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Features of Your Internet PC 2-31
Parental Control
of DVD Viewing
In general, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating of a DVD
movie (G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17) is printed on the DVD cover and documentation.
For DVD titles with parental control, a parental control code is recorded in the DVD
disk to match the MPAA rating; however, manufacturers sometimes record the wrong
parental control code on the DVD disk, which causes a mismatch between the actual
MPAA rating of the movie and that appearing on the DVD disk.
If a mismatch occurs, the DVD player will not be able to enforce the parental control
feature. It is important that DVD movie buyers test the parental control feature of
each disk before purchasing the disk to ensure that the parental control safeguard is
working properly.
The following are examples of issues with DVD disks you may encounter:
◆ The disk will not play if the parental control on the DVD player is set to the
MPAA rating and the parental control code embedded on the disk is higher than
the actual MPAA rating. This defect lies with the DVD movie, not with the DVD
player.
◆ If the parental control code embedded on the DVD disk is lower than the actual
MPAA rating, the DVD player will play movies of a higher MPAA rating than
the parental control setting on the DVD player. This defect also lies with the
DVD movie, not the DVD player.
◆ A DVD disk might not carry a parental control code, either because the movie
does not support parental control or because there is a manufacturing defect. In
general, if a DVD disk has an embedded parental control, the cover or the DVD
disk itself will call attention to this fact. The DVD player will allow titles
without parental control to play, regardless of the parental control setting.
If a DVD will not play at a specific parental control setting, you can turn off the
parental control function on the DVD player to allow the movie to play and turn
parental control on again after viewing.
Parents may wish to move DVDs without parental control encoding, or with a
control code that is lower than the MPAA rating, to a place that is inaccessible to
children.