A COLUMN BY Dick Rolfe Chairman, THE DOVE FOUNDATION
The V-Chip is Not For Home Videos. . . Not Yet!
According to a bill passed by Congress, V-chips must be installed in every TV set manufactured after January, 2000. You can purchase a V-Chip set top box for use with your present TV set at http://www.dove.org/shop if you don't want to wait two years.
V-Chips are also being included as standard equipment in the new Digital Video Disc (DVD) players. This action is curious, since movies on DVD don't come with a ratings signal for the players to read. You see - the V-Chip legislation only covers television programs. The videos you rent or buy are not included in their mandate.
I asked several studio executives why they aren't encoding their digital videos with a V-Chip signal for G, PG, PG-1 3 and R-rated movies. They said that there has been no real pressure from customers.
Most people purchasing DVD players are video collectors, single adults or DINKS (double income – no kids). Several manufacturers are releasing models under $300 in time for Christmas. That means that more families will be in the market for DVD movies by next year.
As more families become aware of the V-Chip capabilities on their DVD players, they will expect the movie studios to provide a ratings signal on the disks. Then parents will be able to monitor their home videos just like their TV programs.
You can be sure that Hollywood will stall this move as long as possible. They don't want their PG-1 3 or R-rated videos rejected by a DVD player that mom or dad sets to show only G and PG movies. That would result in lost rentals, or refunds.
Hollywood will probably not volunteer to apply the same standards to videos that are currently being applied to television programs. They will require some sort of incentive: either an outcry from concerned consumers like you and me, or government action. I hope the former will suffice. We already have enough of the latter.
Some studios are looking into the best way to respond to this dilemma. One solution is to provide two versions of their R-rated and PG-13 movies on the same disk – one original and the other edited to PG standards. Kids will be able to watch an edited version of the movies their peers are seeing...Parents won’t have to sacrifice their standards...The industry will make more sales. Everyone wins, especially society!
Dick Rolfe is Chairman of The Dove Foundation a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage and promote the creation, production and distribution of wholesome family entertainment. For more information about wholesome films and videos, write: 535 E. Fulton, Suite 1A, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, or call (616)454-5021.
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Updated by: Scott RolfeCopyright © 1998, The Dove Foundation. All rights reserved.