The parent chooses a personal identification number, or lock code, which allows the parent to activate, deactivate and change the controls. Parents can select as few or as many of the six program ratings in the scale that they want to allow. Without the lock code, children cannot change the programming selections. Although not indecipherable, the V-chip and the ratings system take time to understand how to use. When presented on the screen and in program listings, the boxes of letters and numbers for the rating resemble something you might recite for an eye doctor.
Industry analysts say the system's complexity contributes to consumers' ambivalence.
If people can't figure out how to use it within a few minutes, they might not bother. The V-chip is the first formal development in what will be a heavily rated media world.