V-Chip Technology Supplement
Current Program Rating Packet Definition
In October 1997, the Electric Industries Association (EIA) issued it's "Transport of Content Advisory Information Using Extended Data Service (XDS)" document, EIA-744. Based on this standard, the XDS Program Rating packet will consist of two non-ASCII characters in which two mutually exclusive ratings systems are supported.
The individual bits are defined as follows:
| bit6 | bit5 | bit4 | bit3 | bit2 | bit1 | bit0 | |
| MPAA Rating | 1 | D | a1 | a0 | r2 | r1 | r0 |
| TV Parental Guidelines | 1 | (F)V | S | L | g2 | g1 | g0 |
Bits r0 through r2 are used to encode the MPAA picture rating and are defined according to the following chart:
| r2 | r1 | r0 | RATING |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | "G" |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | "PG" |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | "PG-13" |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | "R" |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | "NC-17" |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | "X" |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | not rated |
Bits a0 and a1 are used to indicate which rating system is in use. The following table defines the possible combinations:
| a1 | a0 | System | Name |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | MPAA (no TV rating) |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | TV Parental Guidelines (no MPAA rating) |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | MPAA (no TV rating) See note 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | non-U.S. NTSC system |
Note 1: This system (2) has been provided for backwards compatibility with previous (EIA-608) bit definitions.
Bits g0 through g2 are used to encode the TV Parental Guidelines. (A more detailed explanation of the TV Parental Guidelines is included below.)
| g2 | g1 | g0 | RATING |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | No blocking intended |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | "TV-Y" |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | "TV-Y7" |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | "TV-G" |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | "TV-PG" |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | "TV-14" |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | "TV-MA" |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | No blocking intended |
Additional bits (F)V, S, L, and D are used to carry specific program content information and are defined in this way:
TV Parental Guidelines
TV-Y All Children. This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.
TV-Y7 Directed to Older Children. This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
TV-G General Audience. Most parents would find the program suitable for all ages.
TV-PG Parental Guidance Suggested. This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
TV-14 Parents Strongly Cautioned. This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
TV-MA Mature Audience Only. This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17 years of age.