v-chip, content advisory, content control, content advisory flags, parental control

Tech Tips - Content Advisory (V-Chip/Parental Control)

Overview

PixelTools’ products can add Content Advisory codes and flags to your video during MPEG encoding and also into existing MPEG video streams. Motion Picture Association (MPA), Television, Canadian English, and Canadian French ratings are supported. Five Parental Guideline flags can be selected in the Television system.

Demo of Content Advisory

Download the advisorytrial.zip demo to obtain a demo version of MPEGRepairHD that is configured to automatically add Content Advisory information during encoding.
Unzip the demo file into a directory and run the Advisory.bat file to launch the demo. The demo will automatically add the MPA: PG-13 rating during encoding. You can view the resultant user_data in the MPEGRepairHD decode statistics window.

Adding Content Advisory via MPEGRepairHD

The content advisory code, specific to your source video, can be added to elementary video user_data during encoding with MPEGRepairHD or ExpertHD. MPEGRepairHD can also insert your selected user_data with content advisory to an existing stream using the Decode | Fix option.

During Encoding
Check the Optimize Encode | Configure | Line 21 | Add XDS Flags option to cause user_data to be added to picture headers during encoding. Select your desired MPA or TV rating. Set up the other relevant encoding parameters and run the encoder to cause your selected Content Advisory to be added to the stream.

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To an existing MPEG stream

Select your elementary video stream that you wish to insert content advisory flags into in the MPEG Decode “File to Decode or Analyze” edit box. Then check the Decode | Configure | Fix Stream | Insert XDS Flags and select the MPA or TV Advisory option most appropriated to your content. Enter the name of your resultant file in the “Save Fixed File” edit box and depress the Decode Run on the GUI. Your selected file will have XDS user_data added at appropriate intervals and the resultant video file will be saved as the “Save Fixed File”.

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Adding Content Advisory with Expert WorkShop SDK

The following advisory enumeration values can be use:

typedef enum {
            ADVISORY_NONE = 0,
   ADVISORY_MPA_G,
   ADVISORY_MPA_PG,
   ADVISORY_MPA_PG_13,
   ADVISORY_MPA_R,
   ADVISORY_MPA_NC_17,
   ADVISORY_TV_Y,
   ADVISORY_TV_Y7,
   ADVISORY_TV_G,
   ADVISORY_TV_PGY,
   ADVISORY_TV_14,
   ADVISORY_TV_MA
} ptool_XDS_Advisory_Type;

During Encoding

Set your desired enumeration option:
int XdsAdvisory;
of the
Line21Params_struc

Running ExpEncodeNextFrame for the length of the video will cause the selected advisory beacons to be added to the elementary user data every 3 seconds.

To an existing stream

Set the parameter:
int XdsAdvisory;
in the ExpDecFix_str with your enumerated video advisory.

Enable the
bool DecodeFix
bit and set your output file name in the
char DecodeFixName[400];
in the ExpDecFix_str.

Running the ExpDecodeNextFrame for the length of your source video will cause your ExpDecFix stream to have your selected Advisory flags set.

Specification
MPEGRepairHD and ExpertHD can add content advisory flags as specified in the CEA-608 closed captioning specification. The flags are in the extended data and inserted in user_data of elementary video streams. The CEA-608 data is wrapped in an SCTE-21 layer and an ATSC layer. The flags will be inserted every 3 seconds of video data. One and only one of the following advisory options can be selected.

Motion Picture Association options:
"MPA: G",
"MPA: PG",
"MPA: PG-13",
"MPA: R",
"MPA: NC-17",
"MPA: X",

Television options:
"TV-YG",
"TV-Y7",
"TV-G",
"TV-PG",
"TV-14",
"TV-MA"

MPEGRepairHD and ExpertWorkshop SDK are trademarks of PixelTools Corporation. All other brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respected holders