[access-uk] Re: Government offers free receivers for digital TV switchover

  • From: "John Farley" <john_farley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:16:52 +0100

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

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