[Electronics-talk] Cable and DVR

Tue Apr 2 17:23:23 UTC 2013

I am truly surprise they didn't try to sell you something. That seems to be 
all they care about.
Cordially,
Frida
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Bahr" <dcbahr1 at gmail.com>
To: <bboyer202 at gmail.com>; "Discussion of accessible electronics and 
appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 1:19 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cable and DVR


> do you have a contact at comcast you spoke with?
> On 4/1/2013 10:31 PM, Brett Boyer wrote:
>> 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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