Hi Ray, I will confine my comments to a single part of your note. Why do visually Impaired People want TV anyway, as they cannot see it? I know I have paraphrased your comment on other peoples views here and am not disagreeing with you. The fact is that a blind person does live in a sighted world. We are used to not seeing what others do and work round it. In anything we do we have to work out or guess what others have seen. TV is no different. We want to watch TV in exactly the same way as others do. I use the word watch as that is what people do with TV, they do not listen. Of course audio description is a wonderful aid to us and the more it is available the better. I just wish I could stop my kids switching it off and not putting it back on when they have finished. It is very difficult to put on using Sky remote controls. I think it is too much guess work. Cheers. . Regards, John Contact on : (Home) john_farley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or : (work) john.farley@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ray's Home Sent: 23 June 2007 19:38 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: Government offers free receivers for digital TV switchover The blind community passively sitting by, Good news? Hope that was a mis-print, (smile). That quip aside, I imagine that most people outside of the VI community find it pretty hard to get their heads around why anyone should demand A D as of right. I say that with real saddness, but I've heard more than one VI person say, or strongly imply, that we should damned well realise that TV is for seeing people and we've no business wanting to get in on the act in any shape or form. I disagree strongly, because as TV is such a pervasive and omni-presnt part of life as we live it now, we most certainly should b be able to partake of the information and entertainment it offers so we can share in the vibe and simply what's going on. The message simply doesn't seem ever to get across that this sort of exclusion does not have to be. A society as rich as ours most certainly can insist on A D being available, along with the human resources to make it happen on more programmes than currently are available. Or, do the passive blind simply want compensation in the form of a lower,licence fee, or no licence? I fear I know the answer to that one! Interestingly these conversations do come up on Vi-gen from time to time, which is livilier than it was a few months back. Currently, a conversation seems to be emerging again about charities negative images of us in fund raising, and I cannot help but feel this has a bearing on our 'tragic' exclusion from much of TV's output. Cheers, Ray. From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- Sent: 23 June 2007 8:27AM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Government offers free receivers for digital TV switchover I'm assuming that this also goes for blind people and that the constant references to 'partially sighted people' is just a reflection of the low knowledge and discomfort of the press release writer. Having AD in these free boxes was a big deal as I recall. Interested to hear they have finally overcome this. At this rate though, whether we're rolling in cash and very tech savvy or not, I think blind people should be applying for these boxes when the time is right purely because the industry, the broadcasters and all involved have seriously cocked up when it comes to including this technology in ordinary cheap freeview boxes. So much talk about the digital underclass yet government and ofcom still haven't managed to seriously address the fact that in 2007 it's not possible to buy a bog standard 20 pound Freeview box with AD built in. The blind community passively sit by as usual. Hopefully this is good news. ...Damon ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Beasley Subject: [access-uk] Government offers free receivers for digital TV switchover Government offers free receivers for digital TV switchover By Richard Wilson The Government will provide free set-top boxes to the disabled and partially-sighted as well as less well-off elderly people when the digital TV switchover starts in Cumbria in October. The Government faced opposition to its plans to switch off analogue broadcasts from interest groups which said the cost of a digital TV receiver would be an unfair burden on lower income groups and in particular the elderly and disabled who rely on TV. As part of its £600m assistance scheme, which was announced last December, the Government has now said it will subsidise the total cost of "the necessary equipment to convert one television set to digital" for disabled and partially-sighted users as well as people over 75 years of age who are on some form of income-related benefit. The DTI has created a specification for the scheme's set-top box which is known as a "Help Box". It is an energy efficient design, sub-4W, incorporating an audio commentary feature. The first area to convert will be Whitehaven in Cumbria where a set-top box designed and manufactured in Wales by TVonics will be offered as part of a £1m support scheme being provided by Capita. "We are working on a Help Box for phase one, the Whitehaven scheme," said a TVonics spokesman. This box is a modified version of an existing digital TV receiver, based on a Fujitsu chipset, which incorporates a feature known as audio description. This provides an audio commentary of programmes for blind and partially-sighted users. Digital UK, which is overseeing the switchover for the Government, has started the bidding process for manufacturers to supply assisted-user set-top boxes for the rest of the country. For this TVonics has proposed a digital recorder design based on a Toshiba chipset. http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2007/06/20/41633/ Government+offers+free+receivers+for+digital+TV+switchover.htm David Andrews and white cane Harry. _______________________________________________ http://www.eset.com ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq