If you are looking for ways and tips on how to block channels on DIRECTV, you have come to the right page.
This is a comprehensive guide that will teach you how to have better control on the content from your DIRECTV box.
To block, control ,and filter channels on your DIRECTV, simply go to the menu of your device and access the controls.
This will give you various options on how you can filter content, depending on what your needs and your preferences are.
It may seem confusing at first, but it is in fact a simple and straightforward task.
All you need to make sure is that you know exactly what you are doing, as you might end up blocking a channel, or a group of programs that you do not intend to do so.
What’s worse is that you can even block all programs by accident!
To help you avoid that, below is a guide on how to block content on your DIRECTV box.
How to Block Channels on DIRECTV
As a subscriber of DIRECTV, you have the feature called Parental Control.
This allows you to have more control on what you want and do not want to be shown in your TV set.
But did you know that this feature was not always here?
However, as time went on, the call to have a way to control content for the sake of younger members of the family grew stronger and stronger, and not long after, DIRECTV introduced the Parental Control system.
With this feature, parents of the family can now take more control of what could be watched from their TV, especially with smaller and younger children around.
In other times, this is also applicable to adults, as they may want to steer themselves away from certain types of content, or they may wish to limit how much they watch TV throughout the day.
Regardless, below is a detailed guide on blocking channels on DIRECTV now.
Step 1 – Go to the Parental Control Settings
Turn on both your DIRECTV box and your TV set. Then, go grab your remote–your DIRECTV remote–and press the MENU key.
This will open the option on your TV box that you can tweak and play with for customization.
From there, the place you would want to go to is Parental Control. Click on it using your remote.
Step 2 – Block Content on DIRECTV by Movie Ratings
On the Parental Controls settings window, you can see the several options on how you can limit content from your DIRECTV box.
For starters, you can go to “Movie Ratings”.
You will then be shown the option to block or allow contents depending on its rating: from G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17, up to X.
The key here is if you allow a certain rating, all ratings that are below it would automatically be allowed as well.
In the same manner, if you block a certain rating, all other ratings that are higher than it would be locked as well.
For example, blocking R would also block the NC-17 and X ratings. Meanwhile, allowing PG-13 would automatically allow PG and G consequently.
Step 3 – Block Content on DIRECTV by other Ratings
Aside from movies, you can also block other forms of content according to rating. Just below Movie ratings, you can see TV ratings.
Here, you can block or allow TV shows depending on how they are rated.
TV ratings can be as low as Y (suitable for all ages, including all children), Y7 (suitable for children above 7), Y7 FV (contains fantasy and violence but still suitable for children), G, PG, 14, and MA (mature audiences only).
Just like in Movie Ratings, the rating that you will block would automatically block all other ratings higher than it. Once you allow a rating, all others below it would be allowed, too.
Step 4 – Block Content on DIRECTV by Channel
In the same menu, still in Parental Control, navigate down via the arrow keys and choose “Channel Blocks.”
From there, you would be prompted with a list of all the channels that are available on your DIRECTV subscription.
For faster selection, you can choose to Allow All, or you can choose to Block All.
Alternatively, you can choose to allow or block channels individually. Take note that for this option, you will only block or allow whatever you check or uncheck.
If you want to know how to block PPV channels on DIRECTV, this is also an applicable method.
Step 5 – Block Content on DIRECTV by Limiting Viewing Hours
While the above mentioned options for control can be mostly applicable to kids, this option can also be applicable for adults who want to limit their TV time.
For kids, parents can use this feature to control what times of the day they can watch TV.
In the same menu, navigate down via the arrow keys to Viewing Hours.
From there, you can customize the times you can watch anything on the TV during the weekdays, as well as during the weekdays.
You can set the time users can start watching TV and the duration the TV can be on.
For example, you can set the TV to be usable from 9:00 AM during the weekends and be only on for a duration of four hours.
Step 6 – Block EVERYTHING
Finally, you can choose to LOCK EVERYTHING. This is through the Lock Now sub menu.
Once you navigate there, enter a passcode you want to unlock and confirm it, Your TV box would now be locked and unusable until someone enters the correct code.
Conclusion
There is more than one way on how to block channels on DIRECTV and depending on your needs and your reasons on why you would want to block content.
You can choose from blocking channels according to content type, according to ratings, or block any specific channel.
Just make sure to make use of this feature responsibly and efficiently, as it can be useful not for protecting children.
Also this is helpful for protecting adults from overconsuming content by placing controls on how much they watch, instead of what they watch.
Read Next: Learn how to fix DIRECTV no signal issue.
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.