GECs
TV with enhancement settings preferred by visually impaired people: OPO study
MUMBAI: A scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) Dr.Eli Peli, found that increasing the contrast of details of certain sizes was of special importance in making television watching more enjoyable for the visually impaired.
The goal of the current OPO study was to determine if people with impaired vision benefited from an individually tuned contrast enhancement of their TV. People who may benefit from such a device include those suffering from macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other causes of low vision.
The study, published in the current (November/December) issue of Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO), provides information that will aid in the development of an electronic device to help millions suffering eye diseases.
“Most of us take seeing the television for granted,” says Peli, “But for the visually impaired,it is very difficult.This is a source of great frustration and discouragement since so much news and entertainment comes from tuning into the ‘tube’.”
Peli and his colleagues used an image-processing device developed for them by *DigiVision, Inc. that allows them to manipulate, in real time, the contrast of different sized details in the video screen to their individual liking. “This is a very flexible device but also quite expensive and complex, and thus could not be brought to market easily,” says Peli.
Using this device and similar approaches, Peli and his team learned that certain details in an image that are too small will not be visible to someone with central vision loss even with the highest contrast. They also learned, through patients’ responses, that the large details in an image were fully visible to visually impaired persons without modification.
Peli and his team found that patients did like the images that reflected their own individual settings for contrast and details better than the un-enhanced video. However, personal preferences were only slightly higher for those individual settings than for the arbitrarily enhanced images.These results mean that enhancement levels could be selected that will be acceptable to most people, simplifying the type of device needed.
Peli envisions a small box that could be attached to any television and would offer only a few enhancement settings, making it less expansive and less complicated to use.
As a low vision rehabilitation expert, Peli sees hundreds of patients suffering from vision impairments caused by diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and other diseases that impair the central vision. AMD destroys the tiny central part of the retina called the macula. This makes activities such as reading, driving, and watching television extremely difficult.
Peli, an electrical engineer and an optometrist by training, has devoted his career to creating and evaluating new technologies to help low-vision patients regain their ability to do these tasks.
Belkin, an international technology company, has recently released a video enhancement cable product, RazorVision, which enhances video for normal sighted TV viewers.
*DigiVision, the company that developed the Belkin device and holds a patent pending on the technology, is interested in creating another version of the product for visually impaired viewers based on results from this and other image studies by Peli and his colleagues,
*DigiVision,Inc. was awarded a “Connect 2005 Most Innovative New Product Award” for their “Video Enhancement Cable.”
Though not part of the study results, Peli says that people with normal sight who have been exposed to these enhanced videos do not see them as interfering with their enjoyment of viewing.
“In fact, they usually don’t seem to be aware that the image has been enhanced,” he says. “This means that the visually impaired and their family and friends with normal sight could enjoy watching television together.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
