[blindkid] DVS list?

[Richard Holloway]

Hi Marie,

There are several things that can show a DVD has Audio Description. As far as I'm aware, the markings are always on the back, usually near the bottom, rarely above the "halfway down" mark. Incidentally (and rather unfortunately) the markings are so small and obscure that I doubt any sort of assistive device would be able to read them.

Don' t be overwhelmed though-- after you spot the labels, they become fairly easy to find with a bit of searching.

The most common marking I see lately is a "D" in a white rectangle, which I think is supposed to look like a frame of film (with little sprocket holes) and there are curved lines next to the D, as in "D))))" though they are getting larger in the actual logo, like sound waves going out... sort of.

A couple of example titles that are fairly recent with the "D" logo which I just grabbed at a glance from the shelf are "Winnie the Pooh", and "Mars Needs Moms"

Some other described movies have only the Language List-- a really common example of that is Toy Story 3. Even though it has the great easy access screen when you start the DVD, the package simply has "English 2.0 DVS" Listed under "Technical Specifications" on the back. This assuming they have not updated packaging since I bought our copy.

The exact listing shown varies in the Language List, if it has such a list, which some don't have to begin with.

Look for any of these under languages:

DVS
DVS 2.0
Descriptive Audio
English DVS 2.0
English 2.0 DVS
English Audio Description Track

or anything similar.

The text is generally tiny. When I say "tiny" I mean somewhere in the 5 or 6 point range at best. If you're like me, bring your reading glasses or or even a magnifying glass, seriously.

The least common thing I have found is an easier to read matrix with larger text in a grid, but the "DVS" placement seems pretty random. This was how I found the copy of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" today. The top line of the matrix reads:

LANGUAGE | English | English DVS® | Français | 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen (and so forth).

Note that "DTS", if you run across that in the list, has nothing to do with DVS. It is really common on DVD's. Having DTS doesn't mean it does or does not have DVS. They are entirely separate. (I know all the acronyms are confusing...)

"DTS" stands for Digital Theater Experience or one of their similar later derivatives and relates to general sound processing systems for the movie's audio. DTS is a competitor to "Dolby", which also does sound processing for movies. 

DVS is what you're looking for, or "Descriptive Video Service". DVS is actually a BRAND of Audio Description, which is no doubt why a description isn't always labeled "DVS". This is like "Coke" or "Pepsi" vs. "Cola".

As far as the numbers, when you see DVS 2.0, (or any 2.0, or 5.1 or 7.1, etc.), that just tells the number of audio channels that can be decoded. 2.0 actually means Stereo (Left and Right are each channels). 5.1 means 5+1 audio tracks, which yes, adds up to 6. Why 5.1 instead of 6? Here is the breakdown:

5 full range channels:
Front Left, Center, Front Right (In a theater, the center channel is directly behind the screen and actually comes at you literally THROUGH the image).
Left Rear, Right Rear.

Finally, the .1 ("point one") portion is the sub-woofer channel. You might find DVS 5.1 sometime, or something similar-- such a sound track would simply have surround sound audio and DVS available in the same track.

I believe 7.1 adds left and right SIDE channels. This is all surround "sound sound" stuff, like in the theatre when you can hear someone walk behind you or a plane fly over and behind you, etc. Nearly all the audio come from the front two or three channels, depending on the equipment used. Really old movies (like the original Wizard of Oz) just had MONO (or monophonic / monaural) sound and would be a "1.0" soundtrack, though I suspect any copy you find would have been "remastered" to at least a stereo, or 2.0 audio mix.

I hope that is at least somewhat helpful. Sorry for all the technical jargon, but I like to understand what I'm sorting through when I have to try and figure out something like this. The one thing I can tell you for certain is all the hassle of learning this has been WELL worth it to me when I see my daughter feeling involved in movie time.

Best regards,

Richard



On Dec 9, 2012, at 7:59 PM, empwrn at bellsouth.net wrote:

> I think Richard already said this but what do I look for on a DVD to know that it has audio description?
> 
> Marie
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
> 
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