V-chip

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V-chip is a generic term used for a feature of television receivers allowing the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing. All 13-inch and larger televisions manufactured for the U.S. market since January 1, 2000 are required to have the V-chip technology. Many devices similar to the V-chip have been produced.

The rated programs' signals are encoded according to the rating, on line 21 of the broadcast signal's vertical blanking interval using the XDS protocol, and this is detected by the television set's V-chip. If the program's rating is outside the level configured as acceptable on that particular television, the program is blocked.

The V-chip technology was developed by Tim Collings of Simon Fraser University.

The V-chip has a 4 digit numerical password in order to keep older children from changing its settings. However, it can be overridden by savvier youth patient enough to read the television's manual to find out how to reset the password to 0000 (built into the V-chip in case the parents themselves forget the password that they set).

The name V-chip is widely believed to come from the word "violence," although there has been some debate. The other suggested meanings are "verboten" (the German word for "forbidden"), vigilance, or vigilante.