[msb-alumni] Stevie wonders Tribute will be Described
- From: "Vickie" <happytraveler1972@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "MSB Alumni" <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2015 01:17:04 -0700
I got the below message from another list.
Vickie rolison
Subject: [ACBCapChap-L] FW: [leadership] Audio described special program
From: Terry Pacheco via leadership [mailto:leadership@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2015 12:32 PM
To: leadership@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [leadership] Audio described special program
Please widely distributed the following to your members and friends. Thank you!
Terry Pacheco
In addition to other described programming on television this week, CBS will air
Stevie Wonder's "songs in the Key of life - an all star Grammy salute" Monday
evening
at 9 PM.
Below, please find a blog post from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding audio
description.
Here it is:
Broadcast Monday Highlights Important Service for People who are Blind and
Visually
Impaired
We write today to highlight the video description available for this Monday
night’s
broadcast of “Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - an All-star GRAMMY
Salute.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is grateful that CBS decided to use this event to
highlight
accessibility – namely video description for the blind and visually-impaired
community
– and that they and other broadcasters continue to go above and beyond the
minimum
required for providing accessible content. Please consider sharing the news
about
the accessibility of this broadcast with any interested parties. We will
continue
to share information on programs that illustrate how this vital accessibility
service
is being provided. Raising awareness of this and similar specific events can
help
increase knowledge about the video description service and accessibility issues
in
communications more broadly. Below is the Chairman’s blog post about video
description,
and you can watch an example of video description by clicking on the following
link:
http://www.cbs.com/schedule/video-description/
The “Wonders” of Video Description Technology
By Chairman Tom Wheeler
A few months ago, Stevie Wonder visited the FCC to talk about how we can harness
the power of technology to make performance art more accessible. At that time,
I
discovered that Mr. Wonder would be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Grammy
Award.
When he urged the FCC to raise awareness about and availability of audio
description
of video programming, I thought the Grammy special would be a wonderful
showcase.
On February 16, 2015
, thanks to the leadership of CBS CEO Les Moonves, CBS will use video
description
on its broadcast of “Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - an All-Star
GRAMMY
Salute.” It is the first time video description has ever been used for a musical
performance program.
If you’re unfamiliar with video description technology, it’s a feature that
allows
consumers who are blind or visually impaired to listen to an audio track
describing
a video program’s visual elements when there is no audio accompanying those
elements.
The audio describes non-verbal actions taking place on the screen, such as a
body
language, scene changes, setting, visual jokes, costumes or other content.
People
who can see take for granted these silent but essential aspects of programming,
but,
without video description, people who are blind miss them.
Many popular television programs today offer video description services,
including
Fox’s “Bones,” NBC’s “Grimm,” PBS’s “Downton Abbey,” Nickelodeon’s “Go Diego Go,
” USA’s “Royal Pains,” and
many more
. You can experience what video description offers to the public by watching
this
video clip
.
Current
FCC rules
require major broadcast networks and their affiliates in the 25 largest TV
markets
and the top 5 cable networks to provide a minimum of 50 hours every three months
of video-described prime-time and children’s programming. I am pleased to note
that
several networks – for example CBS, PBS and Fox – are going above and beyond
current
FCC rules. We thank them for their efforts to make their programming accessible,
and we look forward to July, when new rules will require more markets to air
described
programming.
In the coming months, the FCC’s new Disability Advisory Committee will be
addressing
video description
issues, along with other accessible technology issues, as we work to encourage
dialogue
among technologists, networks, and the blind and visually impaired community.
We
hope to explore the potential for development of new applications that can sync
video
description to smart devices that can be used while watching video programming.
These
efforts continue the Commission’s ongoing work to make accessibility a reality
for
all users.
This week, I met with a group of students from local schools for the deaf. The
fact
that their concerns were similar to those raised during my conversation with
Stevie
Wonder confirms the importance of this agency’s role in assuring that
communication
and media resources are available and accessible to everyone. Whether it be the
Commission’s use of sign language by video on our customer support line or
private
sector leaders going beyond the bare minimum in providing accessible content
like
Monday’s Stevie Wonder special, it is important that we continue striving toward
to our goal of providing greater access for people with disabilities.
To access the description track of a program, use the menu system of your
television
and select the “secondary audio feature,” or “SAP.” Some TV sets identify this
as
“Spanish” or “SPA” since that track also is sometimes used to provide
translations
into Spanish or other languages
May God bless you now, and evermore!
Other related posts:
- » [msb-alumni] Stevie wonders Tribute will be Described - Vickie
