Yusuf,
If it can be connected to the Internet maybe there is
potential for upgrading settings via the web at a later
date?
Jim Williams
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Yusuf
Sent: 18 March 2012 20:38
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Panasonic Viera smart TV with Voice
guidance
Hi Steve, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say.
Its akin to
how you look at a half filled glass of drink, is it half
full or half empty.
I don't know the answer to your first question.
The second and third are sort of linked and the answer is
yes. When I
was testing the TV at RNIB, they had connected an external
USB drive and
I was able to successfully set up something to record and
access
programs that had been previously recorded.
There's considerable scope for development, but in my view
its a good start.
Yusuf
On 18/03/2012 20:12, Steve Hyde-Dryden wrote:
Hi Yusuf,
Yes, whilst I agree with your sentiment, it is a really
great leap forward to incorporate voice guidance on their
new range, it is an oversight not to include the facility
for the main operating system of the telly. It can be
alikened to the Sky Talker which is very good and a step
forward but it doesn't take you all the way. The thing is
though that we are all virtually stabbing in the dark as
only a couple of people have really had the chance to try it
out in some detail. So, could I ask you a couple of
questions?
1 Can you change inputs easily? Example, HDMI to
Composite or PC? Can you get the voice on this?
2 I presume that it wouldn't read data on an SD card or
USB?
3 If you can access the EPG, the guy giving the talk on
Insight said you can use your own media storage and record,
can you get the speech with this?
Kind regards
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Yusuf
Sent: 18 March 2012 19:57
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Panasonic Viera smart TV with
Voice guidance
Hang on a minute here. I was one of the testers and I did
suggest making the various other menus accessible. I'm sure
the RNIB were doing the same thing. But we can't make
Panasonic do it. The fact they went through user testing is
a pretty positive step I would have thought.
Since the law isn't in place to make companies make all
their products accessible from the outset, its a matter of
working with them and persuading them that its in their
interests to make them accessible.
Sure the TV has its limitations and sure you can
legitimately argue that it has accessibility drawbacks. But
it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't turn on voice over
as a blind person on your own. Apple changed that and now
you can. Whose to say that Panasonic won't do the same
thing, and improve their products accessibility as time goes
by.
I'm not saying that anyone should go and by it, or they
shouldn't, just that we should take into account what the TV
does as well as what it doesn't do. In my view the voice is
better than the one on the Smart Talk, its a smoother
experience, the responsiveness is better, we obviously have
access to channel info, audiodescription info and, this is a
winner from my perspective, recording and playback options.
But I do recognise that not being able to access the TVs
own menus, including scanning for channels and setting up
the TTS independently are drawbacks, as is the inability to
access the various web features.
It is a step forward, I don't think we've ever had 30 tVs
with TTS onboard released at the same time. It'll be
interesting to see if other TV manufacturers take up the
challenge.
Yusuf
On 18/03/2012 19:36, martin wilsher wrote:
I agree with all that has been said here. the thing needs
to be
accessible from the word go, and this isn't. what on
earth were the
RNIB thinking of when giving their blessing to this box?
if it is not
accessible when you turn it on, it's not accessible at
all imho.
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Iain
Lackie<mailto:ilackie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*To:*
access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Sunday, March 18, 2012 7:28 PM
*Subject:* [access-uk] Re: Panasonic Viera smart TV
with Voice
guidance
For a long time now, I have been saying that one of
the points which
impresses me still about the Sonus DAB radio is that
it allows
access to the menu system. The station names may be
out of date, but
I can live with that. Any television which doesn’t
allow access by
voice to the menu system cannot in my view truly be
described as
accessible, especially if you have to gain access to
the menu system
to switch the voice on.
Iain
*From:* Barry Hill<mailto:barry.hill3@xxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Sunday, March 18, 2012 7:20 PM
*To:*
access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [access-uk] Re: Panasonic Viera smart TV
with Voice
guidance
Now, did the RNIB say we want this that and the
other, for Panasonic
to simply do what they wanted and use the
endoursement of the RNIB
as a publicity stunt, or did the RNIB fall short of
their obligation
to VI users?
Cheers
Barry
*From:*access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On
Behalf Of *william lomas
*Sent:* 18 March 2012 5:53 PM
*To:* access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [access-uk] Re: Panasonic Viera smart TV
with Voice
guidance
and yet they are supposed to have consulted with
RNIB during this
development cycle?
On 18 Mar 2012, at 17:13, Gary Robinson wrote:
Hi all,
yesterday I had a chance to have a lookat the new
Panasonic Viera
smart TV range which includes voice guidance and
audio description
as mentioned on this list and on Insight radio last
month.
On the plus side, you can choose male/female voice,
set voice rate
and volume. The voice is good, it sounded better
than my Goodmans
Smart talk box and more responsive.
IT speaks the channel, programme you are on and
works within the
programme guide, but sadly doesn't work within the
various settings
menus.
Ironically therefore like audio description on DVDs
you probably
won't be able to turn on the voice guidance without
sighted help.
Sadly therefore and very frustratingly given the
sheer amount of
functionality and connectivity these TVs have
(Internet,
wifi,DLNA,USB,SD etc) most of the functionality will
be wasted so
far as a visually impaired user is concerned.
There is a Viera remote control App for Apple
devices, but i don't
think this will help in providing access to the
multiplicity of set
up menus which controlmost of this very flexible
TV's features.
The full price of the 32" model is around £499
though it will
probably be available cheaper if you look around.
whilst Panasonic are probably to be commended on
including voice
guidance as standard across the range, it is
nontheless very
frustrating to be in effect short changed by the
limitations of what
they have provided.
I am going to try to speak to someone in panasonic
technical
department and see if there is any way of getting
the set up screen
information output to an external device which might
give a way of
getting more access to these otherwise very
impressive TVs.
Gary
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