Abstract: A device and method for controlling television usage by children or other users. The owner (e.g. parent) of the device establishes user access codes for authorizing multiple users and bestows a time allowance to each of the users to control viewing of any of several video signals (i.e. television, VCR, video entertainment systems). Each user who has been given an allotted time may have the time replenished periodically, i.e. weekly. Each user's coded and allotted time is decremented for each amount of actual viewing time used. An activating means controls the switches and the selected video signal, and upon matching the user entered code against the owner selected code, determines whether viewing will be blocked or unblocked. Any unmatched code switches the signal to the off-state of the device's apparatus.