TVGuardian

 There have been tools over the years for skipping the sexy or violent parts of movies, or sanitizing the bad words coming from your TV’s speakers. But HDTV viewers who didn’t want to restrict viewing to G-rated shows remained exposed to nasty curse words and other offensive language. Until now. (Videos)

 

TVGuardian, maker of set-top censor boxes, recently introduced a system that will edit out all sorts of foul language found in high definition TV shows, Blu-ray discs and cable programming. And it doesn’t just eradicate the no-no phrases; it replaces them with clean wholesome expressions, displayed as on-screen text.

Here is a YouTube video of the TVGuardian in action:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0KUJSZxjo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

You may be wondering what words and expressions are censored by the device. I checked in with Britt Bennett, president of TVGuardian, and it turns out there are over 400 words that the TVGuardian is programmed to mute. Here are some (censored) examples:

• “F*** you” becomes “Go away.”
• “You’re full of s***” becomes “You’re full of crud.”
• “He’s an a**hole” becomes “He’s an idiot.”

Aside from the very obvious, TVGuardian shared a partial list of censored words, including some “watch words” that seemed innocent enough in most contexts. These included “butter,” “cock crows” and “dick van.” As an offensive term, “dyke” is also on the list. It’s understandable, but must TVGuardian users now refer to fine actor Dick Van Dyke as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”?

Though the TVGuardian tends to omit blasphemies, it has adjustments to allow for them, so a sermon by a preacher could use “hell,” “damn,” and of course “Jesus Christ.” (Pejorative terms describing other ethnicities and religions are also screened out by the guardian’s filter technology.)

Like many technologies these days, the censor lists are firmware upgradable.

Here’s how you’d select the level of censorship you want on your HDTV:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0p7CuRi3e8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

The TVGuardian is not sold in stores, but is available for $209.85 plus shipping directly from tvguardian.com. Of course all HDTVs still have channel change controls and an on-off button. However, why take responsibility for content that is available in your home to children and family members when an electronic guardian can do it for you?

Via MSNBC