[Nfbwv-talk] Moving Reading App

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Here is an article I got from another list.

 

Charlene

 

Many theaters around the country are starting to offer the visually impaired the
option of listening to the descriptive audio track while they're watching a film.
Sadly though, this technology is not available everywhere, and sometimes it doesn't
work. The team at Solo-DX wants to make the experience better by having the blind
film-goer use a smart phone app to listen to the descriptive audio track instead.
Last week, I had the opportunity to test out the new MovieReading app. The interface
is very simple. Once you're logged in, you visit the Marketplace, download the descriptive
audio track for the film you're going to go see at your theater, and than start the
track when your film begins. The app will listen to the audio in the theater and
sync the audio track with where the film is so that the user doesn't have to try
and match the two tracks themselves. to test the app, I downloaded the Princess Bride
track and then watched some Youtube clips from the film. In all three cases, the
sync option worked perfectly. The app is
now available from the iTunes App Store.
 The film "Philomena", opening on November 22 in select cities, will be the first
movie to use the app's new features. MovieReading is currently available on iOS,
and they hope to have an Android version soon. Pasted below is a press release from
Solo-DX about the MovieReading app and "Philomena".
As exclusive U.S. partners with Universal Multimedia Access, Hollywood Access Services
is releasing Solo-Dx on MovieReading, the first ever auto-syncing audio description
app available for first-run movies. The debut title on this exciting new platform
will be The Weinstein Company¹s Philomena, in theaters November 22. Using acoustic
fingerprinting technology, this new auto-syncing method will completely change moviegoing
for the blind and visually impaired via their smartphones. It's really easy to use
-- download the app, download the description track, go to the movie theater, and
enjoy! Even if you arrive late, you can simply hit "sync" and your audio description
will pick up in the right place. Right now, if a visually impaired person wants to
go the movies, they either have to have someone next to them explain what is happening
on the screen, try to enjoy the movie just by listening to it, OR request audio description
headsets sometimes offered by theaters. These headsets pick up an infrared signal
from the projector that plays audio description through headphones. However, they're
not currently available for every movie or at every theater, and even when they are
available, they oftentimes don't work correctly. These obstacles make going to the
movies too much of a hassle for many blind and low vision individuals. Solo-Dx on
the MovieReading app makes moviegoing simple and enjoyable! Hollywood Access Services
is thrilled to provide unprecedented access to blind moviegoers across the country
with Philomena, the first film to be made available in the U.S. on this new auto-syncing
audio description platform. Starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, and based on the
book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee," Philomena is the true story of one mother's
search for her lost son. Philomena is directed By Stephen Frears and written by Steve
Coogan and Jeff Pope and opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 22 before
going nationwide on November 27.