[Electronics-talk] Cable and DVR

Tue Apr 2 04:31:46 UTC 2013

Hi all. I haven't posted here in awhile. Just wanted to let you know I took
a survey for Comcast and I spent about an hour with them on the phone. I
have a lot to say as some of you know. Anyway I gave them quite an education
and it seems like they're really taking an interest. I know why they're
taking an interest but at least they're asking us.
One of the important questions they asked was. "what does accessible mean to
you?" And, I stressed accessible means having as much control of a device as
anyone else. I explained how making 1 or two things talk is not accessible
but to get the same information and perform the same tasks on a device like
everyone else.
I hope this will bring good things though I am a pessimist at heart.

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Larry Wayland
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 12:20 PM
To: 'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cablevision DVR

Agreed!
But what we must also remember is requesting accessability means we have to
tell companies how to make things accessible.

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Dave Bahr
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 2:10 PM
To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cablevision DVR

amen! to all of that. now we need to lobby for more audio description, which
by the way is coming into its own on mainstream dvds. And blind people, have
jobs? Surely you can't be serious! sarcasm there folks.

you asked the customer service people? they hardly know how to operate the
equipment they sell, if they even know at all. Oh no this has to go right to
the top of the company. But what we must also remember is requesting
accessability means we have to tell companies how to make things accessible.
When I was at a university people would complain that the campus wasn't
accessible but not give suggestions as to how to improve things. I'm not
saying that no one will speak up to help, not by any means, but as was
stated below, if you don't do anything, nothing changes. I just don't like
to hear complaints that don't have suggestions behind them. sorry not
meaning to sound preachy here.

On 4/1/2013 12:59 PM, Larry Wayland wrote:
> You may be right, but I have learned in my life time is that progress
always cost something, especially in the beginning. In this case it may be
effort on our part in filing complaints, maybe a little extra cost, which I
expect would be very minimal and unnecessary.  I will tell you this, if we
don't file the complaints it is for sure nothing will be done.  I am not
surprised your cable company doesn't know anything about the law, which by
the way is already in place. It is just we can't file formal complaints
until after October of this year.  They will not learn anything about it
until we tell them about it and the best way to get them to listen is to
file those complaints .
> I remember several years ago deaf people had to purchase a very expensive
device to receive the close captioning on their TV's.  They lobbied and got
a law passed requiring the television companies  to include a chip in each
TV set that would do the close captioning.  The cost of each TV set went up
by 50 cents. Very minimal.  I can see the same thing happening here.
> Also I would like to add  this law is not just for  television, it is for
all communication devices, which might make it possible for some of the
blind people on fixed incomes to  be able to find jobs and  increase their
income.  Also don't forget, when something is made accessable for blind
people it is made better for everyone.
> Larry
>
>
>
>
> In practical terms, the Telecommunications Act probably won't change
anything in the near future.  Until all the cable companies get together and
agree on a standardized, universal set-top box design, they will simply file
delaying appeals with the FCC to indefinitely postpone the introduction of
accessible boxes on the grounds of insurmountable technical hurdles.  The
customer service agents at my local cable provider, Time Warner, seem to
know nothing about the Telecommunications Act, and they have told me on
numerous occasions that Time Warner has no plans to introduce an accessible
cable box anythime soon, if at all.  The practical reality, I'm afraid, is
that the cable companies will simply disregard the Telecommunications Act
with relative impunity.  At worst, they will be forced to pay fines for
noncompliance, which they will subsequently pass on to their customers in
the form of higher rates.  So at least in the short run, the
Telecommunications Act may have the effect of actually making things worse,
not better, for blind cable customers most of whom live on fixed incomes and
thus can barely afford the outrageously high cost of cable service to begin
with.
>
> Gerald
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Bahr" <dcbahr1 at gmail.com>
> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 11:29 AM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cablevision DVR
>
>
>> yeah, my fiance has to operate the dvr for me if I want to watch 
>> jeopardy which is kind of my addiction when it's not baseball season. it
sucks.
>> hmm, regarding the fcc complaint issue, does that complaint have to 
>> be lobbied against one particular device or company or is it all 
>> across the board of, say, dvrs in general? Because the company making 
>> the device could either discontinue it or make a newer model thus 
>> making the case moot and you might have to file another one. That's 
>> just me thinking aloud, I could be completely wrong about all of that.
>> On 4/1/2013 8:10 AM, Larry Wayland wrote:
>>> Because of the Communications and video act of 2010 you will be able 
>>> to file formal complaints with  the FCC after October of this year.  
>>> I suggest we all be ready and willing to file complaints when our 
>>> communications devises are not accessible. Companies are suppose to 
>>> know about this law and will have had two years to develop accessible
devises.
>>> Larry
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>>> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
>>> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 7:53 AM
>>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Cablevision DVR
>>>
>>> Does anyone else have Cablevision or Optimum with a DVR?
>>> Their ads say that one can manage the DVR online, but, when I go 
>>> there, the buttons apparently are part of a picture, and all I see 
>>> is "graphics image".
>>> My husband and I have complained to Cablevision about it, but who 
>>> knows if anything will come of it.
>>> I wonder if anyone else has figured it out, or if the cell phone 
>>> interface is better, or if anyone else would also complain.
>>>
>>> We've been using the remote to control the DVR, but Cablevision just 
>>> changed its menus and made the whole process a lot more complicated.  
>>> Why use 4 moves to do something, when you can use 10?  What idiot 
>>> designs these things!
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
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