9/26/2016
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`Parents have shield to block TV programs tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
`
`Home → Collections → Parents
`
`Parents have shield to block TV
`programs
`Vchip: Adults have been slow to buy televisions with a device to
`help control what children watch.
`
`June 28, 1999 | By MARTHA WOODALL | MARTHA WOODALL,KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
`
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`Parents are gaining a new tool to keep their children from viewing televised violence, sex and profanity.
`
`The device has been dubbed "the Vchip," and come Thursday, federal law says, half of the new televisions sold in the
`United States with screens 13 inches or larger must have one. All sets of that size must include them by Jan. 1.
`
`The first sets containing Vchips began arriving in stores this spring. Yet despite the heightened concern about the
`portrayal of violence in the media since the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the introduction is being
`greeted by yawns.
`
`Business Phone Service
`shoretel.com/why-shoretel
`Free Demo. Priced for Every Budget. Don't Let Your Ideas Wait.
`
`Retailers say few parents shopping for televisions are looking for sets with Vchips or even know they exist.
`
`Lavera Briggs, manager of the television department at a Best Buy store in Willow Grove, Pa., near Philadephia, said
`shoppers rarely ask for a set with a Vchip. Sometimes parents are uninterested even after she points out the newly
`equipped sets.
`
`Many parents appear clueless about the television rating system that the Vchip relies on, said Amy B. Jordan, a
`children'sprogramming researcher at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
`
`Jordan said that several adults have told her that they thought the "FV" content rating stood for "family values." In fact,
`FV stands for "fantasy violence" and is designed to warn parents of programs that, though aimed at children age 7 and
`older, contain fantasy violence that is more intense than on other such shows.
`
`A survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation last month reported that 77 percent of parents said they would use
`a Vchip to block shows they did not want their children to see. But the national telephone survey of 1,001 parents
`found that only 39 percent of them had seen or heard anything about the television rating system.
`
`"I was a little disturbed by the continuing lack of understanding about how the rating system works," said Victoria
`Rideout, director of the foundation's Program on Entertainment Media and Public Health, which released the survey.
`"The level of parental concerns is so high about television content, and here is this new tool that has been out for
`about 18 months to address that."
`
`To help dispel confusion, the Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, Calif., and other agencies and groups,
`including the Center of Media Education in Washington and the Federal Communications Commission, are rolling out
`educational campaigns to coincide with Thursday's Vchip deadline.
`
`The campaigns are expected to include Web sites, tollfree phone numbers, and free booklets that will describe how
`the Vchip and the television ratings system work.
`
`FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who is leading a commission task force overseeing the implementation of federal
`Vchip regulations, said the goal was to make sure the public was better informed before the new TV season and the
`fall flurry of TV purchases.
`
`All of the major television manufacturers who make 90 percent of the 25 million sets sold in the United States
`annually are expected to meet this week's deadline, Tristani said. Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer
`Electronics Manufacturers Association, said the industry group was developing a logo and stickers that retailers could
`use to identify Vchipequipped sets in stores.
`
`Related Articles
`Political winds put Vchip on TV executives lips
`July 12, 1995
`
`VChip: No Magic Bullet
`August 13, 1995
`
`Vchip on my shoulder
`February 24, 1996
`
`VChip To the Rescue
`March 24, 1996
`
`Networks scramble to avoid vchip fallout
`February 7, 1996
`
`Find More Stories About
`
`Parents
`
`Violence
`
`Vchip
`
`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions
`
`1/3
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0001
`
`Alarm.com. v. Vivint
`IPR2015-01977
`
`
`
`Parents have shield to block TV programs tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
`
`Home → Collections → Parents
`
`Parents have shield to block TV
`programs
`Vchip: Adults have been slow to buy televisions with a device to
`help control what children watch.
`
`June 28, 1999 | By MARTHA WOODALL | MARTHA WOODALL,KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
`
`Recommend 0
`
`Tweet
`
`0
`StumbleUpon
`Submit
`
`Parents are gaining a new tool to keep their children from viewing televised violence, sex and profanity.
`
`The device has been dubbed "the Vchip," and come Thursday, federal law says, half of the new televisions sold in the
`United States with screens 13 inches or larger must have one. All sets of that size must include them by Jan. 1.
`
`The first sets containing Vchips began arriving in stores this spring. Yet despite the heightened concern about the
`portrayal of violence in the media since the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the introduction is being
`greeted by yawns.
`
`Business Phone Service
`shoretel.com/why-shoretel
`Free Demo. Priced for Every Budget. Don't Let Your Ideas Wait.
`
`Retailers say few parents shopping for televisions are looking for sets with Vchips or even know they exist.
`
`Lavera Briggs, manager of the television department at a Best Buy store in Willow Grove, Pa., near Philadephia, said
`shoppers rarely ask for a set with a Vchip. Sometimes parents are uninterested even after she points out the newly
`equipped sets.
`
`Many parents appear clueless about the television rating system that the Vchip relies on, said Amy B. Jordan, a
`children'sprogramming researcher at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
`
`Jordan said that several adults have told her that they thought the "FV" content rating stood for "family values." In fact,
`FV stands for "fantasy violence" and is designed to warn parents of programs that, though aimed at children age 7 and
`older, contain fantasy violence that is more intense than on other such shows.
`
`A survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation last month reported that 77 percent of parents said they would use
`a Vchip to block shows they did not want their children to see. But the national telephone survey of 1,001 parents
`found that only 39 percent of them had seen or heard anything about the television rating system.
`
`"I was a little disturbed by the continuing lack of understanding about how the rating system works," said Victoria
`Rideout, director of the foundation's Program on Entertainment Media and Public Health, which released the survey.
`"The level of parental concerns is so high about television content, and here is this new tool that has been out for
`about 18 months to address that."
`
`To help dispel confusion, the Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, Calif., and other agencies and groups,
`including the Center of Media Education in Washington and the Federal Communications Commission, are rolling out
`educational campaigns to coincide with Thursday's Vchip deadline.
`
`The campaigns are expected to include Web sites, tollfree phone numbers, and free booklets that will describe how
`the Vchip and the television ratings system work.
`
`FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who is leading a commission task force overseeing the implementation of federal
`Vchip regulations, said the goal was to make sure the public was better informed before the new TV season and the
`fall flurry of TV purchases.
`
`All of the major television manufacturers who make 90 percent of the 25 million sets sold in the United States
`annually are expected to meet this week's deadline, Tristani said. Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer
`Electronics Manufacturers Association, said the industry group was developing a logo and stickers that retailers could
`use to identify Vchipequipped sets in stores.
`
`Related Articles
`Political winds put Vchip on TV executives lips
`July 12, 1995
`
`VChip: No Magic Bullet
`August 13, 1995
`
`Vchip on my shoulder
`February 24, 1996
`
`VChip To the Rescue
`March 24, 1996
`
`Networks scramble to avoid vchip fallout
`February 7, 1996
`
`Find More Stories About
`
`Parents
`
`Violence
`
`Vchip
`
`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions
`
`1/3
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0001
`
`Alarm.com. v. Vivint
`IPR2015-01977
`
`
`
`9/26/2016
`
`Parents have shield to block TV programs tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
`
`A new set isn't necessary to take advantage of the new filtering device, which is far more sophisticated than those that
`for years have allowed consumers to block entire channels. A Vchip box designed to sit atop a television is already
`available for about $80.
`
`Actually, the Vchip is not a single chip at all. It is a system of integrated circuitry inside a television that can "read" a
`stream of data sent by a broadcaster.
`
`Teach English in Japan
`interacnetwork.com
`ALT positions in Japanese schools From 230k/mo salary & holidays
`oö
`The Vchip employs the same technology that closed captioning does. But instead of decoding a portion of the data
`stream that provides captions useful for the hearing impaired, the Vchip picks up TV ratings that are similarly encoded.
`The rating is transmitted about every three seconds.
`
`Because the Vchip largely relies on existing technology, Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association officials say
`sets that have the feature should cost only "pennies" more than new sets that don't.
`
`The owner of a Vchipequipped set can program the remote control to block out shows according to ratings. For
`example, a parent of young children could decide to screen out all programs rated TVPG, TV14 and TVM.
`
`The adult user has an access code similar to a personal identification number used with automated teller machines.
`When a program comes on that the television has been set to block, a warning appears saying the viewer is not
`authorized to see it. Punching in the fourdigit code lets parents watch such shows without reprogramming the set.
`
`Teach English in Japan
`interacnetwork.com
`ALT positions in Japanese schools From 230k/mo salary & holidays
`oö
`
`1 | 2 | Next
`
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`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions
`
`2/3
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0002
`
`
`
`9/26/2016
`
`Parents have shield to block TV programs tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
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`Index by Keyword |
`
`Index by Date | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
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`Please note the greenlined linked article text has been applied commercially without any involvement from
`our newsroom editors, reporters or any other editorial staff.
`
`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions
`
`3/3
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0003
`
`
`
`9/26/2016
`
`Parents have shield to block TV programs Page 2 tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
`
`Home → Collections → Parents
`
`(Page 2 of 2)
`
`Parents have shield to block TV
`programs
`Vchip: Adults have been slow to buy televisions with a device to
`help control what children watch.
`
`June 28, 1999 | By MARTHA WOODALL | MARTHA WOODALL,KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
`
`Recommend 0
`
`Tweet
`
`0
`StumbleUpon
`Submit
`
`"We tried to make it so the consumer could set it up once and then forget about it," said David Arland, manager of
`government and public relations at Thomson Consumer Electronics in Indianapolis, which manufactures RCA, GE and
`Proscan televisions. "Presumably, the child does not know the code."
`
`A television equipped with a Vchip does not block anything unless the consumer programs in "parental controls." The
`process is much like programming a VCR, with onscreen menus that are activated via the set's remote control.
`
`The Vchip had its beginnings in 1990, when Congress passed the Television Violence Act to reduce onscreen
`violence. Three years later, talk about creating a Vchip surfaced after Rep. Edward J. Markey, DMass., and former
`Rep. Jack Fields, RTexas, introduced a bill calling for TVs with at least 13inch screens to contain components that
`would enable parents to block some programs. That year engineers at the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers
`Association in Arlington, Va., and its members devised the Vchip.
`
`Business Phone Service
`shoretel.com/why-shoretel
`Free Demo. Priced for Every Budget. Don't Let Your Ideas Wait.
`
`Congress took up the call for parental controls in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, directing the FCC to work with
`manufacturers to develop Vchip specifications.
`
`In early 1997, the Motion Picture Association of America and TV broadcasters proposed a voluntary ratings system
`with six categories. The FCC adopted those categories when it required that Vchipequipped sets be available by
`Thursday.
`
`All television shows are supposed to be rated, except for news and sports programs and unedited movies carried on
`premium channels. Major networks except for NBC have implemented the voluntary ratings fully. NBC uses the age
`based ratings, but does not include content labels, such as S for sex or FV for fantasy violence, that the Vchip allows
`to be selectively filtered. Black Entertainment Television has opted not to use the ratings at all.
`
`TV makers are required only to include Vchips that allow parents to block rated programs. But some manufacturers,
`including Zenith, Thomson and Hitachi, have designed them so that parents can block nonrated shows as well.
`
`"The parents we talked to said, 'If you are not going to offer unratedprogram blocking, what was the point?'" Arland
`recalled, noting that Jerry Springer's and other talk shows are not rated because they are labeled news shows.
`
`Other companies have limited the blocking in their sets to rated programs.
`
`"The rating system is out there," said Steve Nickerson, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Consumer Products. "We
`didn't see giving that option as being something that was worth putting into a set."
`
`Teach English in Japan
`interacnetwork.com
`ALT positions in Japanese schools From 230k/mo salary & holidays
`oö
`
`Prev | 1 | 2
`
`Related Articles
`Political winds put Vchip on TV executives lips
`July 12, 1995
`
`VChip: No Magic Bullet
`August 13, 1995
`
`Vchip on my shoulder
`February 24, 1996
`
`VChip To the Rescue
`March 24, 1996
`
`Networks scramble to avoid vchip fallout
`February 7, 1996
`
`Find More Stories About
`
`Parents
`
`Violence
`
`Vchip
`
`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions/2
`
`1/2
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0004
`
`
`
`9/26/2016
`
`Parents have shield to block TV programs Page 2 tribunedigitalbaltimoresun
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`From the Web
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`Sponsored Links
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`Learn how Office 365 can save time and money.
`Microsoft
`
`This game will keep you up all night!
`Stormfall: Free Online Game
`
`Kate Middleton Drops Jaws, Proving Prince William Is A Lucky Man
`Livingly
`
`An Insane Cash Back Credit Card Has Arrived
`NextAdvisor
`
`New York: This Meal Service is Cheaper Than Your Local Store
`Home Chef
`
`People In New York Are Racing To Get These Invisible Hearing Aids
`hear.com
`
`Only 1 in 10 Americans Can Pass This U.s. History Quiz
`Topix Offbeat
`
`Worst Secret Banks Hide from Homeowners
`AmeriValue Rate Quotes
`
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`Trying to clarify convection settings
`
`Index by Keyword |
`
`Index by Date | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
`
`Please note the greenlined linked article text has been applied commercially without any involvement from
`our newsroom editors, reporters or any other editorial staff.
`
`http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19990628/entertainment/9906280239_1_vchipparentsbuytelevisions/2
`
`2/2
`
`Petitioner Alarm.com's Exhibit 1028
`1028.0005
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