[nfbmi-talk] New Year, New Accessible Technology

[Kane Brolin]

Greetings.

I was perusing my inbox this morning and I ran across a message in
which one particular blind resident of Indiana--not a Federation
member--described his success in dealing with the satellite television
provider DirecTV to make his set-top box accessible to a blind person.
He pointed out that if you are blind and if you are a current or
potential DirecTV subscriber, you may phone 1-800-531-5000
to set u[p an appointment in which a technician will come out and set
up and/or configure your Genie Box so that it is accessible.  He did
not say that this visit is free of charge; so some careful checking
would be in order to prevent possible sticker shock from this
installation service.

I followed this anecdote up with a small bit of research.  In so
doing, I learned that accessibility for cable and satellite set-top
boxes is not the
 exclusive province of DirecTV.  And it comes on the heels of federal
government rule-making.  The following info comes from the
 American Council of the Blind:

 "December 20 was the deadline for compliance with the  FCC's order for
 manufacturers of video devices to offer accessible user interfaces to
 visually impaired customers. Check out the  FCC Fact Sheet: Television
 and Set-Top Box Controls, Menus, and Program Guides.  Comcast ledd the
 way on this two years ago, and now it's everyone else's turn to
 comply.  Preliminary feedback is positive for Apple TV, AT&T DirecTV
 Genie, Comcast X1, Samsung TV, TiVO Roamio, Roku, and Verizon FiOS TV
 cable box, though quality may vary.   Check below for information, or
 contact your own cable or satellite TV supplier for 'what's available'
 and 'how to' information regarding Talking Guides or audio for
 remotes.  You can report findings on our forum, and you can report
 problems to us at advocacy at acb.org." http://www.acb.org/adp/tv.html

 The Federal Communication Commission's fact sheet, containing some
detail about these things, is available from the above-listed site.

It is not my intention to promote or to denigrate the Council.  But in
this case they have done some good work to help ensure that one of the
niceties most sighted consumers take for granted--programmable cable
and satellite set top boxes, TEVO, DVR, etc.--is something we in the
blind community now can benefit from as well.

 Cheers and Happy New Year,

 Kane Brolin