Woodford met with equipment and ticket booking software manufacturers. She was able to test Sony's Entertainment Access Glasses in a cinema setting and see USL's caption viewing options of glasses and personal seat-mount screen. USL is the only company currently offering both technologies.
The rules, which will cover both free-to-air and cable television, will require that 11 “essential functions” of TV menus can be read out on televisions, tablets and mobile phones. These include volume control, program, channel information, and other settings. The FCC is also proposing that audio description and closed captioning can be activated by a single button or similar method.
Audio description was first broadcast on British television in 1994, and by 2009 most of the main channels were required to provide it on 10% of their programs. However, research commissioned by Ofcom in that year showed that awareness of it among the general public was low. Following a public awareness campaign initiated by Ofcom and carried out by broadcasters, awareness rose to 37%.
People with a print disability include those who are blind or vision impaired, have impaired mobility such as diminished dexterity, or cognitive disabilities such as dyslexia. The purpose of the conference was to provide information and generate discussion on how people with print disabilities can access information and services through technology
Speaking at the conference were Media Access Australia’s chief executive Alex Varley and project manager Dr Scott Hollier.
