[Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top boxes

[David Andrews]

Yes, it was signed some time ago.  The FCC is in 
the process of taking comments and writing 
rules.  This can be a long process 
unfortunately.  It will be late 2013 before they officially take complaints.

Dave

At 08:44 PM 1/24/2012, you wrote:
>So do you know if the president has signed it?
>My understanding was that he supports it.
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Chaltain" <chaltain at gmail.com>
>To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and 
>appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 8:40 PM
>Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top boxes
>
>
>According to what I read, it already passed Congress. As to whether
>it'll make any difference or not, it stands more chance of making a
>difference than throwing your hands up, feeling sorry for yourself and
>not doing anything at all or do you have a better idea?
>
>On 24/01/12 18:21, Ray Foret Jr wrote:
>>How much you want to bet it aint gonna even 
>>pass congress or even if it does, that it aint 
>>gonna result in anything much at all?
>>
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>>
>>Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
>>
>>Skype name:
>>barefootedray
>>
>>Facebook:
>>facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
>>
>>
>>
>>On Jan 24, 2012, at 5:44 PM, GeorTsoukala at aol.com wrote:
>>
>>>It is the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
>>>I have copied an article below.
>>>George
>>>
>>>
>>>    AccessWorld ®
>>>Technology and People Who Are  Blind or Visually Impaired
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>January 2012 Issue  Volume 13  Number  1
>>>
>>>
>>> From AFB's Policy  Center
>>>The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act:
>>>Highlights of a New Landmark Communications Law
>>>Mark Richert
>>>
>>>If you would have told me a decade ago that one day there would be a law
>>>requiring virtually all text communication, mobile phone Web browsers, TVs,
>>>and  broadcast emergency alerts to be fully accessible to people who are
>>>blind or  visually impaired, I would likely 
>>>have told you to keep dreaming. But
>>>if you  also told me that this same legislation would be stronger than any
>>>communications law for people with disabilities previously enacted, that it
>>>would result in more than 60 hours a week of described video programming,
>>>and,  amazingly, that it would permanently make up to $10 million per year
>>>available  to put expensive communications equipment in the hands of people
>>>who are  deaf-blind, I might have told you 
>>>that you have a rich, albeit nerdy,
>>>fantasy  life.
>>>
>>>As incredible as it sounds, such legislation is now the law of the land,
>>>thanks to the passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video
>>>Accessibility Act, or CVAA. While readers of 
>>>AccessWorld are no doubt some of
>>>the more savvy and connected folks who follow developments in technology
>>>policy,  this brief rundown of what the CVAA does was written to provide a
>>>better  understanding of the changes people 
>>>who are blind or visually impaired
>>>can and  should expect from the communications, consumer electronics, and
>>>video  programming industries.
>>>
>>>Communications
>>>Long before the CVAA became law, telecommunications  equipment
>>>manufacturers and service providers had some 
>>>limited responsibilities for ensuring that
>>>people with disabilities could independently make phone calls  and use both
>>>traditional and mobile phone technologies. Under these  long-standing
>>>rules, the equipment and services provided 
>>>need only be accessible  when doing so
>>>doesn't require a company to invest much money or effort to make  it
>>>happen. What's more, with some exceptions-such as caller ID and address book
>>>functions-the old rules were limited to phone call accessibility. The many
>>>common functions people use their phones for today, such as text messaging,
>>>email, and browsing the Internet, were not 
>>>covered. That's where the CVAA comes
>>>in. Now, companies that make communications equipment or offer related
>>>services  must make advanced functions such as 
>>>electronic messaging accessible
>>>unless it's  simply not possible to do so. In effect, the CVAA raises the
>>>bar considerably in  terms of what companies are expected to do for
>>>communications accessibility, and  goes a long 
>>>way to clarify accessibility standards
>>>and responsibilities.
>>>
>>>Any time a member of Congress talks about regulating something related to
>>>the Internet, people get skittish. So when access advocates made it clear
>>>that  full accessibility, including Internet accessibility, was required if
>>>people  with vision impairment were to have full use of the devices and
>>>services they  pay for, both industry and Congress got a bit nervous.
>>>Nevertheless, advocates  insisted that any law 
>>>lauding itself as a twenty-first century
>>>accessibility law  had to deal with the Internet. As a result, the CVAA does
>>>cover Internet access,  but in a bit of a limited way. The CVAA states that
>>>whenever electronic  messaging is offered-whether it's on a mobile phone, a
>>>desk phone, a desktop  computer, or some other device-it must be accessible
>>>to people with  disabilities. In the case of Internet browsing, however,
>>>the law is a bit  narrower. Only the browsers on mobile phones need to be
>>>accessible, and the  CVAA, rather unusually and disappointingly, limits this
>>>accessibility  requirement to those who are 
>>>blind or visually impaired. Those
>>>with other  disabilities are not covered.
>>>
>>>Though the electronic messaging and Internet browser access requirements
>>>are already considered to be in effect, noncompliance complaints will not be
>>>heard by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) until October 2013.
>>>Why  this strange timeline? The law was signed by President Obama on October
>>>8, 2010,  and the FCC was required to issue regulations implementing the new
>>>law one year  from that date. As part of the process for developing those
>>>rules, the FCC heard  from industry that at 
>>>least a two-year transition period
>>>would be required to  adequately prepare for the new mandates. The
>>>accessibility community raised  strong 
>>>objections to the two-year delay, so the FCC
>>>compromised by requiring  that the new access obligations begin immediately,
>>>but that complaints about  noncompliance won't be entertained until the
>>>two-year window has passed. So,  starting in 
>>>October of 2013, a complaint can
>>>be filed with the FCC concerning  equipment or service inaccessibility
>>>experienced at any time, 
>>>including  retroactive complaints dating back to the
>>>start of the law's implementation. In  other 
>>>words, if you buy a mobile phone in
>>>2012 that doesn't offer you accessible  text messaging or e-mail
>>>functionality, you can complain to the FCC 
>>>about it-in  October of 2013. In any event,
>>>once the complaint is filed, the FCC will work  with you to resolve the
>>>complaint with the company. If the complaint is not  resolved, the FCC will
>>>make a final determination-which could involve anything  from a finding that
>>>your complaint is without merit or that the company violated  the
>>>accessibility law-within six months. If a 
>>>company is found to have violated  the CVAA,
>>>it may be liable for financial penalties (payable to the United  States),
>>>and/or maybe required to a change in behavior 
>>>on the company's part to ensure
>>>accessibility going forward. The FCC is also empowered to make the consumer
>>>whole, meaning that complaint resolution should include putting an
>>>accessible phone in the hand of the consumer 
>>>at no additional cost, even if the
>>>accessible phone is a higher priced, more feature-rich device.
>>>
>>>Video Programming
>>>As exciting as the CVAA communications requirements  are in terms of their
>>>potential to revolutionize our personal and workplace  inclusion and
>>>competitiveness, the CVAA video programming 
>>>provisions are sure to  be among the
>>>new law's most popular features. First and foremost is the CVAA unambiguous
>>>requirement that greatly increases the availability of video  description of
>>>prime-time and children's programming. While PBS has offered  described
>>>programming for years and a couple national 
>>>broadcast networks have described a
>>>few programs here and there, the commercial broadcasting, cable, and
>>>motion picture industries have fought tooth and nail to prevent video
>>>description from becoming a right of the blind 
>>>and visually impaired television
>>>audience. The CVAA unambiguously establishes 
>>>that the four national broadcast
>>>networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as 
>>>the top-ranked channels' USA, the
>>>Disney Channel, TNT, Nickelodeon, and TBS, must describe at least 50 hours
>>>of  their prime-time and/or children's programming during each calendar
>>>quarter.  That's an average of at least four hours per week.
>>>
>>>These new video description regulations make a bit of a distinction between
>>>the obligation of the CVAA-covered networks to provide description and the
>>>obligations of your local station or rural cable company to pass that
>>>description on to you. There are some 
>>>protections in the CVAA for small cable
>>>providers and for local stations that would experience a serious
>>>technological  and/or financial burden in 
>>>order to provide the service. That said,
>>>since  passing through description shouldn't be a big technical or financial
>>>deal for  almost every station and cable 
>>>provider in America, we should assume
>>>that  description will be very widely available.
>>>
>>>So, beginning next July, what do you do if your favorite show isn't being
>>>described or you can't seem to get your hands on a description? You of
>>>course  can contact your local station or cable provider and ask them how to
>>>receive  their pass-through of the described 
>>>programming. You can also contact
>>>the  national networks to request that a given program be described. If your
>>>local  station or cable provider tells you that they do not pass description
>>>through or  that they don't know how to make it happen for you, you can
>>>lodge a complaint  with the FCC. While the station or cable provider might
>>>reply that they don't  have to guarantee description and/or that passing
>>>description through would  constitute 
>>>prohibitive cost, the FCC needs to determine
>>>whether either of those  claims is true. As a side note: the disability
>>>community asked the FCC to set  parameters for 
>>>stations and cable providers who
>>>might claim that getting  technically up to speed to pass description
>>>through would require more than a  modest cost, and the FCC declined.
>>>
>>>A related issue is how to tune into a program if our TV and/or cable box or
>>>satellite equipment is itself inaccessible. The CVAA states that digital
>>>TVs and  other devices that receive and play broadcast and cable programming
>>>must have  controls that allow people with vision loss to use all
>>>programming-relevant  menus, to scan channels, 
>>>to easily turn on description for
>>>programs offering it,  and to manipulate any 
>>>and all features related to these
>>>functions. Gone will be  the days when simply using the volume control
>>>requires sighted assistance.
>>>
>>>As always, there are a few provisos. While equipment like digital TVs will
>>>have to provide accessible controls and menus out of the box, cable and
>>>satellite providers need only make their 
>>>equipment accessible upon the request
>>>of a customer. Why the difference? Well, some tech experts have pointed
>>>out that  the set-top box's days are numbered in terms of being the primary
>>>way for cable  and satellite companies to 
>>>securely deliver their programming,
>>>so including them  in the law would be legislating a dying technology.
>>>Regardless, whether access  is built into the 
>>>device or provided upon request,
>>>it's clearly required by the  CVAA. Implementation of this requirement is
>>>still being defined, but will  certainly take 
>>>place over multiple years. AFB is
>>>playing a leadership role in  this process, joining industry and advocates
>>>to set the direction the FCC will  follow in issuing the next major set of
>>>regulations to make all this possible.  It's a 
>>>slow process, but in the end it
>>>will result in substantial improvements  to accessibility.
>>>
>>>Other Key Benefits of the CVAA
>>>As mentioned earlier, the CVAA will break  down enormous barriers for those
>>>of us who are deaf-blind by establishing, for  the first time, a clear and
>>>substantial source of funding for the often  incredibly expensive equipment
>>>needed to communicate interpersonally and via the  telephone or the
>>>Internet. This $10-million program, 
>>>administered by the FCC  through an array of
>>>agreements with organizations and consortia from around the  country, will
>>>provide both equipment and training in the use of equipment.  Methods for
>>>procuring equipment and receiving training 
>>>will depend on location.  As of this
>>>writing, the FCC is still setting up various agreements with regional
>>>organizations and agencies, but the bottom 
>>>line is that the CVAA will fill a  huge
>>>gap by creating a reliable resource pipeline.
>>>
>>>The CVAA also fills a gap in the way emergency information is broadcast to
>>>those of us who can't see on-screen text. The status quo simply alerts the
>>>viewer with vision loss about emergency information through a simple tone.
>>>The  CVAA says that the FCC will establish more meaningful ways for viewers
>>>with  vision loss to access emergency information, particularly through
>>>audible  messages containing the text of the 
>>>displayed emergency alert. AFB is
>>>leading  advocacy efforts as the FCC hammers out the specifics of this
>>>element of the  law.
>>>
>>>Future Issues
>>>Of course no single law can anticipate every contingency  or address every
>>>problem-particularly a law concerned with communications accessibility-but
>>>the CVAA does tackle a wide array of barriers to access.  Devices that
>>>aren't yet covered by the CVAA but that will 
>>>clearly need to be addressed in the
>>>future include:
>>>
>>>Hand-held gaming devices that also allow users to text each other.
>>>TVs  that connect to the Internet and allow phone calls.
>>>The increasing number of  devices that can connect to the Internet but are
>>>not within the communications  and entertainment realm, such as the kitchen
>>>appliance or the thermostat that  can be manipulated from the cloud.
>>>With respect to multi-function devices,  like the gaming device that also
>>>offers text messaging, the CVAA regulations  state that the FCC will look
>>>both to the way a device is designed and how the  device is marketed to
>>>determine what the primary purpose of a given 
>>>device  really is. If that primary
>>>purpose is not a communications function 
>>>covered by  the CVAA, the device need
>>>not be accessible. So, does the gaming device that  offers text messaging
>>>need to be accessible? If the device is designed to allow  the user to send
>>>and receive text messages between individuals 
>>>and is at all  marketed for its
>>>ability to do so, it should be covered by the CVAA. That said,  the CVAA
>>>allows industry to petition the FCC for a waiver of coverage for
>>>mixed-function devices that they argue have a 
>>>primary purpose other than CVAA-covered
>>>communication. We'll have to watch for any such petitions and  respond
>>>accordingly. We also need to do a much better 
>>>job in our community with complaint
>>>generation and follow-through. While it's true that the FCC doesn't  have a
>>>very good track record of aggressive enforcement of communications
>>>accessibility laws, it's equally true that the 
>>>disability community has generated
>>>precious few complaints to hold industry accountable for the uniformly bad
>>>job it has done to make traditional and mobile phones accessible. If the
>>>vast array of new expectations created by the CVAA are going to have any
>>>meaning, individual consumers must refuse to 
>>>put up with unusable technology and
>>>be willing to make their voices heard through the complaint process.
>>>Remember  that if you think that a device you're using is noncompliant, and
>>>you're willing  to take action, AFB stands 
>>>ready to help as you navigate your way
>>>through the  complaint process.
>>>
>>>Comment on This Article
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Copyright © 2012 American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved.
>>>AccessWorld is a trademark of the American Foundation for the  Blind.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>In a message dated 1/24/2012 6:15:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>>dewey.bradley at kc.rr.com writes:
>>>
>>>Do you  know what bill it is, I couldn't find it, I wasn't aware that it
>>>had
>>>passed
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- From:  <GeorTsoukala at aol.com>
>>>To:  <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 5:08  PM
>>>Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top  boxes
>>>
>>>
>>>>I believe it was part of the law that passed in  2012.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>In a message dated 1/24/2012 3:18:12  P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>>>dewey.bradley at kc.rr.com  writes:
>>>>
>>>>Isn't  there a bill in congress to require  companies to make that stuff
>>>>accessible?
>>>>
>>>>-----  Original Message ----- From: 
>>>>"Julie  Phillipson"  <jbrew48 at verizon.net>
>>>>To: "Tony Sohl"   <tonysohl at cox.net>; "Discussion of accessible
>>>electronics
>>>>and  appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>Sent:  Tuesday, January 24,  2012 2:04 PM
>>>>Subject: Re:  [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top   boxes
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>a few years ago there was some articles I  think in the  monitor but it
>>>may
>>>>>have been from access world  or could have been  both.  It compared a few
>>>>>models as to  which were the easier ones  to use.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Julie Phillipson
>>>>>----- Original  Message ----- From: "Tony Sohl" <tonysohl at cox.net>
>>>>>To:   <Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>Sent: Tuesday, January 24,  2012  1:40 PM
>>>>>Subject: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox  remote top  boxes
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Hi I was  wondering are there any accessible  cable boxes on the market
>>>>or
>>>>>>any way I can access the menus such  as turning on the  second audio
>>>>>>program for DVS? If anyone has  some  suggestions, then let me know.