Hands-on Review: BOB the TV Time Manager

The good folks at Hopscotch Technology sent me BOB to try out weeks ago. But since my days of battling the kids to turn off the TV are (somewhat) over, I didn't rip the box open. I can remember a time when I might have; it would have been nice to have BOB to blame for shutting down the TV.

True to their word, BOB is easy to set up. You just unlock the door on the bottom, plug the TV into BOB's three-prong outlet, close and lock the door, then plug BOB the timer into a surge protector. On-screen directions take you through the simple setup. First you set up the "Master User" pin number—that's you, the parent. In addition to the masters of BOB, you can set up pin numbers for six additional users, then move on to block certain times of the day for TV watching and set time limits per day or week.

In the "normal" mode, BOB automatically shuts the TV off when the time limit is hit or a blocked time period begins. But if you've got a TV that has to re-program itself every time it is suddenly shut off or power is lost (like the one I tested BOB on), you'll want to choose "Always on." What that means is a loud, annoying beeping commences once the limits are reached, signaling your child to turn off the TV. I couldn't help but wonder if big pillow would drown it out enough for a TV-engrossed child to ignore—as long as mom or dad isn't in earshot, too.) BOB also issue reports on all of the users' TV time and actions.

If the child whose time has run out tries to turn the TV back on, the beeping begins again, and the screen asks for a valid pin number. The beeping will continue if a blocked user's number is entered.

BOB can also be used for video games that are played on the TV because it is linked to TV time. I'm not sure you'd want to use it for a computer since you don't want to abruptly shut down a PC. But Hopscotch recommends, if possible, that you hook BOB up to a monitor only if you would like to limit PC time with the timer.

As I mentioned earlier, I think BOB could be helpful in setting limits for very young children—a tool that helps reinforce the rules mom and dad set without mom or dad yelling to shut the TV off 30 minutes after they said to turn it off the first time. I could see older kids pooling time together to watch TV, though no pin numbers will work if certain (read: homework hours) have been blocked.

Is it worth $100? That's something individual parents who are looking for help to limit media time will have to answer. Would BOB make a difference in your house?

Related: BOB Limits TV Viewing for Kids