[Electronics-Talk] Accessible cable TV

[Peter]

Hello Matt and everyone,

Yes. The Smithsonian Channel is awesome!!

Peter Donahue



-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Matthew Chao via Electronics-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2026 8:15 AM
To: Discussion of accessible shome electronics and appliances <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Matthew Chao <mattchao1953 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Accessible cable TV

If one gets YouTube TV, can you get channels normally on cable, such as the Smithsonian Channel or Military History Channel?  May consider cutting cable if I can get everything on YouTube TV.  And BTW, how much do you pay for YouTube TV?


Thanks.--Matthew Chao



On 5/18/2026 1:03 PM, Tracy Carcione via Electronics-Talk wrote:
> Thanks everyone.  I'll keep all this in mind.
> A person on the NJTech listserve had the Optimum cable box until a couple months ago, and she says it does have accessibility; the workers just have no clue about it.  She told me exactly what I need to know to get the accessibility turned on, so I can tell the cable guy to do it when he comes.
> So we're making an appointment to get the new box and see how it does.
> And I'll think about Youtube TV.
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf 
> Of Gerald Levy via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Monday, May 18, 2026 10:26 AM
> To: Tracy Carcione via Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Accessible cable TV
>
>
> No, a smart TV won't solve your problem because the voice guide feature that announces channel number and program name and DVR commands is controlled by your cable box.  If you want to use the built-in voice guide feature of a smart TV (most Samsung models have this feature), you would have to give up Optimum Cable so that you could bypass the box and either receive TV channels over the air using an antenna or else sign up with one or more streaming services, which could actually wind up costing more over the long term than Optimum's cable service.  And unless you have another cable operator in your area, you are stuck with Optimum, which may be an absolute monopoly where you live.
>
>
> Gerald
>
>
>
> On 5/18/2026 9:16 AM, Tracy Carcione via Electronics-Talk wrote:
>> For a long time, we had software on our Optimum cable box that would 
>> announce the channel and what was playing, and I could also use it to 
>> access the DVR.
>>
>> Optimum doesn't support it anymore, and their new cable box doesn't 
>> have any accessibility at all.
>>
>> They think that maybe a smart TV would have it, but I don't know.
>>
>> If I buy a smart TV, and turn on Talkback or whatever it has, will it 
>> tell me what's playing on a channel and have ways to access the DVR?
>>
>> For instance, I was able to move through the shows on a channel until 
>> I found the one I wanted to record, then hit record.  Later, I could 
>> go into the DVR, scroll through the recordings, find the one I 
>> wanted, watch it, then go through the menu to either keep it or delete it.
>> Imagine that.  Can I get those same features on a smart TV?
>>
>> I have 0 interest in using Alexa.
>>
>>    
>>
>> It's extremely annoying that Optimum had accessibility, and then just 
>> ditched it completely.
>>
>> Tracy
>>
>>    
>>
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