Add parental control mechanism.

[ter9999]

There is no parental control feature in DVBViewer, hope can add to protect from watching some channels.

Edited August 14, 2009 by ter9999

[Griga]

hope can add to protect from watching some channels.

You can add it! The easiest way to achieve the protection:

 

1) Create a separate user account with limited access rights for your children on your PC (recommendable anyway - you don't want your children to mess around with your stuff or delete the Windows directory, do you? ).

 

2) Protect the parent's account with a password, and don't give the children read/write access to this account, thus keeping them away from your recordings and other stuff.

 

3) Let DVBViewer work with "per user" settings (set UserMode=1 in the file UserMode.ini, see here).

 

4) Create a second DVBViewer installation for your children (see here). This copy of DVBViewer.exe should only be launched in the children's account, so the configuration folder gets created in the children's user profile.

 

5) Delete all channels in the channel list of the second installation that shall not be watched by children.

 

6) Remove all transponder lists from the Transponders subdirectory of the installation directory and the configuration folder of the second installation, in order to disable scanning (there is still the possibility of performing a "blind san", but this is very time consuming and requires DVB knowledge).

 

That's the way I did it, and it worked well.

[ter9999]

You can add it! The easiest way to achieve the protection:

 

1) Create a separate user account with limited access rights for your children on your PC (recommendable anyway - you don't want your children to mess around with your stuff or delete the Windows directory, do you? ).

 

2) Protect the parent's account with a password, and don't give the children read/write access to this account, thus keeping them away from your recordings and other stuff.

 

3) Let DVBViewer work with "per user" settings (set UserMode=1 in the file UserMode.ini, see here).

 

4) Create a second DVBViewer installation for your children (see here). This copy of DVBViewer.exe should only be launched in the children's account, so the configuration folder gets created in the children's user profile.

 

5) Delete all channels in the channel list of the second installation that shall not be watched by children.

 

6) Remove all transponder lists from the Transponders subdirectory of the installation directory and the configuration folder of the second installation, in order to disable scanning (there is still the possibility of performing a "blind san", but this is very time consuming and requires DVB knowledge).

 

That's the way I did it, and it worked well.

 

 

Thank you very much for your detailed workaround. But it's not very convenient to log off to switch users. A lot of people are using HTPC, the operating system is set to auto logon with the admin user privilege. And the whole family are sitting together to watch TVs, when parents go away some minutes for trivial things, children usually change channels .....

 

Standalone receivers all have such parental control features.

 

So DVBViewer can realize this by:

1. Can set passwd for such channels category in Options, and in the right-click context menu in the "popup channel list", we can add channels to such category (just like add to favorites). And add an option in the "Hide filter" submenu.

 

2. When first tune to such channel, user are prompted to enter passwd, then if DVBViewer is not closed, users won't need to input passwd again for other such channels.

 

 

............ just a suggestion for the realization method. Not too difficult to realize but a very useful feature.

 

Thanks!

[Devastation]

Not too difficult to realize.

my only programming knowledge is about html and a little bit of php.

But this educated me to be carful with "not difficult".

[ter9999]

bump again for consideration.

[Griga]

2

. When first tune to such channel, user are prompted to enter passwd,

What about scheduled recordings starting without explicit channel selection in the background? Since DVBViewer is able to play ongoing recordings, this could be used to circumvent such a protection.

 

And what about recordings of forbidden channels in general? If I was a child, I would be very curious to browse the parental video collection.

 

And what about the password? Where shall it be stored, so that children cannot find and delete it? Children are clever, you know... at least it must be stored encrypted.

 

...etc. etc. Since DVBViewer is so multifunctional, there are many possible loopholes.

 

Standalone receivers all have such parental control features.

As you might have noticed, DVBViewer is not a *closed* standalone receiver, but a software running in a modular and *open* system. I really wonder why so many people who are complaining "why can't it work like a receiver?" are not able to see the fundamental technical difference. Are they blind? It's so obvious...

 

If you *really* give some thought to how an effective protection (not just a fake for advertising) could be implemented in such an open system, you'll inevitably recognize that it's extremely difficult.

[pinbot]

Best "parental control feature" ever invented = knowing, caring and competend Parents

[Devastation]

Children are clever, you know... at least it must be stored encrypted.

I fear that most children would use such a feature for a parental out of control mechanism.

[Gypsy]

One more vote for parental control. I have and HTPC and my child is not so curious... but simple locking would be great. For example a pin code for channel group or transponder. In my case DVBViewer is set up on no-keyboard/mouse box controlled by remote. Difference from boxed receiver is not so big for a common user.

 

Sorry for my english.

[datouwa]

I hope to add pin for audlt channels like to DM500

[datouwa]

I hope to have passwd protection feature for adult channels!

[JoeH]

Another option is just to delete those channels (I know this is obvious, but sometimes the most obvious solutions are the hardest!).

[datouwa]

DM500 can do it but why DVBViewer can not ?

[Griga]

See above.

[dade]

I also wish to join this feature!!

I have a child.

[shark2010]

There is no parental control feature in DVBViewer, hope can add to protect from watching some channels.

 

This post has been edited by ter9999: 14 August 2009 - 05:16