Hi Billy,
I have used three of these boxes for quite a long time and have
experimented with a few others. Brand names on these things change
constantly, and some are available in certain parts of the world and not
others, so I don't think particular brand names would be of much use to you.
There are a few issues which you might want to consider in getting one.
First, and this is sufficiently usual so that it's just something to
check off rather than to search for, make sure the box has Bluetooth.
Generally, the remotes shipped with boxes are not as usable for us as a
Bluetooth or USB keyboard would be, and Bluetooth keyboards are best so as
not to have to work within wired distances or fiddle with adapters/lose a
USB port.
Secondly, make sure that the box is running at least Android 4.4.
5.x is better, because anything under 4.3 has very bad keyboard support
through Talkback. The 4.3 and above support is still quite bad, but it is
usable.
Thirdly, try to ensure that you have a sighted person to launch
accessibility. I have never been able to do this independently. From there
on, you should have no issues except, of course, if you lose sound or speech
for some other reason, but the beginning is difficult without sight.
Finally, keep in mind that you will need to buy based upon the same
issues that the normal user would consider. That is, when I bought all of
mine, I wished to use them portably off a USB battery so insisted on a 3.5
MM jack and the ability to be powered from USB. Similarly, you'll want as
much RAM and processor speed as you need for your particular application,
will want to get a task manager and stop all unneeded processes, and so on.
I should also say that the Windows sticks, though a bit slower, are
as good as Android for most applications and still far better for
accessibility, since they can have NVDA loaded on them and since Narrator
and its shortcut key is available on all of them. Therefore, you need not
have a sighted person around to start up.
I hope that's of use.
Aman
Sent: January 15, 2016 4:13 AM
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: is anyone using talkback on an android TV?
HI Aman, I'm very interested in the Android boxes you mentioned below.
I would like to purchase one of these, but haven't got a clue which to buy.
Could you please advise me which Android box is best for us visually
impaired folks please.
A quick rundown of the one you are using or have used would be very helpful,
Billy
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Aman Singer
Sent: 15 January 2016 01:41
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: is anyone using talkback on an android TV?
Hi,
There are three types of systems which go by the name "Android TV".
The first is that produced by Google and running on a Nexus player or other
product, a set-top box. I believe there are also televisions with this
Android TV (5.x, specifically designed for large screens). If the TV has
this sort of Android TV, the Eyes-free list seems to be saying that it is
not accessible. It will talk, but navigation is very difficult, many third
party apps are inaccessible, and some Google apps are not usable for various
reasons.
Other things are simply Android boxes which you attach to your TV,
mainly produced by brands from China and Hong Kong. These are almost always
accessible when running Android 4.3 or above where the keyboard commands
work. I have used a few of these without trouble. Note that there are a few
of these boxes with HDMI in so they can be used for recording. I'm not sure
which ones have guides.
Finally, there are TVs with Android in them, but not using Google's
android TV standard. The accessibility of these depends entirely on what the
manufacturer has done with Android. However, because they are more or less
stock Android, they can be modified with new launchers, new apps, and so on.
That will make them more accessible. Again, it would be helpful to avoid
anything under 4.3, and 5.x would be better, simply because keyboard support
in Talkback in 4.2 and lower is horrible, while keyboard support in 4.3 and
above is merely quite bad.
HTH,
Aman
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Mobeen Iqbal
Sent: January 14, 2016 1:13 PM
To: BCAB Discussion List
Subject: [access-uk] is anyone using talkback on an android TV?
Hello Everyone.
I've heard recently that accessibility is progressing on android based
televisions such as the ones made by sony. does anyone have one? and are you
using talkback on it? I'd like to know what parts of the television are
accessible when using talkback. can you access your TV guide? can you access
recording options? and are any of the apps accessible? what limitations
specifically have you found?
all the best,
Mo.
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