The Time Slot: A complicated attempt to control kid's TV screen time in the 1980's/1990's

The Time Slot was supposed to allow parents a "simple and easy" way to control their children's TV and video game screen time in the 1980's. It uses "credit cards" programmed with hours and lengths-of-time a child could turn the television on. I found it to be incredibly hard to work with and wonder who would have kept going with it after experiencing the programming grief. Couldn't parents just tell their kids to turn the television off or turn it off themselves?

UPDATE: I've posted a photo of the inside electronics on the Community tab of my channel. In that photo I see a chip with a 1993 date code and a transformer with a 1992 date code. I've also found a website from 1994 that says it was selling for $150, so maybe the original patent (now expired) was granted several years before the device actually came out or there was an earlier version of this 1994 version.

00:00 Introduction
03:48 Examine device
07:00 Owner's Manual
11:25 Security door access
12:15 Power up trials (fails)
15:07 Power up success
16:35 Video powers up
17:40 First Programming test
24:00 Child's card programming
27:00 Child's card test
28:30 Reading brochure Q&A's
30:50 Test suddenly ends
31:48 Conclusion and wrap-up

Credit: The video that is sometimes shown is Taming Stalls and Spins from King Air

Видео The Time Slot: A complicated attempt to control kid's TV screen time in the 1980's/1990's канала Dan O'Connor