[gui-talk] Fwd: more TV providers provide talking menus for blind subscribers

Ray Foret jr rforet7706 at comcast.net
Wed Dec 28 17:32:52 UTC 2016 

Dave is correct Gerald.  Let me point out that I have been using Comcast Voice Guidance for quite a while now.  Comcast did it not merely because the law requires it, they did it because they saw it  would be good for the customer base and there is a public relations component added to this also.  For a long time now, Comcast has been the only firm to offer this service.  Admittedly, there is a personal loyalty factor at work here;  and for two reasons.

1.  Comcast was the first to provide Voice Guidance and nothing can take that fact away.

2.  In one for or another, that company has a history with me going back to 1978 when they used to be “Houma Cable”.  That second factr may not mean anything to anyone here:  but for me, it’s important.  
Gerald, I still say that pursuation is better than force:  but, something else concerns me.  It’s up to us (the blind) to pursuade the companies to keep doing what’s right.  We may be a minority, but, our buying power is growing and we are not going to be small forever.  If we don’t live up to our responsibility and do our jobs providing feedback, how are the companies supposed to know the following:

1.  What is good about the service?

2.  What is not so good or needs improving?

	Frankly, a constantly negative outlook is only going to serve the people who think that providing the services is a waste of time and money.

We MUST counteract this.


Sent from my Mac, The Only computer with full accessibility for the blind built-in

Sincerely, The Constantly Barefooted Ray,

Still a very happy Comcast XFinity Voice Guidance, Mac, Verizon Wireless iPhone7+ and Apple TV user!

> On Dec 28, 2016, at 10:54 AM, David Goldfield via gui-talk <gui-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Gerald,
> 
> I'd like to point out that Comcast released their accessible set-top box 
> two years ago and they have a dedicated accessibility team which tests 
> their various Web sites and apps to ensure accessibility with screen 
> readers, switch control access and low vision access. Also, Comcast has 
> a dedicated call center to serve customers with disabilities. This is an 
> example of a technology company which has done far more than meeting the 
> bare minimum of what the law requires, going above and beyond for its 
> customers with disabilities.
> 
>           David Goldfield,
>       Assistive Technology Specialist
> 
> Feel free to visit my Web site
> WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
> 
> On 12/28/2016 11:47 AM, Gerald Levy via gui-talk wrote:
>> 
>> But why should cable companies spend millions of dollars just to 
>> satisfy a handful of customers simply because "it's the right thing to 
>> do".  Cable companies have never, ever had reputations for being 
>> socially concious, and their primary mission is to maximize 
>> shareholder return, which means maximizing profits and minimizing 
>> costs.  That's the reason for the merger between Charter and Time 
>> Warner to form Spectrum Cable.  And so unless the government forces 
>> them to comply with the Telecommunications Act, which seems less 
>> likely under the new administration, the cable companies have 
>> absolutely no incentive to change the way they do business. Do you 
>> think they really care about attracting more blind customers because 
>> they offer accessible boxes?They couldn't care less about us blind 
>> consumers, and anyone who believes otherwise is being naive. And of 
>> course, it is impossible to take your business elsewhere, as you 
>> suggest, because in most major markets, the local cable companies have 
>> absolute monopolies with no competition.
>> 
>> Gerald
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- From: Mike Arrigo via gui-talk
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 10:41 AM
>> To: gui-talk at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Mike Arrigo
>> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Fwd: more TV providers provide talking menus 
>> for blind subscribers
>> 
>> I actually agree with less government regulation, right now we have so
>> much regulation in this country that it's discouraging anyone from
>> running businesses here. I'm not just talking about telecommunication,
>> but in general. The best thing to do is to get these companies to
>> realize that blind people are also consumers and that making their
>> services accessible is the right thing to do, in short, they should do
>> this because they want to, not because they have to. Of course, some
>> companies will not do this no matter what, and in that case, you vote
>> with your dollar and take your business elsewhere.
>> Original message:
>> 
>>> Well, you can essentially kiss the Telecommunications Accessibility Act
>>> goodbye.  The current FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler, whill be stepping 
>>> down on
>>> Jan. 20, and his successor, appointed by the incoming president-elect is
>>> likely to favor less government regulationof the airwaves and minimal
>>> enforcement of FCC rules. So there will not be any pressure on the cable
>>> companies or TV manufacturers to make their products blind accessible.
>>> Anyone who believes otherwise is living in a dream world.  So unless 
>>> your
>>> cable provider already offers accessible boxes, you will probably have a
>>> very long wait to get one.  Spectrum Cable, which has been bombarding 
>>> local
>>> TV stations in New York City to introduce itself and proclaim ""a new 
>>> day"
>>> for cable TV service, still has absolutely no plans to offer accessible
>>> boxes any time soon, and now there will be little pressure on them to 
>>> do so.
>> 
>>> Gerald
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: David Andrews via gui-talk
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 8:12 PM
>>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: David Andrews
>>> Subject: [gui-talk] Fwd: more TV providers provide talking menus for 
>>> blind
>>> subscribers
>> 
>>> The area of accessible television is getting more
>>> activity of late -- this information may interest you.
>> 
>>> Dave
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>>> From: Ray Foret jr <rforet7706 at comcast.net>
>>>> Subject: more TV providors provide talking menus for blind subscribers
>>>> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 02:50:28 -0600
>>>> To: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
>> 
>>>> Greetings,
>>>> As we all know, the Federal Communications Commission has inacted the
>>>> Telecommunications act which requires provision for talking menu and or
>>>> talking guide structure for blind subscribers of TV providing services.
>>>> The first link is critically important for it leads to a FAQ sheet 
>>>> in which
>>>> there is information for filing complaints if necessary:
>> 
>>>> <https://www.fcc.gov/television-and-set-top-box-controls-menus-program-guides-factsheet>https://www.fcc.gov/television-and-set-top-box-controls-menus-program-guides-factsheet 
>>>> 
>> 
>> 
>>>> Following is a list of TV providers who now provide some kind of 
>>>> audio or
>>>> talking menu structure for blind subscribers.  Mostly, these providers
>>>> require that the subscriber have the top of the line DVR box for 
>>>> this to
>>>> work.  I must admit that I was quite surprised to see the TV satellite
>>>> companies on board.
>> 
>> 
>>>> Comcast:
>> 
>>>> <http://www.comcast.com/accessibility>www.comcast.com/accessibility
>> 
>>>> Tivo:
>>>> <https://www.tivo.com/accessibility>https://www.tivo.com/accessibility
>>>> Spectrum, (formerly Charter)
>>>> <http://www.charter.net/support/accessibility/talking-guide-spectrum-guide-support/>http://www.charter.net/support/accessibility/talking-guide-spectrum-guide-support/ 
>>>> 
>>>> Direct TV:
>>>> <https://support.directv.com/equipment/talking-guide-faq>https://support.directv.com/equipment/talking-guide-faq 
>>>> 
>>>> and Dish Network:
>>>> <https://www.dish.com/accessibility/>https://www.dish.com/accessibility/ 
>>>> 
>>>> Verizon Fios:
>>>> <http://www.verizon.com/about/accessibility/text-speech?pos=1>http://www.verizon.com/about/accessibility/text-speech?pos=1 
>>>> 
>> 
>>>> Of course, Apple TV is accessible and that’s always a plus too.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>>> Sent from my Mac, The Only computer with full accessibility for the 
>>>> blind
>>>> built-in
>> 
>>>> Sincerely, The Constantly Barefooted Ray,
>> 
>>>> Still a very happy Comcast XFinity Voice Guidance, Mac, Verizon 
>>>> Wireless
>>>> iPhone7+ and Apple TV user!
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> 
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