Linux PVR as possible self-control of content for families?

[Kelsay, Brian - Kansas City, MO]

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Oren Beck
>Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 8:22 AM
>
<snip>
>Can the Linux projects for PVR media centers be used to create 
>a personal content firewall?
>
<snip>
>I want to have some method of recording kid safe content and 
>-an ability to audit anything questionable if ratings or other 
>rule sets make that indicated. So the only content that the 
>kids see is as censored as practical. My stepdaughter has 4 
>kids under 10 years old.

>So she's become the target customer for my application question.
>She does NOT have time to either hand censor all the 
>kids' content in real time, nor the computer skills we do to 
>even semi automate the task. Can we offer any help?
>
>Let me close with my overwhelming reasoning for posting this.
>
>The only person having final veto over what their children 
>watch is their parent in control. 
>And we can  create an instrumentality of that control.

Most of the newer TVs and cable boxes have parental controls built-in.
You can set the parental controls to lock-out individual channels,
lock-out anything that is rated TV-14 or TV-MA.  You can also combine
these with timed lock-out so that the channels are unlocked after a
certain time or so nearly all channels are locked-out before Family
viewing time starts (time for kids to do homework).  I can attest to
this system working, BUT beware, it can make it a PITA for you the adult
to watch TV.  You constantly have to enter the pin code to watch the
channel, even if you are just skipping around to find something to
watch.

One of the easiest things you can do is remove the bad channels from the
line-up.  Cancel a movie channel subscription of remove it from the
remote.  That way if the kids are scrolling thru the channels they won't
roll thru the baddies, but you can manually enter the channel number.

Until MythTV and Freevo get something like Dan's Guardian for TV
channels, there are your answers.  Or you could just unplug it.