The V chip has landed

Rumbling car crashes. Ear-piercing screeches. The Las Vegas Convention Center was crammed with Digital Versatile Disk movies and HDTV broadcasts full of shrieks and colossal wrecks played at brain-rattling levels in full Dolby Digital Surround Sound. All to encourage you to bring such movie-style realism into your living room. And in the corner stood Tim Collings and his V-chip set-top box, which he hopes will keep those screams and crashes out.

Here was a collection of the coolest, biggest, loudest, most graphic electronics devices to be found, and in the middle was a device designed to make things less graphic. Not so fast, says Canadian college professor and self-proclaimed V-chip inventor Tim Collings. Together with the Tri-Vision company, Collings on Friday introduced consumer-ready V-chip products called V*gis. (There is some dispute over Collings' invention claim). Tri-Vision says V*gis will be sold by the spring. For about $70, for the first time families will be able to automatically block programs that have too much sex or violence.

The ratings system works a little like the movie ratings system. There are four general categories, "TV-G," "TV-PG," "TV-14" and "TV-M," plus two just-for-children categories, "TV-Y" and TV-Y7," and four descriptors: "V," "S," "D" and "L," indicating the presence of violence, sex, suggestive dialogue and language that might be offensive.

The ratings are being sent right along with the program by broadcasters starting this month, and the V*gis product decodes the information and automatically screens out shows based on pre-set limits. The product's inventor says it's not about screening, it's about choice. "We're giving parents more choice about what their kids watch," Collings said.

For some time, broadcasters have offered ratings by displaying small visual cues in the corner of the screen as programs start. Parents so forewarned could then decide if the show was suitable for their kids. The V-chip just automates the selection process.

The so-called Line 21, part of the broadcast spectrum, allows transmission of a data stream that can provide lots of additional information -- like the time of day (not a big deal, unless your VCR is constantly flashing 12:00). And Collings has plans for a "positive option" in his box which will not only screen out programs but can also suggest worthwhile programs from a pre-set list of parental preferences. The box looks and works just like a cable converter box (in fact, a combo V-chip and cable converter box will be sold for about $125.) But it works more like a VCR. There are on-screen menus where you pick and choose what level of language, violence and sex you want allowed on your television. The V*gis box offers a second, more specific level of screening within the main levels. Users are prompted with questions like: Will you allow shows with "Intense suggestive dialogue," or "intense sexual situations"? If a show comes up that exceeds the limits (at CES, Jerry Springer's talk show kept getting tripped up), it's blocked, and a warning message is displayed.

If you're not comfortable programming your VCR to do timer recordings, you'll never bother to use the V*gis functions. But with just a little diligence (certainly less than sitting next to the kids in the living room) and the ability to keep your PIN secret from the kids, you will be able to prevent an entire class of shows from reaching your living room.

How your kids react, well, that's not in the warranty. And with the V-chip comes all the usual joys of automation. Say you've got your levels set at TV-14. And the movie of the week is "Schindler's List." Well, that'll never get through V*gis. But you either think it's an acceptable show for your kids or you've left them with the grandparents. Well, to change the acceptable program levels or override a specific blocked program, a four-digit PIN number is required.

Well, I have a timer on my television designed to allow me to limit a child's viewing time. Overriding it requires me to press 3 buttons simultaneously on the remote and chant some magic words. Not long ago, I forgot the remote key control sequence, which made my TV inoperable for a day, until I unearthed the user's guide. I suspect that when "Schindler's List" gets blocked by V*gis, families across America will go racing around the bedroom looking for their PIN number.

There is an 800 number to call for forgotten PINs, but if you forget your four-digit PIN, why would you remember a seven-digit 800 number? Broadcasters have been sending additional program information along Line 21 since 1993, when all large TV sets were required to offer closed captioning. V-chip hardware has been around for a while, too -- a California company, Zilog, has been offering chips to TV manufacturers since 1996. Samsung had a working set on display at CES.

But without the broadcasters encoded information, the V-chip was useless. Broadcasters are rolling out the encoded information piecemeal, as there's still unsettled disputes over the ratings system. And the FCC still hasn't ruled when all new large TV sets will be required to have V-chips, though that ruling is expected soon.

The V*gis set-top box is a temporary retrofitting to put the V-chip in older sets, but since V-chips will soon be in all new sets, set-top boxes will have a short, useful life. And the V-chip is coming sooner rather than later. As one V-chip hardware manufacturer said, "The TV makers are all racing to sell the first set with a V-chip in it."