RSS Feed - Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 2:12 PM
Blind and Visually Impaired Adults Get Lots of TV Time: Survey
People who are blind or otherwise visually impaired spend about as much time
engaged with the TV as the general public, according to a study released by
Comcast and the American Foundation for the Blind.
The study, conducted by Global Strategy Group and based on a survey last
October and November of 626 visually-impaired adults, including 277 with “no
function vision,” found that the majority (55%) of that group watches four or
more hours per day, and 81% do so for more than 1 hour per day.
The study also found that 96% of visually impaired adults spend time with TV on
a regular basis, and that 53% said they experienced difficulty in following
along with key visual elements. Less than half of those surveyed were aware of
assistive technologies like video description and talking guides.
The use of video descriptions and talking guides is a key part of Comcast’s
work around accessibility.
Of recent note, Comcast and NBCU have teamed with Descriptive Video Works to
provide enhanced video descriptions for coverage of the Winter Games from
PyeongChang.
RELALTED: NBC Olympics, Comcast to Offer Video Descriptions for Winter Olympics
TV
Coverage<http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/nbc-olympics-comcast-offer-video-descriptions-winter-olympics-tv-coverage/418026>
In November 2014, Comcast introduced a “talking
guide”<http://www.multichannel.com/news/tv-apps/comcast-brings-talking-guide-x1/385494>
feature for its X1 platform following a set of trials that were conducted
earlier that year. When enabled, the feature reads aloud elements such as
channel names, show titles, VOD settings and DVR commands as the customer
navigates the guide with an X1 remote.
"It’s a myth to think that you can’t enjoy television just because you have a
visual disability,” Tom Wlodkowski, vice president of accessibility for
Comcast, who was born blind, said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud that
Comcast and NBC have become pioneers in making live entertainment and sporting
events more accessible for millions of people like me. And when that content is
complemented with the right technology, people with visual disabilities can
have an end-to-end experience that is even more inclusive and entertaining.”
Comcast and AFB said results from the survey were weighted to correspond to
national data about the visually impaired population, and was designed to be
compatible with screen readers and screen magnifiers.
http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/blind-and-visually-impaired-adults-get-lots-tv-time-survey/418177
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
