DVR & Digital Receiver Parental Controls | Midco Cable TV Support

DVR & Digital Receiver Parental Controls

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DVR and Digital Receiver Parental Controls

Important: Parental controls are not set by default. This means all content is available for viewing until you apply controls based on your preferences.

Parental controls let you filter programs, so your children can only watch and record content you approve as suitable for them. With parental controls, you can also lock channels, and set rating limits on movies and TV shows. A passcode or PIN is needed to view or record programs that exceed rating limits or are on locked channels – or to access content that requires a purchase (such as pay-per-view or certain ON Demand movies).

This page covers parental controls for non-TiVo® DVRs provided by Midco and digital receivers, which both use the interactive, on-screen TV guide (also known as the iGuide).

  • Other parental controls are available for TiVo devices, HD digital adapters and TV Everywhere If you have multiple equipment types, you may need to follow instructions for each.
  • Parental controls are not available for standard digital adapters or CableCARDs.

  1. Use your remote to turn on your equipment and TV. Press Menu.
  2. In the Quick Menu, select the lock icon to open parental controls.
  3. Create a locks PIN. Use the numbers on your remote to enter a four-digit PIN. Enter the PIN again to confirm.
Delete or Change Controls PIN
  1. In the parental controls menu, choose PINs Setup, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the numbers on your remote to enter your current parental control PIN. Content is no longer restricted by PIN.
  3. If you’d like to set a new PIN, go to the Quick Menu, and select the lock icon to open parental controls.
  4. Use the numbers on your remote to enter a four-digit PIN. Enter the PIN again to confirm.

If you've forgotten your parental controls or purchase PINs, contact us. We can clear all your PINs, so you can set them up again.

Movie Ratings
  • G: General Audiences – All ages admitted.
  • PG: Parental Guidance Suggested – Some material may not be suitable for children.
  • PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
  • R: Restricted – Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
  • NC-17: No Children 17 and under admitted

To block movies by ratings:

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Movie Rating Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the up and down arrows on your remote to select the movie rating you want to restrict. Press OK/SEL.

A lock icon will appear next to blocked rating content. All ratings above that lock will be blocked as well.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

TV Ratings
  • TVY: All Children – This program is designed to be appropriate for children.
  • TVY7: Directed to Older Children – This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
  • TVG: General Audience – Most parents would find this program appropriate for all ages. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
  • TVPG: Parental Guidance Suggested – This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children.
  • TV14: Parents Strongly Cautioned – This program contains some material that parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
  • TVMA: Mature Audience Only – This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.

 To block shows by TV ratings:

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose TV Rating Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the up and down arrows on your remote to select the TV rating you want to restrict. Press OK/SEL.

A lock icon will appear next to blocked rating content. All ratings above that lock will be blocked as well.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

If you activated the TV rating locks, you can get more specific about the type of content you’d like to block.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose TV Content Locks.
  2. Choose ViolenceLanguageSexual Situations or Suggestive Dialogue
  3. Use the up and down arrows on your remote to select the content levels you want to restrict. Press OK/SEL.

A lock icon will appear next to blocked rating content. All ratings above that lock will be blocked as well. Repeat these steps for each TV content lock item as you wish. 

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

You can block entire channels – no matter the ratings of the shows on that channel. All content on blocked channels is unavailable unless you enter the four-digit PIN.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Channel Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the up and down arrows on your remote to select the channel you want to lock. Press OK/SEL.

A lock icon will appear next to blocked rating channel. Repeat this step for each channel you want to lock. 

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Use this feature to restrict certain show titles, regardless of their channel or rating.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Title Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. When the Title Locks menu displays, you’ll see show title you’re currently watching and any other titles with existing blocks. Select a show title, and press OK/SEL to lock or unlock it.
    • You can also add new titles to the list from your on-screen guide. Highlight the program title, and press INFO. Select the lock icon to set or remove a lock.
  1. If prompted, enter your four-digit locks PIN, and press OK/SEL.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Use this feature to restrict access to content in the Midco ON Demand menu.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Service Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Press OK/SEL to block access to the ON Demand menu.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Use this feature if you’d like to hide the adult program titles from appearing in the on-screen TV guide. (Activating this feature will not hide adult titles in the ON Demand menu.)

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Hide Titles, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the up and down arrows on your remote to select the title types you want to hide. Press OK/SEL.
    • A checkmark will appear next to hidden title types, which will appear as Adult or TV-MA in the on-screen guide. 
    • You can also choose to not hide titles.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

View Locked Programs

When a program is locked and you try to view it, the on-screen guide will prompt you to enter your parental controls PIN. When you tune away from the channel or turn off your cable TV equipment, locks will automatically restore.

Temporarily Bypass Locks

Use this feature to temporarily ignore all locks beside hidden titles.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Master Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Go to Bypass Locks. Use the arrows on your remote to select Yes to bypass or No to turn off the bypass locks feature.

To activate locks again, use your remote to turn off your TV and cable TV equipment – and turn them back on again.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Remove All Locks

Use this feature to clear all locks.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose Master Locks, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Go to Remove all locks. Use the arrows on your remote to select Yes to remove all previously set locks or No to keep locks in place.

If you’d like to return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Lock Programs After Power Outage

After power is lost, it can take some before the on-screen TV guide loads program, their ratings and titles. To prevent inappropriate content from showing while the on-screen guide populates, you can choose to lock all programs until the show information is available.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose PINs Setup, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. In the section on lost power, choose Yes to lock all programs until the guide information populates, or No to allow all content to be shown.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.

Restore Locks  

Use any of these methods to restore parental control locks:

  • While you’re watching TV, press the INFO button anytime. Then select the Lock icon, and enter your four-digit PIN.
  • From the setup menu, select Parental Controls Setup. Under Master Locks, choose Yesto restore locks.
  • Turn your TV and cable TV equipment off, and then on again.

Use this feature to require an extra layer of protection to prevent pay-per-view and movie rentals purchases without parental permission. After you set up a parental controls purchasing PIN, the on-screen TV guide will prompt you to enter your purchasing PIN if you try to access programs that require an additional fee, such as an ON Demand movie rental. The PIN is required again when a viewer tries to access additional purchase content.

  1. In the parental controls menu, choose PINs Setup, and press OK/SEL on your remote.
  2. Use the numbers on your remote to enter a four-digit purchase PIN. Be sure that this PIN is different than your parental controls PIN.

To return to the parental controls menu, press Last.