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LC-43LB371U/LC-50LB371U 43"/50" 1080p, 60Hz, LED Sharp Roku TV
Blocking based on US TV ratings
Most broadcast US TV shows—other than movies—contain rating data that enables parental controls to block shows that
parents don’t want others to view. The ratings are divided into two groups that function independently:
•
Youth group
—TV-Y, TV-Y7
•
Main group
—TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA
Within each of these groups, the ratings interact such that if you block a particular level of content, your Sharp Roku TV also
blocks all content with a higher rating. Conversely, if you unblock a particular level of content, your Sharp Roku TV also
unblocks all content with a lower rating. For example, if you block TV-PG programs, your Sharp Roku TV also blocks TV-14
and TV-MA programs. If you subsequently unblock TV-14 programs, TV-PG programs are also unblocked, but TV-MA
programs remain blocked.
Similarly, within the main group, content types can be individually blocked. For example, you can block just coarse language
in shows with a TV-PG rating. If you do, then your Sharp Roku TV also blocks shows with coarse language in the higher
ratings (TV-14 and TV-MA). Subsequently unblocking coarse language in TV-14 ratings does not unblock coarse language in
TV-MA programs, but it does unblock coarse language in TV-PG programs.
To block TV shows based on US television ratings:
1
From the
Home
screen menu, navigate to
Settings >Parental controls
, and then enter your PIN.
2
In the
Parental controls
screen, navigate to
TV tuner> TV ratings
. Choose among the following settings:
•
Entire ratings
—Highlight the rating you want to block, and then navigate to the right and select the first option that
blocks the entire rating level (and all higher rating levels).
•
Individual content types
—Highlight the rating that contains the content type you want to block, and then select the
content types you want to block from among those listed. Remember that blocking a content type in one rating blocks
the equivalent content type in all higher rating levels.
Blocking based on US movie ratings
Most movies in the US are rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, or MPAA, so the ratings are known as MPAA
ratings. TV broadcast signals carry movie rating data that enables parental controls to block shows that parents don't want
others to see. The ratings are:
• G—General audiences
• PG—Parental guidance suggested
• PG-13—Parents strongly cautioned for children age 13 or younger
• R—Restricted
• NC-17—Not for age 17 or younger
Unlike US TV ratings, there are no individual content types within the ratings. But like TV ratings, blocking movies with a
particular rating also blocks movies with a higher rating, and unblocking movies with a particular rating also unblocks
movies with a lower rating.
To block movies based on MPAA ratings:
1
From the
Home
screen menu, navigate to
Settings >Parental controls
, and then enter your PIN.
2
In the
Parental controls
screen, navigate to
TV Tuner>Movie ratings
.
3
Select the rating level you want to block. You need only select one rating level, and all higher levels are automatically
blocked.
Blocking based on Other ratings
Your Sharp Roku TV can block programs having ratings that had not been defined when your Sharp Roku TV was
manufactured. It does this by detecting a new Rating Region Table in a program and then downloading the new table and
displaying its rating in the Parental controls.
When your Sharp Roku TV downloads a new Rating Region Table, it adds a new option to the list of rating types:
Other
ratings
. If you see this option in the
Parental controls
screen, you have tuned to a station that has implemented a new rating
table. Once the new rating table has been downloaded to your Sharp Roku TV, it remains in your Sharp Roku TV until it is
factory reset, and you can configure blocking based on the new ratings.
New Region Rating Tables can have independent rating levels, or rating levels that interact in the same ways as the built-in
US TV and MPAA Movie ratings.
Tip
Blocking movies with an NC-17 rating also blocks programs with the now-obsolete X
rating, which can still occur in the program data of older movies.
Tip
If your Sharp Roku TV downloads a new Region Rating Table, you’ll have to
experiment with its settings to understand how to use it.
