Voiceover: Television is as important to blind and partially
sighted people as it is to their fully sighted friends and family, so it is great to see
how broadcasters and equipment makers have recognised this as they develop their services
and products.
In this video we're going to look at how broadcasters make programmes easier to follow by adding
audio description and how manufacturers are introducing features that make equipment easier
to use.
My name is James Risdon, I'm 34 years old
and I'm registered blind but I have some residual vision. Audio description is absolutely fantastic
for someone like myself who hasn't got enough sight to see what's happening on screen. It's
really the difference between being able to follow the story or the plot of a film or
documentary and really not having a clue what's going on.
[Plays excerpt]
The commentary doesn't get in the way of what
you're watching, it just is like a secondary overlay which helps you understand and puts
things in context.
[Plays excerpt]
Voiceover: So how much audio description is available for people to enjoy?
In 2013, 69 television channels are delivering a minimum of
10 per cent of their programming with a description in the UK.
Some of the more popular channels,such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, have voluntary committed to produce 20 per cent
and many in fact broadcast more than a third of their programmes with audio description,
some even reaching 40 per cent. On average, any week sees about 6,000 programmes being
broadcast with audio description on UK television channels.
[Plays excerpt]
Voiceover: In order to create further awareness about
the presence of AD on UK television, 17 UK broadcasters showed information promos to
raise awareness of the availability of AD on television.
[Plays excerpt]
I'm Richard Orme and I'm Head of Accessibility
at RNIB. Well, we know that when we last surveyed our members, nearly 70 per cent are enjoying
audio description on television right now and that's just fantastic. They really value
it as a service and in fact over 80 per cent of them wanted more audio description on TV.
So we know people are enjoying audio description
but the next step is to make the equipment easier for them to use.
[Plays excerpt]
James: The text-to-speech is really important because
again I don't have enough sight to be able to see the text on screen, so if I don't have
speech in the television to tell me what channel I'm watching, or what's coming up next on
the electronic programme guide I'm really kind of fumbling around in the dark.
[Plays excerpt]
James: Oh, that sounds good. Let's watch that.
Richard: So we've got some great examples out there
already with the Panasonic Viera range of talking TVs and with the TV Onyx talking recording
set-top box and the Goodmans Smart Talk box there are some great solutions that show that
this is technically feasible and products are out there in the marketplace, and we'd
love to see more of those.
[Plays excerpt]
Voiceover: Parallel to the developments taking place
in the UK, many other countries are also seeing television equipment being launched in their
territories, with features that enhance accessibility for people with sight loss.
My name's Alex Varley, I'm the Chief Executive
of Media Access Australia based in Sydney, Australia. The Bush Hills set-top box is a
really great invention which is a talking set-top box that is being used mainly for
blind and partially sighted people to access digital TV. The great thing about it is that
unlike other set-top boxes it actually has full talking menus.
Voiceover: As well as the television and set-top box,
people are looking at other ways to make the television experience more convenient. The
American network, AT&T U-verse, launched an app that makes it easier for their TV customers,
including those with disabilities such as vision and hearing loss to control their TV
with a new voice enabled U-verse easy remote app.
In this constant flux of activity what we need is a concerted effort, a push from all
sides. The blindness organisations and the industry need to work together to ensure accessibility
of the new and upcoming platforms. Also what is required is a commitment from the regulatory
and standardisation bodies to ensure that features such as text-to-speech, audio description,
that enhance accessibility, become part of the standard guidelines. As we all live longer
more of us are finding these types of features help us take control and enjoy our viewing.
[Plays excerpt]
Voiceover: It is important for companies designing new
television platforms to grasp the significance of access features so that they build it in
right from the inception stage.
James: I've been using audio description for the
past couple of years and I really don't know how I'd do without it now. I certainly wouldn't
want to go back to not having audio description.