[nfbwatlk] Fw: Video Description & Converter Boxes

[Mike Freeman]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Van Winkle" <cindy.vw at msn.com>
To: <wcb-l at wcbinfo.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:44 AM
Subject: [Wcb-l] Video Description & Converter Boxes


Found on Fred's Head Companion.

Video Description and Converter Boxes

Now that you've signed up to receive a coupon for a converter box, what
converter should you purchase? Mary Watkins, Director of Communications 
and
Outreach
for Media Access Group at WGBH did some research and found the 
following:

WGBH's Media Access Group has tested two of the National 
Telecommunications
and Information Administration/NTIA-certified coupon eligible converter
boxes
and has determined that you can indeed receive and hear video 
description
from a broadcast digital TV signal that properly includes it.

We tested two boxes:

Insignia from Best Buy
- Digital Stream from Radio Shack

We tuned in two different PBS kids programs broadcast on WGBH's digital
channel and heard the descriptions coming through.

Even better news is that both boxes have both CC and SAP (or audio) 
buttons
on the remote controls that allow you to access the various caption 
signals
and alternate audio channels without having to go through the set-up 
menus.

You will find discrepancies in the on-screen menus when you use the two
different methods for controlling the alternate audio:

List of 3 items
 both boxes display "English 1" and "English 2" in the on-screen menu 
when
you use the SAP or Audio button on the remote control. Use English 2 for
accessing
the video description (or Spanish if you are looking for that).
 in their set-up menus, both boxes display "English/Spanish/French" as 
the
options in the pick list in those menus.
 and, of course, neither of the boxes have audible/talking menus for
control of the set up and control of the boxes.
list end

The broadcaster must be properly tagging and sending the alternate audio 
in
order for the boxes to pick up those signals and present them to the 
viewer.

The WGBH - Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible 
Media
(NCAM) has published a new Outreach and Policy Paper, Digital Television 
and
Video Description: Service Continues, Consumer and Industry Efforts 
Required

Most consumers are just now becoming aware of the mandated transition 
from
analog to digital broadcasting scheduled for February of 2009 and how it
will
affect the TV viewing that they rely on daily. Blind or deaf consumers 
who
purchase digital TV sets, and subscribe to cable, satellite or 
fiber-optic
TV
services have expressed frustration with set-up, reception and
incompatibility problems regarding access services (captioning and video
description), few
of which are understood or even documented by manufacturers and 
retailers.

In addition, people who want to continue receiving free over-the-air
broadcasts using their analog sets and an antenna must purchase a 
set-top
converter
box to do so - and figure out how to make captions and descriptions work 
for
them. NCAM previously published an overview of problems confronting deaf 
or
hard-of-hearing people trying to access captions via DTV or through a
converter box. The "DTVCC" paper can be found on NCAM's Web site listed
below.

This new paper focuses on challenges facing blind or low vision viewers 
who
rely on video description to enjoy and fully understand television
programming.
Topics covered include: - Set-top Converter Boxes - Accessible Menus - 
Tips
for Finding Video Description in DTV - Troubleshooting - and a Technical
Note
about PSIP (or Program and System Information Protocol)

This paper, along with much more information about the DTV conversion 
from a
variety of resources, can be found at NCAM's DTV Access site,
http://dtvaccess.org
or
http://ncam.wgbh.org/dtv.
NCAM has established a one-way email address, dtvaccess at wgbh.org,
as an aggregator of complaints and problems related to the DTV rollout. 
If
you send a report about a DTV access problem to this address, you will
receive
an automatic response that says that your report has been received and 
that
they are gathering information but cannot respond to your inquiry, and 
that
they will pass along common issues to relevant parties.


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