, please access the parental control feature in Windows Media Center.

Windows Media Center allows you to set limits to the rating level that you and your family can view for TV, DVDs, and movies. The first time you access the parental control button in Settings, you will be prompted to set a 4-digit code before proceeding. When attempting to play Recorded TV that exceeds the allowable rating limit, you will be prompted to enter a 4-digit code to unblock the show.

Parental control uses two different ratings systems. Movie and DVD ratings are in accordance with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) scale, while TV shows are rated according to the TV rating system. Windows Media Center allows you to block shows using the ratings decoder from the TV broadcast signal. However, the rating information that you view in the Windows Media Center Guide is downloaded from the Internet and displayed for informational purposes. In rare cases, the Guide rating may not match the rating information received over the TV broadcast signal.

For further instructions on using parental controls in Windows Media Center, please refer to the Microsoft online documentation for that software product.

Updated Jan 2009