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

[Charles Steinkuehler]

Oren Beck wrote:

> I want to have some method of recording kid safe content and -an
> ability to audit anything questionable if ratings or other rulesets
> 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?

I've had a couple ReplayTV boxes for years, have started using my linux
box as a media server, and can suggest a few options.

First, realize the complexity of your solution will depend a great deal
on the technical savvy of the target 'controllees', as well as their
desire to circumvent the rules.

At the simple end of the spectrum, you can 'deprogram' the offensive
channel(s) from the TV, and/or enable the parental controls.  This may
work, but could be fairly easily circumvented.

We're currently using our ReplayTV to 'screen' television.  It's setup
to only record the shows we want to watch, and we pretty much never
watch live TV (the cable line doesn't even go to the back of the TV
anymore!).  This works for us, but my children are 3 (ie: not yet
capable of easily driving the remote solo), and there's a mix of "adult"
content (Amazing Race, Survivor, etc., which still manage to have quite
a bit of foul language) and stuff for the kids (mostly from PBSKids).

For children capable of driving the remote solo, you'll probably need to
make any offensive content go away (ie: inaccessible).  If you don't
watch live TV, you can do this by making a 'play-only' media system with
a separate record/filter system that provides content.  Options for the
play-only system include (but are not necessarily limited to:

- Network capable ReplayTV/Tivo

- Off-the-shelf Network Media player (I like the Mediagate MG-35, as it
plays ripped DVD's complete with menus, but there are *LOTS* of other
options)

- Roll-your-own linux/windows boxen

Now you need to setup some means to acquire content...it should be
fairly straight-forward to setup a media server system that contained
only 'approved' content, and configure the playback-only system (and
other network security settings) so that *ONLY* content from the
approved share is playable.

You could grab content with a video capture card, another networked DVR
(perhaps in the parents bedroom with full access to all channels), via
bit-torrent downloads, or whatever.  Adding content could be part
automatic (ie: record all Curious George episodes from PBSKids) and part
manual or semi-automatic (ie: automatically record some shows, but
require Mom/Dad to copy them to the approved area for general watching).

-- 
Charles Steinkuehler
charles at steinkuehler.net