I’ll admit it. I like watching TV. There, I said it. And, yes, I let our kids watch it in moderation, as long as the show is appropriate for them. But it’s getting tougher and tougher to find things kids can actually watch. Even at 7 p.m., some of the sitcoms on at that time are not something 
I’d want my kids to see, and it’s impossible to be quick enough with the “mute” button to screen out all the bad stuff.
A fellow parent felt that exact same level of frustration with TV and movies back in 1997. He and his wife were on vacation when they popped in the movie E.T. to watch it with their kids. It had been a long time since the adults had seen the movie and they couldn’t remember anything in it being inappropriate for kids. But then as the movie went on, they counted 13 uses of foul language — the same kinds of words they’d been teaching their kids NOT to say.
So Rick Bray decided to do something about it. He invented TV Guardian, which is technology that screens out foul language by scanning the hidden closed-captioning that all shows are required to have. When a foul word comes up, TV Guardian mutes that word and puts a caption up on the screen with a phrase that means the same thing, only without the offensive word. For example, “Move your @#$%#,” is not heard but “Move your tail” would be seen as a subtitle on the screen during that moment of the TV show or movie. So even though the dialogue is muted for a second or two, you’ll still know what’s going on in the scene.
What’s great about this product is that it goes way beyond what normal television censors “bleep” out. If you don’t want your kids to hear the Lord’s name taken in vain, TV Guardian can block it. If hearing sexual references on TV in front of your kids makes you cringe, this technology is designed to prevent it.
TV Guardian features we LOVE:
- Filter Levels: You can choose from three levels: Strict, Moderate and Tolerant.
- Religious Filter may be turned ON or OFF. When it’s set to ON, TVG will filter out all the offensive ways Hollywood tends to use the names of Jesus and God.
- Hell/Damn Filter may be turned ON or OFF.
- Sex References Filter may be turned ON or OFF.
This technology works on DVD’s, television shows and television movies, including Blu-Ray. It also works on newer model televisions with HD as well as older televisions. You can get all the details about how it connects to your equipment by clicking HERE. The good news is that it’s a small black box and won’t require heroic measures to install it.
If you’re sick of lunging frantically for the remote control so you can change channels or hit the “mute” button in a hurry, then you should definitely check this out. Watching TV with the kids can actually be fun if you’re not constantly worried about what might pop up on the screen or pop out of a character’s mouth.
Here’s a quick video that gives you an example of how TV Guardian works to screen out unwanted language. WARNING: This video shows the video clip with and without using TV Guardian, so you can see the difference. So if you have a kid hanging out over your shoulder right now, have them leave the room before you watch the video clip. 🙂
Click HERE to get more details on the product, which you can only get by ordering online or by phone, since it’s not sold in stores. The toll-free number to call is 1-800-298-5618, and it does come with a 30-day money back guarantee if you change your mind.
