• by Hope Rayman Friedman , October 26, 2006

Kids’ TV protection technology hasn’t significantly advanced in 15 years. Few consumers know how to use the V-chip, and printed ratings are biased because they are determined by TV producers.

Enter TiVo’s KidZone, which is designed to give options to parents concerned about what their children are viewing. With passwords and filters, parents can customize what shows their children have access to. To choose, parents can rely on their own preferences or receive suggestions from experts. KidZone has had a few glitches with the “experts” element, but Joe Miller, TiVo’s vice president of consumer sales and distribution, says that TiVo plans to diversify by partnering with such groups as the National Education Association and Parent Teacher Associations.

Says Miller, “We’ve provided tools to get this thing started.”