Please Note the TVGuardian Features, Limitations & Frequently Asked Questions:

The TVGuardian technology is a very unique and revolutionary product that uses the closed-captioning to detect and mute profanity. This technology has some limitations.

The TVGuardian’s input is a tuner. The most common tuners are Cable Boxes and Satellite Receivers. If you watch TV with an over-the-air antenna or with cable directly from the wall, you will need a compatible tuner. See here for a list of tested over-the-air tuners.



The DVD movie or TV show you are watching must have concurrent closed-captioning. DVDs distributed by Universal Studios and some movies distributed by Fox will not work with the TVGuardian because they do not use closed captioning with their DVD’s. VHS videos from Universal Studios and Fox WILL work with the TVGuardian.



The TV Guardian detects profanity by reading the closed-captioning signal. Occasionally, because of errors in the closed-captioning signal, bad words may slip through.



The TVGuardian LT act like a smart remote control and mutes the sound when profanity is detected in the closed-captioning. Your TV and/or home theater tuner must use an IR (infrared) remote. RF (radio frequency) remotes are NOT supported.



Some Satellite Receivers delay the closed-caption text. This causes the TVGuardian to miss the profanity. Resetting (unplugging the power) has helped in some cases. Known Satellite Receivers with CC Bug: Dish Network’s ViP722k & ViP222k and DirecTV HR21-200, HR23-700 and HR24-100 Your DVD Player must have the ability to decode the close-captioning. Some may have difficulty working with the TVGuardian.



The TVGuardian set-top box does NOT Work with TV/VCR, TV/DVD or DVD/Home Theater built-in combo units. The TV Guardian works literally as a filter. It must be hooked up between the source (VCR, DVD, Tuner, etc.) and your TV.



Will the TVGuardian HD Model 501 filter DVDs with 1080p resolution? Yes! If your DVD Player or Blu-Ray Player supports 1080p Upconversion for DVDs, TVGuardian HD will filter the offensive language over the HDMI cable. It is required to also use the Yellow Composite cable included. This cable transmits the closed-caption information to the TVGuardian. During the mute of foul language, the profanity-free closed-captions will even pop up onto the upconverted 1080p DVD video over the HDMI connection. You won’t miss a thing… except the foul language, of course! (Seeing the replacement sentence on the screen is a feature of the TVGuardian HD 501. The TVGuardian LT doesn’t have that feature. Will the TVGuardian 501 HD filter Blu-Ray movies? The TVGuardian model 501 HD will filter DVDs upconverted to 1080p on the Blu-Ray Player if they have closed-captions. Unfortunately, most Blu-Ray movies contain SDH, a different type of subtitles, and those Blu-Ray movies will NOT work with the TVGuardian. If the Blu-Ray movie HAS the closed-captions TVGuardian needs, it should filter and work with the TVGuardian.



Will the TVGuardian work with Netflix and Hulu? No. The TVGuardian requires closed-caption information to detect profanity. Netflix and Hulu do NOT use closed-captioning that is readable by the TVGuardian. Click here for more information.



Does the TVGuardian just mute the profane word? No. The TVGuardian mutes the sound for the entire phrase when profanity is detected. The TVGuardian LT only mutes the sound. The previous models (101, 201, 301, 401 and 501) will mute the sound and optionally display a replacement phrase on the screen.



DVDs with CC vs SDH TVGuardian will filter most DVDs with CC, but does NOT filter movies with SDH. If a movie you want to watch has SDH, we recommend (if possible), looking for that movie on a satellite or cable box. This is because cable and satellite providers, as well as TV or movie stations write their own CC for movies they show that do not already have them. This allows many movies to be filtered by the TVGuardian when viewed on a cable or satellite box with your TV; including PPV, VOD, and premium movie channels.



Virtually all DVDs released prior to 2009 have the hidden closed-captions TVG needs and they’re filtered by TVGuardian, too!



You can tell if TVG will work on the DVD by looking at the box or DVD — if it has CC it works, SDH does NOT .



If the DVD movie has SDH, simply watch it on TV, VOD, PPV or a premium movie channel and TVGuardian will filter the language! You can even record it on a DVR and play it back later with TVG.

