TV access

HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is a digital platform which provides seamless integration of traditional broadcast TV and content delivered over the internet. It also offers opportunities for improving the accessibility of TV, and these are being explored by a European consortium, HBB4ALL.

The cable television company Comcast has added a ‘talking guide’ to its new X1 set-top box, allowing blind and vision impaired viewers to easily find content.

Audio description for television, streaming video and cultural events is a major conversation topic among access advocates for people who are blind or vision impaired. At a recent Blind Citizens Australia NSW meeting, three experts gathered to provide updates and insights into what is happening with audio description in Australia.

Access to media is a growing feature at international conferences. A problem for Australian audiences is that these conferences are usually located in Europe or North America and tend to feature experts and case studies only from those regions of the world.