[Electronics-talk] descriptive TV

Wed Dec 12 21:24:16 UTC 2012

Hello,

Pasted below is an announcement from another list.  It has a lot of good
information pertinent to this thread.  There are emails, websites and phone
numbers where people concerned with accessability can contact the FCC.  

Eight innovative technologies benefitting people with disabilities will
receive the FCC's Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility,
presented by Chairman Julius Genachowski during a ceremony at 2 pm on Dec.
19 at FCC headquarters.
The awards are a project of the FCC's Accessibility and Innovation
Initiative.  They are intended to encourage technological innovation in
communication-related areas and to recognize engineers, researchers, and
other technologists whose energies and perseverance contribute to
technologies that help people with disabilities to obtain and succeed at
jobs and participate more actively in the community.  
The awards focus on six categories: Consumer Empowerment Information; Mobile
Applications; Civic Participation Solutions; Education: College or
University; Video Programming; and Geo-Location Solutions.  

The winners of the 2013 Chairman's AAA are: 
Civic Participation Solutions -- Prime III:  A Universally Designed Voting
Machine
Consumer Empowerment Information -- Project StAR: Accessible Radio 2012/The
Narrator
Education: College or University -- Project:  Possibility SS12:  Code for a
Cause
Geo-Location Services -- Tiramisu Transit
Mobile Applications -- WGBH National Center for Accessible Media: "Media
Access Mobile"
Video Programming -- Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), and the Society of Motion
Picture and Television Engineers

The Honorable Mentions are:
Civic Participation -- Google+ Hangouts 
Mobile Applications -- Virtual Braille Keyboard 

The awards ceremony is free and open to the public.  Individuals interested
in attending this event are asked to send an RSVP to ChairmansAAA at fcc.gov.
Please include your name, title, organization affiliation (if any), and
contact information in the e-mail.  You can also watch it live over the
Internet from the FCC's web page at. www.fcc.gov/live.   
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon
request.  Include a description of the accommodation you will need and tell
us how to contact you if we need more information.  Make your request as
early as possible.  Last minute requests will be accepted, but may be
impossible to fill.  Send an e-mail to fcc504 at fcc.gov or call the Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
For more information about the FCC, visit FCC.gov.

I  hope this is helpful.

Best Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Gerald Levy
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 11:55 AM
To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV

But that's my point.  These laws are essentially unenforceable.  So while
it's nice to claim a "victory" in the accessibility wars,alas, I'm afraid it
is only a paper victory.  Only when failing to make products universally
accessible is treated as a criminal offense will anything change.

Gerald

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Barbour" <jbar at barcore.com>
To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV

> My aren't we bitter and angry this morning. The only way we can make these

> changes is by passing loss, and then demanding  that they  be enforced.
>
> You can sit and wine
> About how laws don't work if you want to, but frankly they're  about the 
> only thing that ever has.
>
> Jim
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Dec 12, 2012, at 7:51 AM, "Gerald Levy" <bwaylimited at verizon.net> 
> wrote:
>
>>
>> If this is true, then why does Time Warner, my cable provider, claim that

>> it knows nothing about any legal requirement to offer accessible cable 
>> boxes? To be perfectly blunt, I think this law is a big waste of time, 
>> and absolutely nothing will come of it.  So what if the cable providers 
>> refuse to comply?  Are their executives going to be arrested and 
>> prosecuted for violating the civil rights of their disabled customers? 
>> Of course not. Will the companies be fined?  Maybe.  And if they're 
>> fined, they'll simply pass the cost along to their customers in the form 
>> of higher monthly cable bills. And we blind customers will still be 
>> unable to access described programming. So file all the complaints you 
>> want with the FCC if it makes you feel better, but you can be sure that 
>> the fat-ass bureaucrats there will simply shrug them off.
>>
>> Gerald
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Wayland" 
>> <larry.wayland at arkansas.gov>
>> To: "'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'" 
>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 9:50 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV
>>
>>
>>> I believe it is the Twenty first century communications and video  act 
>>> of 2010 that says formal complaints can be filed after October of 2013. 
>>> The law was signed by the president in August of 2010 and companies have

>>> two years from that time to get their  equipment in compliance.  My 
>>> understanding the law includes all communications equipment. It doesn't 
>>> mean all models a company produces has to be accessible, but they have 
>>> to offer models that are.
>>> Larry
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>>> Behalf Of Gerald Levy
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 6:12 AM
>>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV
>>>
>>>
>>> So waht?  We still can't access this described programming because there

>>> is no way to navigate the onscreen menus of most cable boxes and digital

>>> TV's without sighted help to turn on the SAP channel that carries the 
>>> descriptive audio. And most remote controls no longer have a dedicated 
>>> SAP button, either.
>>>
>>> Gerald
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "A. Chew" <a1chew at hotmail.com>
>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 9:58 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV
>>>
>>>
>>>> On August 25, 2011, the FCC was finally able to vote (unanimously) to
>>>> reinstate video description, effective July 1, 2012.  ABC, CBS, Fox, 
>>>> NBC,
>>>> USA, the Disney Channel, TNT, Nickelodeon, and TBS are each required to
>>>> provide 50 hours of video-described prime time or children's 
>>>> programming
>>>> per calendar quarter.
>>>>
>>>> full text may be found at below link
>>>> http://www.acb.org/adp/tv.html
>>>>
>>>> at the bottom of the linked page will be links to file a complaint with
>>>> the FCC.
>>>>
>>>> I was surprised to received a call from Comcast a few weeks after 
>>>> filing a
>>>> complain.
>>>> issue is still open... (not resolved)  but Comcast claims they are 
>>>> working
>>>> on it....
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A. Chew
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ashley Bramlett" 
>>>> <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 6:05 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>> this is bad news. You're saying that time warner and
>>>>> Comcast are not providing descriptive audio when its now the law.
>>>>> I cannot speak for cox cable as I have not asked. But I suspect when I
>>>>> do, they will have no clue.
>>>>> what it is either.
>>>>>
>>>>> My parents can read the options on the screen and we never see
>>>>> descriptive audio. So like
>>>>> Mariea said, I suspect that descriptive tv doesn't exist either for 
>>>>> me.
>>>>>
>>>>> If I cannot get it, is there a way to file a complaint with the FCC 
>>>>> and
>>>>> how?
>>>>> Is there a way to download descriptive tv shows from online? even if 
>>>>> its
>>>>> paid, I'd like to have old shows.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ashley
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Mariea Harris
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 7:04 PM
>>>>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] descriptive TV
>>>>>
>>>>> Time Warner Cable doesn't support audio description either. When I 
>>>>> read
>>>>> up
>>>>> on audio description, it said that cable companies use analog and that
>>>>> satellite uses something else, but I forget what. It seems that the 
>>>>> only
>>>>> way
>>>>> you can get audio description here in the states is via satellite TV. 
>>>>> We
>>>>> turned on SAP on our TV and nothing happens. I doubt Time Warner has 
>>>>> any
>>>>> clue what audio description is either, so I've not bothered asking.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Mariea and Valiant
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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