[Nfbmo] Fwd: [nfbmi-talk] New Year, New Accessible Technology

[Roger Crome]

Awesome

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 5, 2017, at 8:19 PM, Fred Olver via Nfbmo <nfbmo at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: Kane Brolin via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: January 5, 2017 at 8:05:06 AM CST
>> To: NFB of Michiana Mailing List <nfbofmichiana at googlegroups.com>, NFB of Indiana Mailing List <nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com>, NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <NFBMI-Talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Kane Brolin <kbrolin65 at gmail.com>, ELeemreis <ELeemreis at gmail.com>, Jim Kuspa <harmlesstoall at fastmail.fm>, Samantha Dalton <SDalton16 at gmail.com>, dafawna at gmail.com, Vincent Cordone <Vincent_Cordone at hotmail.com>, Mary Kuspa <msmkuspa at gmail.com>, Paul Filpus <paulfilpus at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] New Year, New Accessible Technology
>> Reply-To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> 
>> 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
>> 
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