[Njabs-talk] Audio Description by SONY

[Quintina M. Singleton]

Sony and WGBH Partner on Delivering Descriptive Video Service on DVDsSONY

PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH WGBH MEDIA ACCESS GROUP TO DELIVER

DESCRIPTIVE VIDEO SERVICE ON HOME VIDEO TITLES

Culver City, Calif. (Sept 3, 2009) - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will

partner with WGBH Media Access Group to release select film titles on DVD

with Descriptive Video Service®, or DVS® as an optional feature for

audiences who are blind or have low vision. Descriptive Video Service

provides carefully crafted narration of key visual elements inserted into

natural pauses in dialogue. Key visual elements are those which viewers with

vision loss would ordinarily miss and include actions, costumes, gestures,

facial expressions, scene changes and onscreen text. On DVD and Blu-rayT,

the DVS track is an Audio option, listed alongside alternative languages,

where the menu selection will read "English Audio Descriptive Service."

The ability to enjoy movies with descriptive narration on DVD and Blu-ray

DiscT is extremely important to the nation's 12 million movie fans with

vision loss, and is the single most requested service of the Media Access

Group. Among the first Sony Pictures Home Entertainment titles to be

released with the description feature are The Taking of Pelham 123, The Ugly

Truth, Julie & Julia and District 9.

Sony Pictures has been a leader over the last decade in providing

descriptive audio for theatrical releases in movie theaters equipped with

WGBH's Motion Picture Access, or MoPix® systems. Beginning in the fall of

2009, all Sony Pictures theatrical releases with descriptive audio will also

include the feature when they arrive on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

About The Media Access Group at WGBH

The Media Access Group at WGBH includes The Caption Center, the world's

first captioning agency, founded in 1972; Descriptive Video Service

(DVS), which has made television, film and video more accessible to blind

and visually impaired audiences since 1990; and the Carl and Ruth Shapiro

Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a research and

development entity that builds on the success of WGBH's access service

departments to make existing and emerging technologies more accessible.

Members of the Media Access Group's collective staff represent the leading

resources and experts in their fields.

Additional information about the Media Access Group at WGBH can be found at

www.mediaaccessgroupwgbh.org

 < http://

www.mediaaccessgroupwgbh.org/

> ..

The Media Access Group maintains a list of DVDs with DVS at this page of its

site:

<

http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/accessible-dvds.html>http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/accessible-dvds.html

Follow the Media Access Group on Facebook:

<

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Media-Access-Group-at-WGBH/91628220291?ref=ts>http://www.facebook.com/pages/Media-Access-Group-at-WGBH/91628220291?ref=ts

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

SPE is a division of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of

Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPHE's global operations encompass motion

picture production and distribution; television production and distribution;

digital contest creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments;

home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio

facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and

technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony

Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at

<

http://www.sonypictures.com/>http://www.sonypictures.com

 <http://

www.sonypictures.com/

> ..

Contacts: Jason Allen Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

<

mailto:Jason_allen at spe.sony.com>Jason_allen at spe.sony.com

310- 244-3502

Mary Watkins Media Access Group at WGBH

<

mailto:Mary_watkins at wgbh.org>Mary_watkins at wgbh.org

617-300-3700