The following article is worth reading as it provides information and resources useful in making the conversion to digital television by those of us with disability issues.
The WGBH - Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) has published a new Outreach and Policy Paper, Digital Television and Video Description: Service Continues, Consumer and Industry Efforts Required
Most consumers are just now becoming aware of the mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting scheduled for February of 2009 and how it will affect the TV viewing that they rely on daily. Blind or deaf consumers who purchase digital TV sets, and subscribe to cable, satellite or fiber-optic TV services have expressed frustration with set-up, reception and incompatibility problems regarding access services (captioning and video description) , few of which are understood or even documented by manufacturers and retailers.
In addition, people who want to continue receiving free over-the-air
broadcasts using their analog sets and an antenna must purchase a set-top converter box
to do so - and figure out how to make captions and descriptions work for them. NCAM
previously published an overview of problems confronting deaf or hard-of-hearing
people trying to access captions via DTV or through a converter box. The "DTVCC" paper
can be found on NCAM's Web site listed below.
This new paper focuses on challenges facing blind or low vision viewers who rely
on video description to enjoy and fully understand television
programming. Topics covered include:
- Set-top Converter Boxes
- Accessible Menus
- Tips for Finding Video Description in DTV
- Troubleshooting
- and a Technical Note about PSIP (or Program and System Information
Protocol)
This paper, along with much more information about the DTV conversion from a variety of resources, can be found at NCAM's DTV Access site,
http://dtvaccess.orgWe want to hear from you... NCAM has established a one-way e-mail address,
dtvaccess@wgbh.org
, as an aggregator of complaints and problems related to the DTV
rollout. If you
send a report about a DTV access problem to this address, you will
receive an automatic
response that says that your report has been received and that we are
gathering information
but cannot respond to your inquiry, and that we will pass along common
issues to relevant parties.
About NCAM and WGBH
The WGBH - Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible
Media is a research, development and advocacy entity that works to make existing
and emerging technologies accessible to all audiences. NCAM is part of the Media
Access Group at WGBH, which also includes The Caption Center (est. 1972), and
Descriptive Video Service(r) (est. 1990). For more information, visit
http://access.wgbh.org
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the
source of fully one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup, along with some of public
television's best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs and many public radio favorites. For more information, visit the WGBH Web site,
http://wgbh.org
WGBH Boston informs, inspires, and entertains millions through public broadcasting, the Web, educational multimedia, and access services for people with disabilities.
Return To The Miscellaneous Blindness Related Files PageCreated on ... July 31, 2008