[nfbmi-talk] FW: [The-Facts-Machine] Descriptive TV is Here

Thu Jul 19 13:17:53 UTC 2012

Hi Jeff, 

That varies from tv to tv and cable box to cable box.  Usually it is an
on-screen menu to access the S A P (secondary audio program) choice.  I
haven't tried 1 yet, but I understand Apple T V which is a box you connect
to your TV will work with Voice Over and allow access to the S A P function.
You may need to depend on a sighted personto make it work until there is a
truly accessible tv out.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of jeffc4 at lavabit.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 9:52 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] FW: [The-Facts-Machine] Descriptive TV is Here

Hello all,
it's is jeff crouch here.
My question is how do we inable the sub audio chanel for the video tv
discriptions.

This makes me happy, because i love the show last man standing, because the
start charitor is a ham radio opprator just like me.

73
kd8qiq
jeff crouch

>
>
>
>
> From: the-facts-machine at googlegroups.com
> [mailto:the-facts-machine at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Vickie 
> Rolison
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 6:36 PM
> To: the-facts-machine at googlegroups.com
> Subject: [The-Facts-Machine] Descriptive TV is Here
>
>
>
> Subject: [Nfb-announce] Audio Description
>
> Beginning July 1, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, plus the top five cable 
> networks
>
> will begin providing audio descriptions of some of their programming 
> for
>
> blind or sight-impaired viewers. The shows to be described range from 
> ABC's
>
> Modern Family to CBS's NCIS to Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer to 
> USA's
>
> Royal Pains.
>
> For now, stations in the top 25 markets and cable systems with 50,000 
> or
>
> more subs will be required to offer about four hours a week of the new
>
> service. The number of stations and hours will gradually increase.
>
> Starting July 1, the country's 21.5 million visually impaired people 
> will be
>
> able to enjoy TV more than ever before.
>
> On that day, the Big Four broadcast networks and the top five-rated 
> cable
>
> networks will begin offering four hours a week of so-called video
>
> descriptions that clue in blind and partially sighted viewers on 
> what's
>
> going on when the characters aren't talking. The descriptions, audible 
> only
>
> to viewers who want them to be audible, are squeezed in between the 
> dialog.
>
> Video descriptions have been part of
>
> broadcasting, cable, home video, but never to the extent on TV as they 
> will
>
> be beginning next month.
>
> It's not altruism driving the surge in
>
> descriptions. They were mandated by Congress in the 21st Century
>
> Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.
>
> According to the FCC's implementing rules, the Big Four O&Os and 
> affiliates
>
> in the top 25 markets will have to air 50 hours each quarter - or 
> roughly
>
> four hours a week - of described programming.
>
> Cable and satellite systems with at least 50,000 subscribers have to 
> offer
>
> the same amount of described programming for the top five-rated cable
>
> networks - currently Disney, Nickelodeon, TBS, TNT and USA.
>
> And with just weeks to go before the deadline, the described 
> programming
>
> plans of nine affected networks are shaping up.
>
> ABC's plan is to provide descriptions on some of its Tuesday and 
> Wednesday
>
> shows. This summer, those shows include sitcoms Last Man Standing, The
>
> Middle, Suburgatory, Modern Family, Happy Endings and Don't Trust the
> B----
>
> in Apt. 23.
>
> In the fall, ABC will likely include most of those shows and new 
> sitcom The
>
> Neighbors and new drama Nashville.
>
> CBS has been providing audio descriptions for several programs since 2002.
>
> The lineup is CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, plus 
> movies and
>
> miniseries.
>
> NBC has broadcast a slew of shows with
>
> descriptions, including the Betty White reality show Off Their 
> Rockers,
>
> drama Grimm and the summer series Saving Hope. Described sitcoms 
> include The
>
> Office, Up All Night and Parks and Recreation.
>
> At Fox, The Simpsons has been audio described for several years. 
> Beyond the
>
> animated sitcom, Fox isn't prepared to say what it would be offering.
>
> Disney Channel's described shows will include hit sitcoms Jessie, A.N.T.
>
> Farm and the animated Phineas and Ferb.
>
> Nickelodeon will offer descriptions for some of its biggest hits, like 
> the
>
> long-running animated Dora the Explorer and preschool educational show 
> Team
>
> Umizoomi.
>
> Turner Broadcasting will have described movies as well as TV series. 
> Among
>
> the series: TNT's The Closer and TBS's Tyler Perry comedies House of 
> Payne
>
> and For Better or Worse.
>
> USA's described programs will include off-network shows NCIS and Law &
>
> Order: SVU, plus originals like Royal Pains and Suits.
>
> "My hope is that more and more networks will embrace these 
> accessibility
>
> initiatives," says Joel Snyder, president of Audio Description Associates.
>
> He serves as director of the American Council of the Blind's audio
>
> description project and is an adviser to the FCC.
>
> "If they do it right, they'll find ways to make money from it. If they 
> make
>
> their shows accessible to these folks, there is a bigger market for
>
> advertisers to sell their products."
>
> For the most part, video-described programs won't include live shows 
> or
>
> news. The networks, which are providing most of this content to their
>
> affiliates, need time to write description scripts for voice artists 
> to
>
> record.
>
> "It takes longer to get that done than closed captioning," says one 
> network
>
> executive. "It also requires us to look at how our post-production 
> schedules
>
> are set up. We have to work very closely with the folks at the
>
> post-production houses to make sure we get the programming to our 
> vendors
>
> with sufficient time to get the video description correct."
>
> Producing the descriptions costs between $2,000 to $4,000 per hour.
>
> The networks and some associations for the blind are helping to ensure 
> that
>
> people with vision problems know that descriptions are coming.
>
> "It's great for the networks to comply, but what's more important is 
> getting
>
> the information out to folks," says Helena Berger, EVP-COO of the 
> American
>
> Association of People with Disabilities.
>
> She is also a member of Comcast-NBCUniversal's joint diversity council.
>
> "What we can do on our end at AAPD is to use our communication 
> channels,
>
> like our newsletter, our website and social media to get the word out 
> to the
>
> community."
>
> Some of the networks are creating logos and audio tones so that people 
> with
>
> vision problems know when a program has audio descriptions. So far, 
> there
>
> isn't an industry standard.
>
> And TV listing providers like Tribune Media Services will provide data 
> to
>
> programming services to let them know if a program is audio-described.
> Then,
>
> it's up to individual cable systems to add symbols or sounds to their
>
> on-screen listings.
>
> These described programs are the culmination of a 12-year battle by 
> the FCC
>
> and groups such as the Audio Description Institute. They thought they 
> had
>
> won the battle in 2000 when the FCC adopted rules similar to the 2010 
> act,
>
> but a court agreed with broadcasters that the agency had overstepped 
> its
>
> authority.
>
> Now backed by law, the new FCC rules gradually expand the description
>
> obligations to other TV stations. By July 1, 2015, major network 
> affiliates
>
> in the top 60 markets will have to broadcast the descriptions. The FCC 
> may
>
> require additional stations to air descriptions at a rate of 10 
> markets a
>
> year if it deems the cost is reasonable.
>
> According to broadcasters, it costs stations anywhere from $10,000 and
>
> $25,000 to install the gear necessary to handle the extra audio channel.
>
> Just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they don't want to 
> be
>
> included in life,"
>
> says Debra Ruh, chief marketing officer at SSB Bart Group, a firm that 
> helps
>
> companies make their computer services and websites fully compliant 
> and
>
> accessible to people with disabilities. "Part of participating in life 
> is
>
> being able to experience television. TV is a very important part of 
> our
>
> culture."
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Nfb-announce mailing list
>
> Nfb-announce at nfbnet.org
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-announce_nfbnet.org
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google 
> Groups "The Facts Machine" group.
> To post to this group, send email to the-facts-machine at googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> the-facts-machine+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/the-facts-machine?hl=en.
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbmi-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/jeffc4%40lavab
> it.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______________ Find grants for education, starting a business, or 
> paying off bills.
> Search here
> now.
> http://click.lavabit.com/m6p6btfoff5g5w5obmkbajshjxebsii7ancjdayp71889
> et1e3fb/ 
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______________
>

_______________________________________________
nfbmi-talk mailing list
nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nfbmi-talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/f.wurtzel%40att.net