[Electronics-talk] Cable and DVR

Wed Apr 3 18:34:46 UTC 2013

Call me an idealist, if you want, but it's comments like the one below 
that don't allow things to progress in a forward direction. If I may 
quote another reply to this thread from one Robin, this is the atitude 
we need to have.

"I figure like in most human endeavors if I am going to complain about 
that which
isn't as it ought to be I should also be willing to praise that which 
improves in
the hopes of motivating more forward motion in the direction I wish 
things to progress."

As I said, it's important to tell them things aren't accessible, but you 
have to tell them both how to make it more accessible and what they're 
doing to help or hinder the project.

This isn't saying that you have to participate in the effort, since for 
some it seems a waste of time in their eyes. That's perfectly fine, I 
can't condemn that because they have priorities. But I think for those 
of us who do see some sort of solution in the future, it's worth 
discussing with comcast. Please note I did not use the word, fighting, 
because fighting with a big corporation doesn't work either, no one 
really ever wins.

Yeah, I'll freely admit this is an optimistic message filled with what 
some would consider fluff, but I hope others see my points as valid. 
There have been several times where I've pushed and pushed and pushed 
and it's paid off in the end.

Ok, just my $2.50 for the day, or at least the moment.
On 4/3/2013 1:55 AM, Kaye wrote:
> Comcast and "good things" tipically do not go hand in hand. Sorry.
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Dave Bahr
> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 4:19 AM
> To: bboyer202 at gmail.com ; Discussion of accessible electronics and 
> appliances
> 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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