The long-awaited national home video rating system is finally in effect. Ratings stickers in tandem with an explanatory in-store poster convey to consumers who should be watching what, visually demonstrating age suitability with a euphoric amorphous couch-bound family (and their sensitive dog). Exclusion of the baby means we’re out of the family viewing zone, etc.

As the couch family key on the poster will not fit on the sticker, Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association president Millard Roth hopes the ratings stickers will be understood in a standalone scenario: ‘The sticker is a fair size as it is.’

The colorful system involved the co-operation of government and industry groups (cmpda, Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exhibitors) and corresponds with international stickering systems.

Ratings are arrived at by averaging the ratings given by various provincial review boards. The system does not apply to theatrical film ratings or porn, and Quebec is not joining in, although videos there will sport the new stickers alongside the province’s own classification.

Roth says the next objective is to have the classification system extend to theatrical film, and the hope is to have something in place within the next 18 months. Within the same time frame, the objective is to eliminate duplication of efforts by having a single ratings review board rather than separate boards in each province.