[Electronics-talk] Cable, SAP, and 21st Century Communications Accessibility

[Gerald Levy]

I am a Time Warner customer, and I can tell you that there is absolutely no 
way whatsoever to change any of the onscreen menu options on the cable box 
without sighted help.  It won't do you any good to memorize the keystrokes 
to access a particular function like turning SAP on or off, because Time 
Warner constantly changes the onscreen menus, adding and changing options 
willy nilly.  So the keystroke that turns SAP on or off today may not work 
tomorrow.  They are constantly shifting channels around, also, and it is 
almost impossible, even for sighted viewers to keep up with all these 
changes.  A few weeks ago, for example,they shifted around all the channels 
overnight, and I could no longer find the Music Choice channels, which had 
been carried on channels 601-649.  I thought maybe they had been dropped 
without notice.  After calling customer service and getting the usual run 
around, I was told that they had been moved to channels 1901-1950, making it 
necessary to punch four buttons on the numeric keypad on the remote instead 
of three to tune in a particular channel.   The latest generation cable box 
has no channel tuning or volume controls on it, just a power button, which 
means that if anything happens to your remote, there is no way to change 
channels or volume level.  Even their new slogan, "Time Warner: enjoy 
better", is a joke.

Gerald


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brent Harding via Electronics-talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "cheez" <cheez at cox.net>; "Discussion of accessible electronics and 
appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2014 7:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cable, SAP,and 21st Century Communications 
Accessibility


> yep, it's at least the cable company and the local station that both have 
> to have it right for it to work. At my current apartment, I have Time 
> Warner's preferred, or whatever they call it, package where you can hook 
> the TV right to the jack. They provide it free for everyone in the 
> building, but I took Internet through them also. It seems like my MTS 
> button on the TV remote doesn't enable it even though I know of a few 
> channels on my parents' DirecTV that are local stations that provide it. 
> Would getting a box from TWC make the situation better, and how hard is 
> enabling it on their equipment?
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "cheez via Electronics-talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> To: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>; "Discussion of accessible 
> electronics and appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 07, 2014 6:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Cable, SAP,and 21st Century Communications 
> Accessibility
>
>
>> Don't single out one party to blame, partner.  It's the lot of them.
>> Vince
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Tracy Carcione via Electronics-talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, July 07, 2014 3:50 AM
>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Cable, SAP,and 21st Century Communications 
>> Accessibility
>>
>>
>>> Our cable provider, Cablevision, informed us they no longer broadcast 
>>> SAP, after we asked them why it wasn't working.  Their phone app is also 
>>> not accessible in any meaningful way, which annoys me a lot.  Every time 
>>> I hear a commercial touting all the wonderful things one can do with 
>>> their marvellous app, I end up yelling at the TV "Unless you're blind!".
>>> Does anyone know how to put some pressure on these idiots?  We have a 
>>> law; how do I make them comply?  File a complaint with the DOJ? I'd 
>>> complain to my Congressman too, but he's a Tea Party Republican who 
>>> probably figures there shouldn't be any regulations or laws about 
>>> business anyway.
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
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>>
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