Referat New censor chip for american tvs

NEW CENSOR CHIP FOR AMERICAN TVs

The new censor chip is called V-chip, that is short for violence chip, and is placed inside a TV set and censors programmes by reading their classification code. It had been invented by a professor at the University of Vancouver and the US President Clinton signed a Telecommunications Bill which says that from 1998 all new TV sets with a screen size of 13 inches or more sold in America will have to have a V-chip. Clinton had explained this action, because he thought that the huge ammount of sex and violance an TV are the major reasons for the high levels of crime and family breakdown.

How exactly will the V-chip work?

Every programme which is shown on TV will be given a code that can be read by the V-chip which censors the materials according to four categories: violance, sex, bad language or an age classification.This code will be transmitted as a signal along with each programme and picked up by the V-chip. Every category will have a rating of one to five, with five the most liberal and one the most restrictive. Parents only have to define the levels for each category and when a programme comes that exceeds one of the levels a warning would appear on the TV sreen making the picture unrecognizable and switching channels. (The planned start of the V-chips in 1998 couldn't be fulfilled, but the government wants to introduce it at the begining of the year 2000.)

Is the V-chip coming over to Europa soon?

The European Parliament voted for the compulsory introduction of V-chips into every new TV set sold in Europe. But if the European Parliament really makes it law, then also a Europe - wide body would have to set the European standard for each tolerance level. The problem is that the 15 member states have to agree on what a dangerous level of sex or violence is.

But even if the standards could be set on a national basis, another problem would be if the regulators, the Government or the broadcasters should make that. Therefore it is rather unlikely that the V-chip will find its way to our homes in the near future. One of the reasons why the V-chip has come about in the USA is that TV there is now almost completely unregulated.VIDEOS, THE BIG BROTHERS OF TV PROGRAMMES, AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

By law almost all videos have to be classified and this task fulfils the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is the official body responsible for ensuring that all publicly shown films and videos conform to certain standards. Although the BBFC started in 1912, videos have only been classified since 1983 in Great Britain. The exceptional videos that have not to be classified are videos which are educational or are mainly concerned with sport, religion or music. Sometimes those videos carry an 'E' symbol on their sleeves, which are not required by law.

The classifications:

Here are the classification certificates with following classification that are given to video titles in Great Britain which are required by law to be classified pursuant to the Video Recordings Act 1984:

Uc This means that the film or programme has a universal category and is suitable for

everyone but especially suitable

for very young children. It has

probably been made just for them.     

U This stands for Universal and

means that the film or programme

can be seen by people of all ages.

There will be nothing unsuitable for children and the whole family

might will enjoy it.

PG This stands for Parental

Guidance which means that

parents might wish to check upon

the film or programme before

showing it to their younger

children. If it's an action film it                                   might have some violence. If it's romantic it might have some sexy scenes or very brief nudity. It ight might also have some of the

milder   swearwords.

This means that the film or

programme is unsuitable for

anyone younger than 12. There

may be stronger moments of

violence or references to teenage

experiences but nothing

gratuitous. There may also be

swerwords that you wouldn't hear

in a PG video.

15 This means that the film or

programme is unsuitable for

anyone younger than 15. There

may be a fairly adult theme or

scenes of sex, violence or drugs

which, while not being particularly

graphic, are unsuitable for

younger teenagers. There may also be some sexual swearwords.

18 This means that the film or programme is unsuitable for anyone younger than 18. There will certainly be an adult theme

and there may also be strong

scenes of sex or violence, which

could be quite graphic. There

may also be very explicit

language which will frequently

mean sexual swearwords.

A new category of classification has been introduced in 1995 called 'R18' which stands for Restricted 18 that limits videos with that symbol to licensed sex shops and film clubs, because of their highly explicit portrayals of sexual scenes.

( - without picture)

More Help:

As a result of a video industry voluntary initiative, you sometimes can see additional advice panels which are printed on the video sleeves. This gives you the possibility to get more information about the video. These additional information for some videos are given by the BBFC at the time when those videos are being classified. Since 1997 more video releases are carrying those panel on the packaging.

Another kind of additional help are the short explanatory trailers which have also been appearing on many video releases and start before the programme begins.

Important tips (for preventing children watching unsuitable video material): Don't leave a video you may have seen by the TV when you go out, because you either wouldn't leave an open bottle of whiskey or pocket of cigarettes within easy reach of children!

# Watch out for what sort of videos your children are watching with their older brothers or sisters! These videos may be perfectly suitable for the siblings to see, but not suitable at all for younger children that are with them.

Try to investigate what kind of videos your children are watching, at their friend's houses! If you find out or just think that the videos your children watching are unsuitable for them, try to contact the parents of your children's friend and talk with them about your problems!