[NJTechDiv] Accessible cable TV

[Mario Brusco]

Tracy, could you share what you told the cable guy to do in order to 
turn on accessibility? After it's on, what exactly can be spoken?


-------- Original Message --------
From: Tracy Carcione via NJTechDiv <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 1:06 PM EDT
To: 'New Jersey Technology Division List' <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>
Cc: carcione at access.net
Subject: RE: [NJTechDiv] Accessible cable TV

I talked to Bea, and she says the Optimum box is accessible; the workers
just have no clue.  She told me exactly what to tell the cable guy to do
to turn on accessibility, so we made an appointment to try again.

NJTech comes through again!

Tracy

*From:*NJTechDiv <njtechdiv-bounces at nfbnet.org> *On Behalf Of *Beatrice
Oliveti via NJTechDiv
*Sent:* Monday, May 18, 2026 9:53 AM
*To:* njtechdiv at nfbnet.org
*Cc:* Beatrice Oliveti <beatrice.oliveti at gmail.com>
*Subject:* Re: [NJTechDiv] Accessible cable TV

Hi Tracey. I remember you and I used to talk about this all the time! I
can{t believe Optimum took away their accessibility options. I
disconnected cable to save money. I do cable and an airial antenna now.
But it was only a few months ago that I had cable. And I had a streaming
box and it had the accessibility. Is your box a streaming box_ If you
buy a smart TV it{s only going to read you the channels on the TV not
the cable box. But you can use optimum through the optimum tv app on
your phone. That will allow you to use your phone as a control and the
voiceover will talk back to you. You can also watch your dvred
programming on your TV. You might also consider switching to Hulu with
live TV, Youtube TV, or Directtv. They{re very accessible on your phone
and IPad. Hope this helps.

Warm Regards,

Beatrice Oliveti

National Federation Of The Blind

Of NJ. Northeast Chapter

Vice-President

National Federation Of The Blind Of NJ. Braille Group Co-Facilitator

Bayonne, NJ.  Lions Club Administrator

Cell: 2019838124

Email: beatrice.oliveti at gmail.com <mailto:beatrice.oliveti at gmail.com>



     On May 18, 2026, at 9:17 AM, Tracy Carcione via NJTechDiv
     <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org <mailto:njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

     

     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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