Deaf/hearing impaired TV, DVD, Cinema & the Arts news

New captioned cinema technology launched in Italy

Thursday, 10 January 2013 2:54pm

Italian company Universal Multimedia Access has teamed with electronics giant Epson to launch MovieReading, a new competitor in the market for cinema captioning technology.

The MovieReading app for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets allows you to watch closed captions discreetly on your own personal device. The app is compatible with Epson’s Moverio BT100 glasses, which replicate the effect of open captions, similar to Sony’s Entertainment Access Glasses. At a cost of 299 euros ($370), MovieReading is working towards Italian cinemas purchasing glasses to hire out to customers. Some cinemas are also hiring out tablets with pre-loaded captions for one euro.



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How to make a submission about caption quality

Thursday, 10 January 2013 8:33am

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has invited public comments on its new draft captioning standard. This is a perfect opportunity for people to let the government body which regulates the TV industry know what they think its priorities should be when dealing with issues relating to caption quality. Below are our tips for making submissions to the government.

  • The ACMA has issued a consultation paper which explains its approach when drafting the captioning standard. In your submission, you should focus on the questions that are asked in this paper.
  • Ensure that the points you make are relevant to the issues that the ACMA is asking you to comment on.


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Where to access bushfire information

Tuesday, 08 January 2013 11:12am

As a heatwave brings the threat of bushfire to huge parts of the country, most people rely on ABC Local Radio for vital information. Below is a list of alternative sources for up-to-date information on areas at risk of bushfire for people who are Deaf or hearing impaired.

ABC Emergency

The ABC Emergency website offers a summary of alerts and warnings by state and territory. The site is updated frequently with information sourced from ABC Local Radio and ABC News.

ABC Emergency also features a guide to preparing a bushfire survival kit.



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Festival season made accessible through audio description and captions

Monday, 07 January 2013 9:21am

This year’s Sydney and Perth festivals will provide audio description and open captions on a range of performances for patrons who are blind, vision impaired, Deaf or hearing impaired.

Running from 5 to 27 January, the Sydney Festival is being held around premier Sydney venues. Audio description will be provided for two performances at the Sydney Opera House including 2001: A Space Odyssey on 25 January and The Secret River on 26 January. Patrons can also take a tactile tour prior to the performance of Secret River. A separate tactile tour of the set and costumes for Semele Walk will be conducted on 15 January.

Open captions will be provided for two performances of The Secret River on 30 January and 8 February.



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Deaf consumer groups file complaint against Amazon for lack of captions

Thursday, 03 January 2013 11:42am

Seven American deaf consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), accusing Amazon of violating new captioning rules.

The new rules are included in the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, and came into effect on 30 September 2012. They state that most full-length, non-live programming must be captioned if previously broadcast on television with captions. Monitoring of programming available on Amazon’s ‘Instant Video’ service in October and November showed that between one and eighteen programs a day were not captioned which should have been. They included popular programs such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Fringe.



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Ofcom extends access requirements to programs made for Europe

Friday, 21 December 2012 9:47am

The British communications regulator, Ofcom, has decided to extend the access requirements it places on UK broadcasters to channels providing services to other countries in Europe.

The access requirements will be the same as those applied to domestic broadcasters. They consist of quotas which, after ten years, rise to 80% for captioning, 10% for audio description and 5% for signing. Ofcom may decide to reduce these quotas for channels where the access services would cost more than 1% of their relevant turnover.



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Boxing Day blockbusters: sessions with captions and audio description

Thursday, 20 December 2012 2:54pm

Two of 2012’s most anticipated movie releases, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables will both be released to cinemas with audio description and closed captions on 26 December.

Peter Jackson’s long-awaited prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is the first in a new trilogy set in Middle Earth. The movie opens on Boxing Day at locations including Hoyts Bankstown, Carousel, Chadstone and Melbourne Central, and Event Cinemas Cairns Earlville, Top Ryde and Marion. The movie is rated M.



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The top 12 media access stories of 2012

Wednesday, 19 December 2012 12:41pm

The past year has been a big one for people with a disability when it comes to accessing media. Here is our list of the top 12 developments across TV, online video, social media, web accessibility, cinema and education. 

  1. The audio description trial on ABC1
  2. Access to social media
  3. The Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy
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New initiative promotes technology designed for everybody

Monday, 17 December 2012 4:04pm

A major initiative recently launched in London is raising awareness of the need for technology design that includes people with a disability.

An initiative of The Royal London Society for the Blind, Everybody Technology works collaboratively with technology companies, developers, designers and people with disabilities to create products that combine technology and design for the benefit of all users.



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Top 12 of 2012 #10 – helping seniors get online

Friday, 14 December 2012 9:04am

An important part of life for many older Australians is keeping in touch with family and friends, researching hobbies and interests and staying up-to-date with news.  In July, we launched a project to help older people get online and stay online as they begin to experience age-related disabilities.

In partnership with the Council on the Ageing Western Australia (COTA WA) and funded by the nib Foundation, we produced resources which will enable COTA WA member organisations to help individual members and train workshop coordinators on computer accessibility, assistive technology and social media.



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