I apologise for the length of this post, for cross-posting, and for raising
this popular topic again, but I do think it is quite important to share some
information to save others the hassle we've encountered over the last week.
We have a Samsung TV which we purchased from a local dealer just over three
years ago, along with a Sonos Playbase. They work very well together, and
the accessibility features on the TV means we can change channels knowing
what they are, read programme information, and change settings in the menu
if we want to. We had a whole pile of wires connected because we used a
Sky+ HD box to give us Freesat, and a TVonics box to allow us to record.
But we wanted to get rid of all that wiring, and have a TV that did
everything. The next generation of Samsung televisions, however, offered
voice input functionality, and the ability to use Alexa which our TV
doesn't. I believe this has been extended to Google Assistant and Samsung's
own Bixby now. In addition, what our TV doesn't do is allow us to navigate
any external apps such as the iPlayer, ITV Hub, YouTube etc.
We decided recently to look into what Android TV had to offer given there
are people using Sony's Screen Reader and Android Talkback. We read up on
what the new range of Sony Bravia televisions could offer, and settled on
one that we thought would offer us access to external apps, work with the
Sonos Playbase, and have voice input integration built into it. We took
delivery of the TV last Wednesday, then the fun began!
First off, we could not use the volume up and down on the TV's remote
control, or the channel up and down on the same control, with the Playbase.
We could change channels if entering them directly on the keypad of the
remote control. Sound was great, it came through the Playbase as it should.
We subsequently discovered that the remote doesn't work properly with the
Sonos Playbase when either Sony's Screen Reader or Talkback is turned on.
Then we also began to find it incredibly frustrating to work within apps
such as YouTube, Google Play, ITV Hub etc. We kept hearing 'Webview' every
time we went into one of them. We changed screen readers from Sony's own to
Talkback, but accessibility was only partially accessible. For example, we
could dip into the Talkback settings, but we weren't receiving any programme
information when we changed channels.
In the end, we contacted the shop where we bought it, explained the
situation to them, and decided to return the TV. In the meantime, we
listened to a couple of Jonathan Mosen's podcasts, and decided to try and
obtain a newer Samsung TV with the accessibility features we are used to,
plus the ability to use external apps and voice assistants. Due to
Covid-19, TV manufacturers are struggling to supply them, so we are just
going to wait until a TV we want becomes available.
My point though, if you've survived this long read, is that newer Sony
Bravia models aren't as accessible as they were. Samsung, meanwhile, appear
to be stepping up the accessibility level in their televisions, and LG
appear to be offering such features too. What I think would be helpful is
for a list of accessible televisions be compiled to save someone looking for
one the hassle of trying to source something they can work with. If you
contact Sony or Samsung, it's surprising how little they really know about
accessibility, and struggle to quote you models that have it. Similarly,
they put lots of info on their websites about accessibility, but then don't
seem to tell you what models this includes. I know it would be an ongoing
process for RNIB or similar to troll for models that have accessibility
features in them, but it really would be helpful to think about listing
models all in one place, and keep it updated with the date it was last
updated.
If Sony Bravia TV owners have had a better experience with the new range of
televisions, then that's great. But I just didn't enjoy the experience
personally. It felt to me like there was too much verbosity where I didn't
want it, and not enough where I did. The Playbase was configured correctly,
but wouldn't respond properly to the TV remote control while Screen Reader
or Talkback was running.
Kind regards,
Jackie Brown
Email: jackieannbrown62@xxxxxxxxx
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