[NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

Wed Mar 8 18:07:53 UTC 2023

Hello John:

Both JAWS and NVDA can be told to send speech output to a sound device that is different from your built-in sound card. In JAWS, you find this setting under Utilities > Sound Card.

In NVDA, go to Preferences, Settings, Speech, Synthesizer, and change the speech output device.

Warm regards,

Curtis Chong

-----Original Message-----
From: John Gardner <john.gardner at viewplus.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 11:02 AM
To: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com>; 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Subject: RE: [NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

Curtis, interesting thought about my headset having a short. That is easy to test. But I do not know what you mean by switching your screen reader to a different channel. Please explain.
Thanks.
John

-----Original Message-----
From: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 9:57 AM
To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: John Gardner <john.gardner at viewplus.com>
Subject: RE: [NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

Hello John:

The screen reader should not be able to be heard unless there is a short in the headphones or something like that. This is especially true if you are not blasting it, which I know you are not.☺

A friend of mine used earbuds for Zoom meetings and when one of the cords was cut because only one side was needed, everybody heard her screen reader. But, assuming everything is working as it should, the screen reader audio should not bleed through into Zoom, regardless of what screen reader you are using—unless you are sharing both audio and your screen.

Since I routinely share audio in some Zoom meetings, I have switched my screen reader to a different audio channel.

Warm regards,

Curtis Chong

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of John Gardner via NFBCS
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 10:47 AM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: John Gardner <john.gardner at viewplus.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

Thanks to Justin, Curtis, Brian, and Jim for suggestions. I should have been more clear. I am using a headset and using the headset microphone. I believe that my screen reader (NVDA actually, not Jaws) volume is set so that direct bleed into the microphone is negligible. I am fairly sure that in some other Zoom sessions, others do not hear my screen reader. Or maybe they are being just too polite to tell me?? I do know that when in ViewPlus Teams meetings, nobody hears my screen reader. They are for sure not that polite!

But I intend to ask from now on when in a Zoom session whether my screen reader can be heard. My computer has a bad habit of moving focus to some other window - maybe it is something I do to cause that but I have no idea what. In any case I often need to use my screen reader to find that Zoom window again. And since I often have a dozen windows open, my screen reader could be really annoying for others. I guess I could just get in the habit of muting myself and then expecting others to be patient occasionally if input from me is needed.

This is a strange problem, and it will take a few days to be sure that it is not more ubiquitous than I think. If it turns out that people are all hearing my screen reader in Zoom, I'll be pretty embarrassed by all this.

Anyhow, thanks for all your help!

John

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jim Denham via NFBCS
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 8:47 AM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jim Denham <jdenham at wcblind.org>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

John:

I work with many screen reader users who use Zoom, this is a common problem. A couple of questions. First, are you using a good set of headphones? If you are just relying on your system speakers and built-in microphone, your fellow Zoom participants are going to hear your screen reader. Microsoft Teams does a nice job of suppressing system audio from meetings, but Zoom does not yet do this. If you are looking for a good headset, I highly recommend the V7. You can purchase either a USB or USBC version from AT Guys for around $40.
If you are using a headset and still getting speech bleed, check your Zoom audio settings. Do this from the audio settings menu in a meeting next to the mute/unmute button. Make sure your microphone and speakers are set correctly. Even if things are set to use the system microphone and speakers, sometimes setting this to your headphone microphone can help. You can also test your audio using this menu.
Finally, and this sounds a bit silly, but check your system volume. Many screen reader users have the volume of the speech set quite high. Even with a headset, this high volume still causes speech bleed in a meeting. Try turning down the volume of your speech and see if this helps. Ideally, turn off your speech. I use a braille display and find this incredibly helpful in Zoom meetings.
I hope these tips help. Feel free to get in touch if you need additional info.
Thanks.
Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of John Gardner via NFBCS
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 10:36 AM
To: Bryan Schulz via NFBCS <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: John Gardner <john.gardner at viewplus.com>
Subject: [NFBCS] Screen reader talking to everybody on Zoom

Hello all, sometimes when I am on Zoom others can hear my screen reader and sometimes they do not. I just do not understand why, and I cannot find any information on how to suppress the screen reader without muting me as well. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

John Gardner
President
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