| Mark
Richert at the American Foundation for the
Blind (AFB) points out, "No one is telling
us definitively that television programming
that currently has video description for blind
people will also have the video description
passed through via the digital signal in February
2009." Video description is the provision
of audio narration of on-screen visual elements
that are provided during natural pauses in
dialogue and can be turned on by the viewer
who needs it. Several video programmers, such
as public television, voluntarily provide
video description for persons with vision
disabilities.
Richert
adds, "Millions of people with vision
loss rely on this form of accessibility
to enjoy television content. Digital technology
offers multiple audio channels, with significantly
greater bandwidth, that can more easily
accommodate video description. What's so
hard about broadcasters allocating some
of that new digital television audio bandwidth
for the
transmission and delivery of video description?"
For
people with disabilities, digital television
transition problems include:
- technical difficulties associated with
pass through of closed captioning;
- confusion over the scope of the FCC's
captioning regulations;
- inability to locate and activate accessibility
features through remote controls or menus;
- barriers to resolving concerns with TV
stations, cable companies, and other video
programming providers; and
- concerns about pass through of video description
for people with vision loss.
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