Thread Subject: Re: Agenda for today's AV subcom meeting

Note

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From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Fri, Sep 21 2007 7:45 AM

I'm in favor of there being an easy-to-locate way to turn on captions.
I just bought a new TV, and while I don't have a cc button, when I hit
the button on the remote to bring up the on screen menu, closed captions
is right there. I have a hard time envisioning requiring all remotes to
have a cc button since the difference comes down to a usability issue as
Sean has stated. Even with a cc button on the remote there will be
consumers who can't easily find that button - I think that we would be
very well served by having a requirement for top-menu level access to cc
controls, so that hitting a button that brings up the onscreen menu
provides access.

As far as having a cc button on the remote, I think that this may be an
additional enhancement that individual manufacturers may want to take
on, as some have already and as has also been done for access to SAP
functionality in some cases.

AWK


> -----Original Message-----
> From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Sean Hayes
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 8:13 AM
> To: TEITAC Audio/Video Subcommittee
> Subject: Re: [teitac-video] Agenda for today's AV subcom meeting
>
> What you say is true, but the point is whether 508 is the
> place to address it. If the product does not receive power it
> is not usable either, that doesn't mean the availability or
> position of power sockets is in the remit of 508.
>
> If the setup facility is not accessible, that's another;
> matter but if it is, or can be made so by AT then I'm not
> sure we can require more than that.
>
> Sean Hayes
> Incubation Lab
> Accessibility Business Unit
> Microsoft
>
> Office: +44 118 909 5867,
> Mobile: +44 7875 091385
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of
> Karen Peltz Strauss
> Sent: 21 September 2007 12:18
> To: TEITAC Audio/Video Subcommittee
> Subject: Re: [teitac-video] Agenda for today's AV subcom meeting
>
> First, a product is not accessible unless it is usable by
> people with disabilities.
>
> Second, if a person is unable to locate the controls to
> activate the accessibility features, how could it truly be
> called accessible? The demand for easy access to a
> captioning control is not coming on a whim. It is the
> product of years of not being able to figure out how to turn
> on captions on various television devices. The problem is at
> its worst when trying to use a television out of the home
> (presumably, if you own a television set, somehow you have
> figured out how to turn on the captions, though my
> understanding from consumers is that with new digital TVs
> even this can be difficult or impossible, if there is no
> captioning button on the remote).
> In the federal government context, there are going to be
> times when individuals in business or hospital (VA hospitals)
> need to turn on the captions. They will be unfamiliar with
> those television sets.
> Accessibility must include a way to enable them to turn on
> the captions without having an engineering degree.
>
> Karen
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sean Hayes" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> To: "TEITAC Audio/Video Subcommittee" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 6:28 AM
> Subject: Re: [teitac-video] Agenda for today's AV subcom meeting
>
>
> > We may wish for better usability in many aspects of
> products covered
> > by 508. However the scope of 508 is not usability, and unless a
> > usability issue has a specific impact on accessibility then
> it would
> > seem to me out of scope.
> >
> > For TV and home entertainment, there are many after-market products
> > which can replace a whole host of remote controls, I use
> such a system
> > and they and significantly simplify use and setup. Such
> devices might
> > even be considered assistive technology I suppose.
> >
> > Sean Hayes
> > Incubation Lab
> > Accessibility Business Unit
> > Microsoft
> >
> > Office: +44 118 909 5867,
> > Mobile: +44 7875 091385
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> > [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Larry
> > Goldberg
> > Sent: 19 September 2007 19:28
> > To: TEITAC AV list
> > Subject: Re: [teitac-video] Agenda for today's AV subcom meeting
> >
> > The frustration is that "turning it on" sounds like a very
> > straightforward proposition, but when that option is deeply
> buried in
> > nested on-screen menus or requires powering off a device
> and selecting
> > a hidden menu, it makes one wish for a button on the remote, or
> > language that forces usability in addition to accessibility.
> >
> > ... Larry ...
> >
> >
> > Dave Singer wrote:
> >
> >> At 12:56 -0400 11/09/07, Hoffman, Allen wrote:
> >>> I think this reads worse than we want it to.
> >>>
> >>> In simple terms, people who are deaf want a "cc" button on the
> >>> remote that turns on captioning for broadcast. Would
> this also turn
> >>> on, or select, the captioning if this were connected to a media
> >>> player? Its not quite as simple in this circumstance, so
> maybe we
> >>> need to just limit this to:
> >>>
> >>> For systems which include caption decoding functionality and a
> >>> remote control, a captioning button must be available on
> the remote
> >>> that enables and disables captioning display from
> broadcast or other
> >>> external inputs.
> >>
> >> Why must it be on the remote? Shouldn't the requirements
> say that if
> >> there is an adaptation available, it must be possible for
> those who
> >> need the adaptation to turn it on, or it must be on by default.
> >
> >
> > - Larry
> >
> >
> >
> >

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