BOB - Screen Time Manager - Manage Your TV Time & Video Game Time

by Nextphase

• Manage the time your children spend watching TV and playing video games. End the constant "TURN OFF THAT TV!" battle.
• Personal PIN access for every family member (up to 6 child accounts and 1 parent master account).
• Weekly or daily time management. Time reporting for every user.
• Time-period blocking to prevent device use at certain times of the day. (Up to five blocks per user for any or all days of the week. Maximum of 35 blocks per user per week.)
• Quickly add bonus time or remove time from any user without changing their regular allotment.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 3.5 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GU78UY
• Item model number: BOB1
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 19, 2005

Product Description

TV Timer BOB helps parents manage and monitor the time their children spend using the TV and playing Video Games. The power cord from one of these devices plugs into the back of BOB and is locked in place.

Parents decide an acceptable amount of viewing time for each child per day or per week. Specific time periods can be blocked entirely for studying, chores, family time and/or sleeping. Each child in the house (up to 6 users plus 1 parent user) has a four-digit PIN that they enter before they can turn on the attached device. A "master pin" allows a parent to turn on the connected device at any time.

When a child's preset viewing time expires, BOB shuts off the attached TV, video-game system or computer monitor and won't allow it to be turned on by that user for the remainder of the day (or week). Unused time will carry over to the next day or week. After setup – a process that takes about three minutes – the machine monitors the amount of time a child spends using that device. While in use, BOB shows the user logged in and their remaining time available.

Features:
o Manage the time your children spend watching TV and playing video games.
o Personal PIN access for every family member (up to 6 child accounts and 1 master, parent account).
o Weekly or daily time management. Time reporting for every user.
o Time-period blocking to prevent device use at certain times of the day. (Up to five blocks per user for any or all days of the week. Maximum of 35 blocks per user per week.)
o Quickly add bonus time or remove time from any user without changing their regular allowance.
o TV Timer BOB works with all TVs (including large screens), game consoles, and computer monitors.
o Big, easy to use keypad for the entire family, even in the dark! While in use, BOB shows the user logged in and their time remaining.
o Tamper proof and durable.
o Settings are safe during a power outage.
o 1-year manufacturer's warranty.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bob worked great ! March 10, 2008

By Dennis J. Beauregard

BOB has brought peace in our house when it comes to watching TV. Our 2 kids would watch TV as soon as they came home from school to "unwind", but it was very difficult to get them to shut it off and start homework. Even when it was possible the kids would be in a whiny mood which made studying difficult. Our kids are old enough (10 & 12) that once you left the room for a few minutes they would stop the homework, walk into the room with the TV, & turn it back on. Finishing their homework got later into the evening specially when there was extra curricular activities that night (volleyball, karate, or Cub Scouts).

We purchased two BOBs (one for each TV) and they are pretty simple to set up. BOB controls the power to the TV set. So first you unplug your TV from the outlet and connect it into the small plastic power box attached to BOB. Then lock it with the key & put the key away somewhere safe. The BOB power cord is now plugged into the wall. Next, set a 4 digit master password for you, & set the current day & time. Then set a 4 digit password for each child, the amount of time each child can watch TV & "blocks" which are times when they cannot watch TV. You can limit any user's time by day or by week, but not both. For example, we allow 1 hour of TV per day in the living room and have blocked TV from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm. on school days because that is homework time. Since they can't watch TV when they come home from school they have figured out they might as well get their homework done then. On weekends they can watch 2 hours of TV each day. There is an audible warning that starts when 60 seconds of time are left.

BOB has helped to reduce the stress tremendously in our family & overall we are happy with it. It only took about 10 minutes to set up and everything is menu driven on a 4 line LCD display. You use the arrow keys, enter button, and numbers to enter the info. You can also add or subtract time on the fly using "fly time". Basically while your son or daughter are watching TV you touch a special key sequence, enter the master password, and enter or subtract time in 15 minute increments.

One minor grip is that I wish it was more flexible. For example, if we want to keep our current TV limits until 6 pm on school night it worked fine, but if our son is done with his homework early and wants to watch TV at 5:00 it's not easy to do this. You cannot user "fly time" because the user must be logged on to BOB, and they cannot log on since the time is blocked. The only way I found was to use by master password to turn it on for him.

Here's the link to the user manual if interested http://usebob.com/pdfs/BOBUserManual.pdf

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bob's the best! September 8, 2006

By Lisa Weaver

Bob's the best! No more arguing over media time -- all video games, dvds and television shows go through this simple device. Bob is very easy to set up and use. Each user has an unique code, so one child can't "use up" all the time allocated for t.v. One of my children would use all their weekly time in one day, so I am able to set up his account by the day. My daughter, on the other hand, can monitor herself so much better that we set her account up by the week.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad Guy Bob December 2, 2007

By North Idaho Dad VINE™ VOICE

Bob arrived at our house a few weeks ago.

My kids think he's a bad guy because he's always turning off the computer right in the middle of their games.

But they're quickly learning to work with Bob. To negotiate for more time or to limit themselves to the hour or two that Bob gives them.

Bob is a TV Time Manager. And it's not really a guy. It's this small electronic device that you plug into your TV, computer, or videogame into, and then you can set specific time limits and time blocks for up to six different children.

In our house we don't have a problem with the kids watching too much TV, as they only turn it on by themselves on Saturday and Sunday mornings when they're allowed to watch DVD cartoons for an hour or two. So far they've been good about regulating themselves on that.

What we do have a problem with is computer games. My son, especially, likes to play games at the free online sites, like NeoPets and Yahoo Games. We give him an hour a day, usually just after dinner. But that hour goes quickly, and he's so caught up in the action that he forgets the time.

That's where Bob comes in. For computers, you can plug the monitor's electrical cord into Bob, which has a locked outlet so the kids can't simply plug the cord back into the wall outlet. Then your child types in his own 4-digit pin number, and Bob will turn the monitor on for the amount of time the child is allowed. When the alloted time is just about up, Bob gives a 60-second countdown, so your child knows he'd better finish up the game.

You can also set up time blocks when Bob will refuse to accept a PIN, so your kids can't play games or watch TV during hours of the day when they should be doing other things.

It's all worked wonderfully with our son. He has no reason to complain, because we all agreed on how much time he would have on the computer each night. I don't have to watch the clock, and my son is learning a little something about time management.

Bob has an extremely simple interface. It's easy to use, and easy for the kids to understand. They can see right on the screen how much time they've used. Parents can give more time as a reward, or take away time as a punishment.