[NJTechDiv] Accessible cable TV

[Mario Brusco]

In my opinion, if the smart tv is completely compatible with the 
technology used by Optimum's cable box to display the content of a 
channel, there might be a chance, otherwise, it will not apply. I don't 
know what you'd need to look for to see if it is possible, but basically 
you'd want to findout if the cablebox from Optimum can be bypassed 
(replaced) by the tuner built-in to the smart tv.

I hope it made sense how I explained it.

-------- Original Message --------
From: Tracy Carcione via NJTechDiv <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 9:16 AM EDT
To: 'New Jersey Technology Division List' <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>
Cc: carcione at access.net, 'Discussion of accessible home electronics and 
appliances' <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [NJTechDiv] Accessible cable TV

For a long time, we had software on our Optimum cable box that would
announce the channel and what was playing, and I could also use it to
access the DVR.

Optimum doesn’t support it anymore, and their new cable box doesn’t have
any accessibility at all.

They think that maybe a smart TV would have it, but I don’t know.

If I buy a smart TV, and turn on Talkback or whatever it has, will it
tell me what’s playing on a channel and have ways to access the DVR?

For instance, I was able to move through the shows on a channel until I
found the one I wanted to record, then hit record.  Later, I could go
into the DVR, scroll through the recordings, find the one I wanted,
watch it, then go through the menu to either keep it or delete it.
Imagine that.  Can I get those same features on a smart TV?

I have 0 interest in using Alexa.

It’s extremely annoying that Optimum had accessibility, and then just
ditched it completely.

Tracy


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