One of the central pieces of a home theater system is the universal
remote. Basic universal remotes can be accessible to blind users if
the buttons have
differing shapes, spacing, and are grouped logically. One remote
that I discovered has these features, but also contains voice
recognition. It is manufactured
by RCA, and will be available in the spring. The remote allows you
to issue commands by voice. You can also set up macros, in which
you speak one command
to perform multiple tasks. For example, "Watch DVD" might power on
your DVD unit and switch your TV to the proper video input. The RCA
representative
stated that all functions should be available by voice, including
remote setup. The manual will be available online, including a list
of product codes
used to program the remote. Its suggested retail price is $39, and
it will be available from
<http://www.rcaaccessories.com/>www.rcaaccessories.com.
An Accessible Set Top Box
1/8/2010
This week, I am attending the
International Consumer Electronics
show in Las Vegas, NV. One of the technologies blind consumers
have been wishing for is an accessible digital TV set top
box. Through the work of a firm
called Ocean Blue Software, such a device may soon be a reality.
Ocean Blue,
along with
ST Micro Electronics,
makers of chipsets for digital boxes, is exhibiting here in
Vegas. The group of us attending CES on the NFB's behalf were able
to see a private demo.
Using pre-recorded BBC content, the box seemed to work well. As
channels were changed, the box read out the new program to which it
was being tuned. The
speech was clear and human sounding. Information about the
program's duration, and special attributes like subtitles or audio
description were also announced.
If one wished, one could enter the set top box's configuration menus
to change preferences like toggling the DVS track on and off. The
electronic programming
guide (epg) was also able to be read.
I am intrigued and fascinated by Ocean Blue's work on this set top
box. You can see a demo at
<http://www.oceanbluesoftware.co.uk/talkingtv-video-form.shtml>http://www.oceanbluesoftware.co.uk/talkingtv-video-form.shtml
The company hopes to roll the software out in the US once they
find a broadcast partner to include it in their set top box. We in
the NFB are working
with the firm to help this become a reality.
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