With the calendar lurching towards the September deadline for a Canada-generated program classification system, all is reportedly not tranquil on the v-chip front.

Action Group On Violence On Television chair Trina McQueen is making no comment, but sources confirm that agvot, the commission-appointed body struck to develop the classification system, is lobbying the crtc for a deadline extension which would put the Canadian contingent in sync with its u.s. counterparts who are gunning for January 1997.

At this end, serious technical problems with the chip, summer scheduling conflicts for the committee, and a dearth of information from the u.s. delegation are being fingered for the delay. The States, now officially on the hook for three children’s educational hours per week, is cruising towards a November election, and the powers that be are reportedly sitting on progress updates to keep the classification system off the election agenda.

While no one (on the record) questions the principle behind the v-chip, the prototype in progress is generating criticism on the part of some of the local broadcasters who last month sat privy to a demonstration. According to one source, the system in test is cause for concern.

‘There are so many menus, levels within levels; language and subject matter and nudity and violence. And when we asked if we could block 45 seconds of nudity out of a two-hour movie without blocking out the program, they didn’t know, and that’s very rudimentary. What we’ve see so far isn’t user-friendly or broadcaster-friendly. It’s Frankenstein’s monster.’

Other problems reportedly include the chip’s lack of ability to transfer data onto General Instrument’s Digicipher system, the dvc machinery of choice for Rogers and Shaw, which could make an investment in some kind of transition equipment necessary and force the cost on either the cablecos or the broadcasters.

agvot reps are quick to point out that the system being tested is a work in progress. ‘We’re all aware that what is finally put forward can’t just be pitched at the highest common denominator. There’s still a lot of work to do,’ says one.

Other technical problems on the list include the fact that the box being designed is geared to read only one classification system. Eventually, the chip may have to read a code for pay-tv, an American system, a Canadian system, and a French-Canadian system. ‘It’s one of the challenges on the agenda and it’s being discussed,’ says a source. ‘Some of this will be resolved in the next few weeks, but by September, it’s unlikely.’

McQueen says agvot expects to make an announcement within a fortnight. AV