THE MEDIA ACCESS REPORT, ISSUE 21, SUMMER 2011

Media Access Australia - Inclusion through technology

‘We believe that all Australians have the right to access all forms of media and information, through technology, so they can participate fully in society.’

Media Access Australia is Australia’s only independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to increasing access to media for people with disabilities. 

At the core of our work is the understanding that exclusion from mainstream audiovisual media has profound effects on educational outcomes, workforce participation and social inclusion.

Access to media through technology empowers people to be independent, gain knowledge, make their own choices, and be active members of our society.

Our expertise

We promote inclusion by providing expert knowledge and advice on existing and emerging mainstream technologies to government, industry, educators, consumer organisations and individuals. 

We demonstrate how media accessibility can be improved in practical ways, by piloting innovative ideas and major projects.  

We work as a catalyst for change in areas of access that include television, DVD, cinema, the arts, education, computing and the Internet, with a primary focus on people who are blind or vision impaired, or Deaf or hearing impaired. 

We seek to improve national and international Internet accessibility standards as a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international online community where the general public and organisations work together to develop web standards.

We are a national organisation, based in Sydney, with a satellite office in Perth.

Our heritage

Media Access Australia was formed out of the Australian Caption Centre, a not-for-profit organisation co-founded by Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes in 1982. 

The Centre aimed to promote and produce captioning for Deaf or hearing impaired Australians. At the Centre’s inception, captions were non-existent, however, over its life the organisation grew to provide captioning services on TV, video and DVD.

In 2005, the Centre sold its commercial operations including captioning services to Red Bee Media, and became Media Access Australia. We no longer provide services to business, allowing us to focus on promoting inclusion without the conflicts of commercial operations. 

As Media Access Australia, our focus broadened to include people who are blind or vision impaired and others who are disadvantaged in access to media. We recognised that, while some needs are different between disabilities, there are important similarities in terms of solutions, technologies, industries and regulation. By focusing on these similarities we can achieve better results for all.

Disclaimer

Statistical information published in The Media Access Report is derived from public sources such as television listings and websites. It has been made available for general use only and is provided without warranty as to its accuracy or currency.  

Submissions

We are interested in receiving submissions for publication in the Media Access Report, including accounts of media or events and news items dealing with captioning, audio description and other access services. If you have any material you would like to submit, contact Chris Mikul on (02) 9212 6242, or email chris.mikul@mediaaccess.org.au

The Media Access Report is published by Media Access Australia, Suite 408, 22-36 Mountain Street, Ultimo NSW 2007. Phone/TTY: (02) 9212 6242, Fax: (02) 9212 6289. www.mediaaccess.org.au

If you would like to be put on the mailing list to receive future issues of The Media Access Report, email info@mediaaccess.org.au

Contents

MEDIA ACCESS NEWS
Captions and audio description benefit people on the autism spectrum
New mobile captioning system for visitors to US museums and galleries
The Other Film Festival awarded triennial funding from City of Melbourne
Access to Adelaide library increased for people who are blind and vision impaired
Live TV captioning for aircraft
TELEVISION
Accessible Talking Set Top Box goes on sale in Australia
TV networks found in breach of licenses due to caption failures
UK TV services continue to exceed access requirements
Milestone in America’s fight for increased television captioning
NZ's most loved drama made accessible for blind and vision impaired fans
Canada adopts quality standards for French-language captions
DVD
Access on new release DVDs
EDUCATION
Schools and teachers commended for literacy through captions
The DCMP – a world-leading education initiative
CINEMA & THE ARTS
CINEASIA 2011
Doremi
USL Inc.
Sony
Datasat
US cinema chain installs CaptiView in all its locations
The Captioning Studio announces new theatre project for kids
Rear Window Captioning arrives in Australia
Google takes much needed steps towards accessible documents
Windows 8 hands-on test reveals major accessibility improvements
New Kindle Fire disappoints on accessibility
New iPhone release: a summary of accessibility improvements
New organisation aims to make online video more accessible for the blind
MAA’s top web accessibility tips for project managers
UK website opens up accessibility discussion
Australian web accessibility awarded
ONLINE MEDIA
American media regulator releases online captioning approach
New service provides live captions for ABC News24 online
US court delays Netflix captioning suit
Film Victoria to only fund accessible games

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MEDIA ACCESS NEWS

Captions and audio description benefit people on the autism spectrum

UK researcher Judith Garman has published an article that provides insight into the positive impacts of captions and audio description on people in the autism spectrum. By combining the visuals and audio, they can help create a complete picture for people who have autism, Asperger’s, monotropism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia.
Garman’s article draws insights from her user testing of BBC television services in 2010, involving participants on the autism spectrum, and later television platform testing in 2011.

As audio description provides extra information via an audio track that includes descriptions of people’s temperaments, it was found to assist people on this spectrum who generally struggle to understand human emotions. It also helped reinforce information, such as people’s names, something that people with autism may also struggle with.

Similarly with captions, the second input stream of information improved understanding for people on the autism spectrum who may have audio processing difficulties involving not knowing what information is important to understanding and what isn’t. Here captions provide a ‘backup’ when information is lost in processing.

Outcomes including improved spelling and comprehension for people with ADHD and dyslexia were also found in further testing in 2011.

These findings suggest that a broader application of captions and audio description can be beneficial to people beyond those who are sensory impaired, contributing not only to understanding and engagement with audiovisual materials but also to independence for people who otherwise rely on others to fill in the gaps.

Garman’s article can be found on the Mindful Research website.  

New mobile captioning system for visitors to US museums and galleries

The National Center for Accessible Media, the development division of WGBH in Boston USA, has developed a mobile system to enhance the experience for visitors to cultural institutions who are deaf, hearing impaired or speak languages other than English.

The innovative technology, dubbed ‘Media Access Mobile’, provides synchronised text in any combination of languages, all provided simultaneously over a WiFi network and displayed on iPod Touches provide to visitors onsite. It was installed for the first time at IBM’s THINK Exhibit (Centennial Celebration) at New York’s Lincoln Center on 9-10 November.  

For more information, and a demonstration video, see NCAM’s website. 

The Other Film Festival awarded triennial funding from City of Melbourne

Arts Access Victoria has confirmed a three-year funding commitment by the City of Melbourne to support The Other Film Festival, Australia’s only disability film festival. City of Melbourne’s Arts and Culture Program has committed $45,000 per year to the festival for the next three years, a 12.5% increase over previous triennial funding for the festival.

Festival Director Rick Randall affirms that “The City of Melbourne Triennial Funding signifies an unequivocal expression of confidence in the festival. This grant provides invaluable support for the festival to respond to the aspirations of people with a disability to participate in screen culture as creators and consumers.”

Councillor Jennifer Kanis, Chair, Future Melbourne (People and Creative City) acknowledges that The Other Film Festival has “become a highlight of our events calendar and the festival’s longevity is evidence of Melbourne’s passion for all-things-film. Everyone should have the opportunity to be part of the arts, regardless of ability, so we are proud to partner with an event that makes access to the arts a top priority. Participation in, and access to, the arts is integral to the wellbeing, creativity, diversity and innovation of Melbourne and the wider Victorian community.”

The Other Film Festival is a biennial disability film festival presented by Arts Access Victoria. The 5th Other Film Festival will take place in August 2012 and promises another bold exploration into the lived experience of disability with vibrant new cinema from Australia and around the world.

The Festival further extends its commitment to improving cinema and film festival access for all Victorians with a challenging series of industry forums and discussions. Film industry practitioners with a disability can also expect to benefit from the inaugural series of professional development workshops taking place at the Festival next year.

Access to Adelaide library increased for people who are blind and vision impaired 

Onkaparinga City Council has been successful in its bid for 15 DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) digital playback devices under the Australian Government’s $1 million Increasing Accessibility Library Initiative, giving people with print disability in South Australia greater access to library materials.

The South Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas, and the Federal Member for Kingston, Amanda Rishworth, visited Noarlunga Library on 25 October to test drive the new technology.

Ms Rishworth said, “Fifteen new playback devices is a great addition to our local library network and I’m sure local residents with a vision impairment or disability will take full advantage of the improved access to the library’s content.

“It’s great to have our local library staff receive training from Vision Australia to ensure they can help locals to use the new equipment and access the available resources.”

DAISY Players work by ‘reading’ digital materials such as books and newspapers, giving people with print disability increased access to the vast range of digital material available through public libraries.

“Almost one fifth of the Australian population are unable to read standard print information; this includes people who are blind, have low vision or people with a physical or learning disability,” Senator McLucas said. “Our Library Initiative supports them to access and enjoy books and other printed material again.

“Many people who have not read anything for years are being reintroduced to the joy of books through the technology being delivered to libraries by the Gillard Government. And it helps people with disability access information, which we know is so important in the modern world for education, employment and staying connected.”

New smart white cane increases independence for blind users 

A modern take on the white cane by National University of Singapore student Selene Chew has received the runner-up award at the 2011 James Dyson Awards. The smart white cane, called Blindspot, combines GPS technology, social networking and ultra-sonic sensors to help blind or vision impaired people navigate public spaces and stay in touch with their friends.

Blindspot integrates a traditional white cane with new technologies, allowing blind or vision impaired people to better socialise using social media with geo location features such as Foursquare and Facebook Places. The Blindspot smart white cane uses information from friends signed in on social media to firstly identify the location of a friend and provide navigational directions to the user that are given through voice cues on a Bluetooth ear piece.

For instance, instead of a blind or vision impaired person having to rely on their friends to see and approach them in public places, Blindspot allows users to proactively identify and approach friends. 

The inbuilt ultra-sonic sensor can also detect and warn users of low hanging objects. The smart white cane is also easily navigated through a tactile navigation menu on the handle which can be detached and used as a phone handset indoors. The Bluetooth headset and detachable phone handset can be easily charged on a wireless charger.

The Blindspot smart white cane design brings together the best of new technologies and opens social networking and the convenience of GPS navigation to people who are blind or vision impaired. The Blindspot smart white cane is not yet available commercially for purchase but its designer is currently working towards finding a suitable company to further develop her design and project.

For more information and a demonstration video, see the James Dyson Awards website. 

Live TV captioning for aircraft

LiveTV, a US company which provides inflight entertainment, has announced that it can now provide closed captioning on the TV content available on aircraft.

The service, the first of its kind, will initially be available on some aircraft operated by Continental Airlines. Passengers will be able to watch over a hundred channels provided by DirecTV satellite television.

LiveTV, which is owned by JetBlue, provides inflight entertainment for JetBlue, Continental, Frontier, AirTran, Alitalia, Virgin Blue, WestJet, Azul and other airlines. The company has said that introducing closed captions, which each passenger can choose to turn on or off, is part of its goal of creating an ‘At Home in the Air’ experience for air travellers.

For more information see the PR Newswire website.
 
Qantas is the only Australian airline to provide any captions on its inflight programs, including open captions on the news bulletins produced by the Nine Network which are shown on its flights. Some captioning is available on other international airlines which fly through Australia.  

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TELEVISION

Accessible Talking Set Top Box goes on sale in Australia

In a development that will revolutionise television viewing for the blind and vision impaired, the Bush Talking Set Top Box went on sale in Australia in September. It features talking installation screens, menus, help screens, electronic program guide and a ‘key learning mode’ which tells the user what each key on the remote control does.

The HD digital box is only the second talking box to go on sale in the world (the first was the Goodman’s ‘Smart Talk’ box, which was released in the United Kingdom in 2010). Designed with assistance from Vision Australia and Media Access Australia, the box will also receive audio description. (A trial of audio description on the ABC has been proposed by the Federal Government.)

“The new Bush talking box is a terrific product which I am sure many blind and vision impaired people will love,” said Chris Mikul, Project Manager at Media Access Australia. “It’s really easy to set up, and tells you each step of the way how the installation process is going. Once that’s done, when you press the ‘info’ button on the remote, it tells you what program is on, when it started and when it will finish. It also reads out the 7-day electronic program guide, and gives a brief description of each program.”

The Talking Set top Box (model number BHAS03) has a recommended retail price of $199. It will be available from Vision Australia stores, and can also be ordered online from the Bush Australia website. 

TV networks found in breach of licenses due to caption failures 

In October, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that Nine Network affiliate NBN failed to show the TV Week Logie Awards with captions when it was broadcast on 1 May 2011. This is a breach of the  Broadcasting Services Act which requires captioning of all programs shown between 6pm and 10.30pm on a network’s primary channels.

NBN said that its operations staff failed to identify that there was a system error in the retransmission of caption feeds from the Nine Network in Sydney. NBN has agreed to implement a visual alarm in the direct eye line of the caption presentation coordinator if a similar occurrence happens in future. This is in addition to previously agreed audits and improvement as a result of past captioning breaches by the station.
NBN has also set up a Twitter account which allows viewers to alert the station to captioning problems. This is the first time an Australian station has opened up this kind of channel for caption discussion and could become a model for other stations to follow. 
The Twitter account is @nbntech. To alert NBN to a captioning issue, viewers need to log on to Twitter and select “mention @nbntech” in the drop down menu. NBN is also exploring other ways to allow caption problems to be reported, including SMS. 
Media Access Australia CEO Alex Varley said, “It is good that NBN is trying to make the process of reporting problems easier and other stations should look at this too. I hope that they also put as much effort into ensuring that the captions are there and of good quality in the first place.”
ACMA, the television industry and consumer representatives are continuing to work on caption quality indicators that are expected to form part of the legislation to properly regulate caption quality. This flows from recommendations from the Media Access Review undertaken by the Federal Government, which are in the process of being implemented.

Media Access Australia CEO Alex Varley said, “It is disappointing that there is yet another breach of captioning requirements from NBN. This is why the captioning rules covering captioning quotas and captioning quality needs to be brought into law. Only then will we see a serious approach taken to delivering a proper captioning service.”

On a more positive note, Varley said that “ACMA has sped up its investigation and delivered an outcome in under 6 months. I hope this is also signalling a more vigorous approach by ACMA in dealing with these consumer complaints.”

A media release explaining the ruling can be found on the ACMA website.
 
Since the NBN ruling, ACMA has also found that Network Ten failed to fulfil its obligations by not providing captions for an episode of Jamie’s Thirty Minute Meals that went to air on 3 September 2011.

A spokesperson for Ten said that the network takes its captioning responsibilities seriously. “We are implementing a technical process improvement to clearly alert staff if a captioning service has not been scheduled in such circumstances. Relevant employees have also been reminded of Network Ten’s captioning obligations.”

UK TV services continue to exceed access requirements

Ofcom, the UK media and communications regulator, has published data on access services provided on television in the first half of 2011, revealing the vast majority of services have exceeded their legal obligations, particularly for captioning and audio description.

The ‘Television Access Services: Report for the first six months of 2011’ revealed that 11 channels provided captions on more than 99% of programming and 35 channels at least doubled the minimum requirement of providing audio description on 10% of programming. All channels with sign language obligations met the minimum requirements.

A number of BBC channels narrowly missed their 100% captioning requirements (less than 0.1%) due to technical problems which have been addressed.

ESPN, Sky Livingit and Sky Challenge were the only other channels which were not meeting their access obligations by mid-year. ESPN failed to provide any audio description at all despite its 3% obligation, and the Sky Channels provided less than half their 40% captioning obligations. All three will now be required to provide more access services over the rest of the year to make up for the shortfall.

The UK television access system is widely recognised as world leading. Television channels face legal obligations through the ‘Code of Television Access Services’ to provide captions, audio description and sign language appropriate for their audience reach. Further, channels are obliged to spend up to 1% of annual revenue on access services.

Ofcom now reports six-monthly and provides a clear, transparent account of what is required and what has been achieved. The latest report can be found her on the Ofcom website. 

Milestone in America’s fight for increased television captioning

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has overturned a major category of ‘automatic’ exemptions from its television captioning regulations. The decision has been celebrated by the access community as a milestone in the drive to increase captioning across the United States.

Known as the ‘Anglers Order’, this was an exemption application filed in 2005 for The Christian Angler Outdoors Television Show. The argument put forward by the producers of the show was that they were a not-for-profit organisation, the program was produced for little or no cost and no revenue was derived from it. On that basis they claimed that having to comply with the broadcast regulations and caption the program meant that it was likely that it would cease production. The FCC granted an exemption on this basis and then several hundred similar exemptions were filed in a short time frame relying on the Anglers Order exemption. 

This blanket exemption was challenged by consumer organisations on the grounds that the broadcasting regulations required a proper test and examination of each exemption on a case-by-case basis, and that the FCC had effectively created a new category of exemption which was based around a program being made by a not-for-profit, at low cost and with no revenue. Importantly, the exemption was such that the program makers effectively only had to assert that was the case, whereas the regulations required proof of undue economic burden.

On 20 October 2011, the FCC issued a notice overturning this order and confirming that programs would have to individually apply and show that captioning would be economically burdensome before being considered for an exemption. This follows the general approach under the 21st Century Video Accessibility Act and is now open for public comment.

The Coalition of Accessible Technologies has commended the FCC for “having the courage to reverse a bad order and that will further pave the way to ensuring more ubiquitous captioning in the future”.

NZ's most loved drama made accessible for blind and vision impaired fans

The most watched drama on New Zealand television, Shortland Street, is now being audio described for the blind and vision impaired. 

The home grown drama attracts an audience of over 834,000, out-rating all other channels in its time zone. "Shortland Street is the number one drama on television,” said Jeff Latch, head of NZ channels TV ONE and TV2. “Audiences can't get enough right now."
 
While Producer Steven Zanoski attributes the show’s ratings to a dedicated team effort, making it available with audio description has also broadened its audience to include people who are blind or vision impaired.

“It’s so frustrating watching the Kiwis race ahead with yet more audio description whilst we are still waiting to hear about the ABC trial of audio description in Australia,” said Media Access Australia CEO, Alex Varley.

While Australian TV has no audio description whatsoever, New Zealand television has many audio described shows, including weekly hits such as Coronation Street and Winners and Losers.

Canada adopts quality standards for French-language captions

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved a set of mandatory standards for French-language closed captions on TV programs. Areas covered by the standards include accuracy of captions on pre-recorded and live programs, acceptable time lag for live captions, and captioning of emergency announcements.

In 2007, the CRTC mandated 100% captioning of programs other than commercials and promos. It also instructed the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to establish caption working groups for the English-language and French-language markets. The new standards adopt the recommendations of the French-language Closed Captioning Group. The CRTC released these recommendations in August, and requested comments from interested parties.

The new standards include the following:

•	For pre-recorded programs, captions should have an accuracy rate of 100%, including spelling.
•	For live programs, captions must have an accuracy rate of at least 85%, averaged over the program. 
•	The lag between the audio and the captions appearing on screen on live programs must not exceed 5 seconds, averaged over the program.
•	If programs in the categories of ‘News’ and ‘Reporting and Actualities’  are captioned live, any errors in the captions must be corrected before the program is re-broadcast,  if the time between the first and second broadcasts is equal to at least twice the duration of the program.
•	Broadcasters are required to provide all information in emergency alerts in both vocal and written formats, and insert captions in their programming as soon as possible.
The news standards can be read in full on the CRTC’s website. 

In Australia, the Federal Government’s Media Access Review final report instructed the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to host workshops and develop criteria for assessing caption quality. Media Access Australia is taking part in these workshops, with amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act regarding caption quality expected to pass into law in 2012. 

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DVD

Access on new release DVDs
Access to new release DVD titles during November 2011 stood at 24% for audio description and 62% for captioning. A total of 82 titles were researched in this month by Media Access Australia.
One title – Universal’s The Eagle – was audio described internationally but not released here with description, and 11 titles were captioned internationally but not released here with captions.
The DVD titles released in Australia since September 2011 with audio description include:
•	Assassination Games 
•	Blitz 
•	Bridesmaids 
•	Cars 2 
•	Faces in the Crowd 
•	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 
•	Honey 2 
•	Last Night 
•	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 
•	Prom 
•	Rio 
•	Scream 4 
•	Soul Surfer 
•	Super 8 
•	Tempest 
•	Thor 
•	Transformers: Dark of the Moon 
•	Water for Elephants 
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EDUCATION

Schools and teachers commended for literacy through captions 

Educators across the country have been commended for their commitment to increasing literacy and inclusion through captions. cap that!, a national campaign asking teachers to turn on captions in the classroom, formally acknowledged the commitment of St Anthony’s Primary School, Clovelly (NSW), a major prize winner in the 2011 cap that! competition. The school’s video entry has inspired teachers nationwide to start using the simple tool at their fingertips to improve literacy and learning for students.

The competition asked educators to share their ideas and experiences around using captions in the classroom, with St Anthony’s emotionally moving entry showing how they are integrating captions. Responses from students demonstrate how captions enhance learning and engagement with audiovisual materials.

Emma Clancy, the Year 2 teacher who submitted the entry, said, “It’s blown me away. Something so simple can really enrich learning so much for each child… And it’s not just literacy benefits. There was such a difference to how they were engaged.”

A Year 1 student said, “You got to really easily read the story. If it was a bit muffly and you can’t hear it properly you could read the words underneath.”

Other major prize winners included Brighton Secondary School, Redcliffe State High School, Casimir Catholic College, St Augustine’s College, St Jerome’s Primary School, St Paul of the Cross School and Mt Lilydale Mercy College. Sixty teachers nationwide won minor prizes. Entries highlighted proven benefits of captions for all students, particularly those who are Deaf or hearing impaired, speak English as a second language (ESL), are struggling readers or have learning disabilities.

“A lot of people think captions are just for the kids that need them, who are hearing impaired, ESL students or children that need extra literacy support. We’ve seen it – the other children get so much more out of it. It’s for all children,” said Clancy.

St Paul of the Cross, a school with 98% of students with a Language Background Other Than English (LBOTE), 87% ESL students and 37 fully-funded special needs students, links captioning to an open and inclusive learning environment. The school’s winning entry looked at practical and easy ways to use captions for their diverse student body.

School Principal Mary Colagrossi said, "We've found captions to be of great benefit in our school. Not only do they help improve literacy, comprehension and learning outcomes for all of our students, their use encourages an inclusive learning environment and equitable access to the curriculum. We're very excited about it and I encourage all teachers to give it a go and see the difference captions can make!"

Competition entries can be viewed at www.capthat.com.au. Teaching resources incorporating captions are also available for free download from the website.

The DCMP – a world-leading education initiative 

The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) is a US initiative run by the Department of Education and the National Association of the Deaf. Its aim is to provide equal access to communication and education to students who are Deaf, hearing impaired, blind, vision impaired or deaf-blind. Media Access Australia CEO Alex Varley recently visited the DCMP headquarters in South Carolina and was impressed with the developments and new focus that it is taking.

Following the announcement of continued government funding, the DCMP offers a range of services promoting inclusion for children with disabilities. Importantly, these services are adapted to meet changing needs.

“A newer area of captioning in the US is Spanish captions to service the large Hispanic population. The DCMP is going to devote around 25% of its resources towards Spanish language services,” said Varley.

The move to online delivery of video material has accelerated and now around 85% of DCMP’s media content is streamed online, with the remainder sent through the post on DVD. This big change in the distribution needs has led to the closure of its Oklahoma distribution centre. Any DVD requirements can be burned as needed and sent from South Carolina.

Although Video Description, called Audio Description in Australia, is a much newer service than captioning, the DCMP is moving quickly to anticipate key issues and problems and look for solutions now. For example, in the area of quality standards and guides for how description is produced for education materials, the DCMP is working with teachers and academics. 

“Description is much more subjective than captioning and a major issue is the language of description,” said Varley. “Whilst most children have a spoken vocabulary that is well advanced of their written vocabulary, there are many descriptive words that they won’t understand. So DCMP is working with teachers to create lists of age-appropriate words that can be used in education media description. This will take up to five years, but will be a very valuable resource for everybody.”

Another issue with description is that most educational media is created in a documentary style with a large amount of narration. This means that there aren’t many gaps in the soundtrack where description can be inserted. Couple this with the fact that some of the content will contain diagrams, animations and tables that need extensive description, and there are issues around making the description effective in education. 

DCMP’s new director, Jason Stark (founder Bill Stark is stepping down to take on a more strategic focus), has a strong IT background and is exploring the flexibility of new media technologies in providing extra layers of description that a student can “drill down” into. 
After eight years the Read Captions Across America event, which inspired Media Access Australia’s cap that! campaign, grows steadily each year. The event focuses on the simple message “turn on captions in the classroom”, thus promoting captions as both a literacy and access tool.

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CINEMA & THE ARTS

CINEASIA 2011 

A special report by Allayne Woodford

In early December Media Access Australia Project Manager Allayne Woodford attended CineAsia in Hong Kong to speak with cinema equipment manufacturers about current and developing technologies for accessibility.
CineAsia is the only international convention dedicated to the Asian cinema exhibition and distribution community. Although not targeted directly at the Australian market, CineAsia is the closest cinema convention to our shores and is attended by the majority of manufacturers who supply their products here. 

The convention included a trade show where the following manufacturers, amongst others, displayed their latest products. 
Doremi
In 2005, Doremi introduced Doremi Cinema LLC to market its line of digital cinema servers and mastering systems to the theatrical exhibition market. As part of its digital cinema equipment range, Doremi has developed the CaptiView and Fidelio access systems, both proprietary systems, which lock the buyer into buying Doremi servers as well. 

Doremi has had early success in being the first supplier to provide a robust closed caption and audio description system for digital cinema. It supplies the majority of digital closed caption units to the Australian and American markets. 

There are no plans at present for further development of access products by Doremi. 
USL Inc.
USL’s Closed Caption System (CCS) sends infrared signals for closed caption text and two channels of audio into a cinema: one channel for audio description and one for an enhanced standard soundtrack for the hearing impaired. 

For closed caption viewing, the CCS has two options for exhibitors, both open-sourced and compatible with all digital cinema servers, including but not limited to Doremi, Dolby, Qube and Barco. 

1.	The CCS Seat Mount system sits in the patron’s cup holder and has a flexible gooseneck for adjusting the screen to a suitable position. The OLED screen emits white captions on a black background over three lines of text. 

2.	Captionwear glasses receive the caption signal in a separate, small supply unit. A discreet wire connects the unit to the glasses which then display captions as a virtual image. Depending on the language available via the DCP, the patron can select which language they wish to view, be it foreign, English or of course captions. 

The Captionwear glasses allow the patron to adjust a number of settings for comfort. These include the vertical positioning of the captions, the raising or lowering of the nose bridge pad and importantly, the image focus via a dial. For patrons who may have better vision in one eye, the Captionwear allows them to switch which eye you watch the captions through. The captions are monocular (they project out of either the left or right eyepiece) although the end image appears centred. 

USL has installed 700-800 CCS panels, mainly in North America, with 300-400 seat mount units installed. Harkins Cinemas out of Scottsdale, Arizona has just signed off on the installation of USL’s CCS with seat mount units for its 400+ screens. The eyewear is yet to be adopted by exhibition. 
Sony
Sony had its subtitle glasses on display, with a prototype of the receiver units. The market-ready glasses weigh 86 grams.  

There are three adjustable settings for the green, LED text: 

1.	Distance – three options for near, middle and distant.
2.	Size – for the size of the font itself.
3.	Language – used to switch between language options, i.e. captions and foreign language subtitles included and unlocked on the DCP. 

The glasses themselves provided adjustable options for the nose bridge in both height and distance. Unlike USL’s glasses, there was no option to tilt the eyepieces. 

Sony’s glasses currently only work with Sony servers but in 2012 they will roll out compatibility with other servers such as Dolby, Doremi and GDC. There is no word yet on future compatibility with Qube servers.

A PDF is available from Sony on the glasses: 

Datasat
Datasat is the current producer of the DTS access discs that Australian cinemas have used for the last decade to provide open captions and more recently audio description for movies. Datasat confirmed that their interest now lies in digital sound and will be phasing out the DTS discs in the near future. No final date was provided though. 

Other trade show outcomes

The manufacturers above already have products available that can assist the Federal Government’s Cinema Access Implementation Plan move forward. Other interesting outcomes from visiting trade show exhibitors include:

•	Two 3D glasses manufacturers – Volfoni and XpanD – both based in Europe, showed interest in the concept of 2D glasses that allowed patrons to watch captions on the movie screen, whilst retaining the ability to move their head without moving the captions, which is the current issue with Sony and USL’s technology.

•	Further discussion is to be had on an exhibitor’s ability to project a caption or audio described file as either open (for all to see or hear) or closed (to a personal unit) but early indications show that this is possible. This allows flexibility for an exhibitor to cater for large group bookings of people requesting the services.

These outcomes aside, in summing up the state of the industry’s attitude toward further immediate research and developments, Matt Cuson from Dolby stated, “There are perfectly good solutions out there already.”

US cinema chain installs CaptiView in all its locations

Midwest US cinema chain Marcus Theatres has announced its completion of digital cinema installation, including CaptiView to show closed captioned movies.

Marcus Theatres runs 47 cinema complexes across the Midwest including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin. As part of its enhanced digital experience, Marcus Theatres is pleased that it will now offer closed captioning for Deaf and hearing impaired patrons through the CaptiView system.

The provision of CaptiView is one of a raft of changes involved in Marcus Theatres’ transition to digital cinema, which has been branded as the Marcus Digital Experience.

“The experience of seeing a movie in a theatre is truly unique, from the minute you enter the front doors to when you leave,” said Bruce J. Olson, President of Marcus Theatres. “The excitement of seeing the latest blockbusters enhanced by state-of-the-art digital technology combined with a comfortable environment … completes the Marcus Digital Experience.”

In Australia, cinema chains are also changing to digital technology. In accordance with the Federal Government’s Cinema Access Implementation Plan, CaptiView units are now available in many locations across the country.

The Captioning Studio announces new theatre project for kids

GoTheatrical! Kids is a new project that aims to increase access to children’s theatre performances in Australia through captions.

An initiative of The Captioning Studio, GoTheatrical! Kids will work with arts venues nationally, supported by equipment sponsor Harvey Norman, to live caption productions in 2012 that are suitable for children from Year 3 to Year 12.

GoTheatrical! Kids promotes the use of captions for all students in the class, regardless of hearing ability. Captions assist students with hearing loss to understand a soundtrack, but also have literacy benefits for students who speak English as an additional language/dialect, students who are visual learners and students with diverse learning styles.

Schools will be invited to provide expressions of interest for shows and venues they would be interested in having students attend in 2012. Schools can choose as many shows/venues as they like. Venues are currently compiling production details and these will be made available within the next few weeks.

Once The Captioning Studio receives expressions of interest, it will review the information and publish details of the shows/venues around Australia which will be hosting GoTheatrical! Kids captioned performances. Schools will then be invited to book their tickets.

For more information, see The Captioning Studio’s website. 

Rear Window Captioning arrives in Australia

Work is under way to get Melbourne’s IMAX cinema ready to introduce a closed captioning system that will enable Deaf and hearing impaired cinema goers to enjoy documentaries and movies on the world’s third largest screen. This is the first time this particular technology has been used outside North America.

The Rear Window Captioning (RWC) system operates via an LED screen that projects reversed captions at the back of the cinema. Deaf and hearing impaired cinema goers can access the captions by utilising a personal, clear Perspex screen that reflects the captions, allowing them to be placed onto the cinema screen at a position of their choosing. 

IMAX Melbourne Museum, in conjunction with Arts Access Victoria, recently conducted a test with members of the Deaf community in order to garner some initial feedback and suggestions to assist in developing guidelines and operational procedures for the use of the system. Ideas to communicate this technology to other members of the community were also sought.

IMAX Melbourne Museum will continue to test and trial the system over the next few months to ensure it can deliver the best experience possible for cinema goers wishing to watch captions, ahead of an early 2012 official launch. It’s expected that 15 RWC units will be available for use.

IMAX Melbourne Museum is also committed to providing audio description for people with vision impairment. It is anticipated that audio description will be available for most movies screened at IMAX within the first half of 2012.

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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Google takes much needed steps towards accessible documents 

Google has a history of questionable accessibility in its suite of document tools. The web giant took a step towards inclusive practice when it announced in September improved accessibility features in Google Docs, Sites and Calendar.

The improvements hinge on increased support for screen readers and the introduction of new keyboard shortcuts to assist blind users. For instance, when using spreadsheets, screen reader users will now hear the cell’s location and hear feedback when outside the main content area. The Calendar application now supports the JAWS, VoiceOver and ChromeVox screen readers and allows keyboard shortcuts for navigation between functions.

The advancements are a result of Google’s consultation with blind advocacy groups in the US. Google states that the work is not yet done in terms of making their applications accessible and is welcoming feedback from disabled users.

A statement made on Google’s official blog reads “In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll continue to improve our products for blind users. We believe that people who depend on assistive technologies deserve as rich and as productive an experience on the web as sighted users, and we’re working to help that become a reality.”

Google Docs are widely used in both business and education, including some Australian universities. A report by the Accessible Technology Initiative at California State University has previously cautioned US universities on campus-wide adoption of Google’s Apps for Education due to accessibility concerns. Any steps taken to accommodate the needs of people with a disability are very much welcome.

Windows 8 hands-on test reveals major accessibility improvements

Microsoft has released a preview of its Windows 8 operating system and early tests by Media Access Australia show that accessibility has been a major focus during its development.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview build 8102 has been tested by Media Access Australia and it’s clear that accessibility has received a major focus in the upcoming operating system.
When Windows 7 was released several years ago, Media Access Australia highlighted in its hands-on test a number of accessibility improvements, such as the inclusion of a full screen magnifier. However, with every benefit there seemed to be an equivalent issue: in this case, the full screen magnifier couldn’t be used with the high contrast colour scheme. In Window’s 8, however, even at this early stage it’s clear that many of the Windows 7 criticisms have been addressed.

Dr Scott Hollier, a Project Manager with Media Access Australia, installed the developer preview and noted the following accessibility improvements:

Accessibility options during setup. When Windows 8 launches for the first time and prompts you for the name of the computer and other personal settings, an accessibility icon appears in the bottom-left corner. Opening this icon provides a list of all the major accessibility features and the option to turn them on. The instructions are also read out by Narrator. This is a great help as in Windows 7 it was difficult to complete the setup process as most features couldn’t be enabled until the setup process was completed and the Windows desktop appeared.

Magnifier now works with High Contrast. One of the biggest complaints of Windows 7 was that you could use the full-screen magnifier, but changing to the high contrast theme would change it to the old ‘strip’ magnifier that is used in Windows XP and Vista. This has been rectified in Windows 8 and now both Magnifier and the high contrast themes can be used together. The magnifier itself also appears to have a few different modes and tweaks so it will be interesting to see how this evolves as the development process continues.

Narrator has improved. Narrator has finally received a major update, the first since it appeared in Windows 2000 some 11 years ago. To date it seems to have a lot more commands, but it’s important to stress that it is still not an adequate screen reader in its own right at this stage of the development. Hopefully work on Narrator will continue so that Windows can finally have some reasonable functionality out of the box for people who are blind or vision impaired.

New accessibility choices for login and desktop. Arguably one of the best improvements in Windows 8, the Ease of Access Center now features a ‘Change logon settings’ option. This screen provides a list of all the major accessibility features in Windows 8 with the option to turn them on at the login screen, turn them on at the desktop, or both. This can also apply to multiple assistive technologies, such as the On-Screen Keyboard and Sticky Keys.
However, while there are significant improvements, it is important to note that, like most new versions of Windows, JAWS does not appear to function, and although NVDA did have some functionality, its behaviour is erratic. Presumably, these issues will be addressed as future versions of the assistive technology software programs are released.

As for Windows 8 itself, the initial interface may prove challenging at first as it is optimised for a tablet computer rather than a PC. After a bit of practice the more traditional Windows environment can be easily found and used.

Overall, while there are very clear benefits to Windows 8, it is important to note that this is a very early pre-beta release and it is likely to change significantly between now and the final release in 2012. 

New Kindle Fire disappoints on accessibility 

Amazon, the world’s most popular online e-book store, has updated its Kindle e-book readers with the release of four new models. The three cheaper e-ink models retain the accessibility of the previous Kindle. However, the flagship Android-based tablet/ereader hybrid, Kindle Fire, has proven disappointing for people with disabilities.

The Kindle Fire, priced at $US199, is likely to provide strong competition to the iPad due to its similar functionality, compatibility with Amazon’s e-book, music and streaming video services, and its remarkable affordability. As with many tablet computers, the device can connect to a Wi-Fi point and provide access to a variety of online material through its built-in Web browser, access to a variety of music and allow the storage of e-books. Its touch screen, a significant step forward from the previous Kindle, is likely to prove popular with consumers who like the iPad-style experience.

However, the move to an Android platform appears to have reduced the accessibility of the Kindle which was one of the first e-book devices to incorporate zoom and text-to-speech functionality. An article in the Chicago Sun-Times stated that, “Alas, Amazon has ‘nothing to announce’ about the Fire’s accessibility features, beyond the Kindle’s existing text-to-speech reading feature.”

The lack of accessibility improvements, and the implied removal of spoken menu features is viewed by many as more a fault of the Android operating system, but disappointment remains from many bloggers that even the limited accessibility features of Android such as the free accessibility tools that can be installed, or the commercial accessibility applications that are also available. 

One possible silver lining is that Amazon has indicated that some Android apps can be added by the user, but Amazon has not confirmed this to date.

The good news for people with disabilities is that the other three e-readers have been redesigned and have dropped significantly in price, meaning that a Kindle that is similar to the previous model can be purchased for $US79. The other touch-enabled models start at $US99.

Phone carrier gives away accessibility apps to blind and vision impaired users

The US telecommunications provider AT&T is offering Mobile Accessibility Lite, a suite of eleven accessible Android applications which normally cost $99, free to vision impaired AT&T Android users for a limited time.

Mobile Accessibility Lite, developed by Code Factory, is a suite of applications for everyday online activities such as email, phone calls and contact lists, SMS, calendar and web. It also has a screen reader that replaces the standard Android text-to-speech software, as well as speech recognition for easier text input, such as writing an SMS or email.

Standard Android accessibility is not as advanced as that found in iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. VoiceOver, the screen reader in iOS, is much more sophisticated than Android’s screen reader TalkBack. Furthermore, while the standard applications that come with iOS are accessible with VoiceOver, the equivalent apps that come with Android, such as the web browsers and email client, are not always accessible. And so, Android users are forced to replace these apps with accessible versions like those in Mobile Accessibility Lite.

New iPhone release: a summary of accessibility improvements

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced iPhone 4S on 5 October – but what impact does the announcement have on accessibility for people with disabilities?

The new iPhone 4S is essentially a hardware upgrade. It is more powerful and includes a better camera for increased image and video quality. Most of the accessibility features for iPhone come from the mobile operating system iOS rather than the device itself. However, there were a number of announcements today that impact on the accessibility world.

Siri. One of the most exciting announcements for the accessibility community is Siri. The new voice recognition system allows iPhone 4S to perform a wide variety of tasks hands and eyes free.

Marketed as a personal assistant in your phone, Siri responds to vocal commands such as questions with information. For instance, the question “What’s the weather like in San Francisco today?” will trigger the phone to respond audibly with weather information. The Apple website states that “It does what you say and finds the information you need. And then it hits you. You’re actually having a conversation with your iPhone.”

Apple claims that the program interprets language, allowing the user to speak to the phone in a conversational way. “Siri not only understands what you say, it’s smart enough to know what you mean. So when you ask, “Any good burger joints around here?” Siri will reply, “I found a number of burger restaurants near you.”

Siri is currently in beta phase and user testing will determine the accuracy of the notoriously problematic voice recognition software and the breakthrough interpretation system. The launch demonstration video released by Apple overnight features a blind user, indicating that accessibility is at the heart of the new feature’s development. Although the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard is already accessible via VoiceOver, performing tasks using Siri may prove quicker and easier for all.

iOS5. In June, Apple announced the new version of its mobile operating system iOS5 with three new accessibility features, namely specialised hardware accessibility support, LED flash and custom vibration settings and improvements to VoiceOver.

We now know that iOS5 will be available for download on 12 October, two days before the launch of iPhone 4S. Owners of iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch will be able to upgrade to iOS5 and benefit from these improvements.

New camera. The significant upgrade to the camera in iPhone 4S may have an impact on the effectiveness of OCR software.

OCR apps like ZoomReader and DocScanner allow users to convert images taken with their iPhone into text that can then be read out using VoiceOver. However, poor image quality may adversely affect the quality of the converted image.

The increase from 5 megapixels in iPhone 4 to 8 megapixels in iPhone 4S plus all new optics will certainly result in higher image quality and may positively affect the quality of the text output which is notoriously hit and miss.

New organisation aims to make online video more accessible for the blind

The Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRCD) is a new organisation funded by the US Department of Education which will investigate and develop new technologies to make online video more accessible for students who are blind or have a vision impairment.

Located at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, the VDRCD will identify and prototype new technologies to improve descriptive access to educational material delivered via the Internet and mobile devices. Any software that it develops will be made available as free, open-source software. A number of projects are already in development, including Crowd-Sourced Description for Web-Based Video, and Remote Real-Time Description. (Video description is a term often used in the US for audio description.)

The VDRCD works closely with the Description Leadership Network, a coalition of organisations involved with developing policy and technology relating to blindness and video accessibility.  

For more information, see the VDRCD’s website. 

MAA’s top web accessibility tips for project managers

Two accessibility bloggers, Henny Swan and Karl Groves, recently weighed in on the debate about how project managers should incorporate accessibility in the website development process. This is an important topic given that project managers have the potential to be both gatekeepers as well as drivers of web accessibility in their work.

In the Australian context, web accessibility is beginning to change from a niche issue to a vital element of mainstream websites. The Federal Government has led this push by requiring its agencies’ websites to meet WCAG 2.0 AA standards by the end of 2014. Additionally, the Australian Human Rights Commission has stated that this standard should apply to all non-government websites by the end of 2013.

Project managers are in a position to ensure that the implementation of accessibility techniques is an integral part of the website building process.

Here are Media Access Australia’s top tips for project managers:

1. Accessibility increases quality and usability

Like Groves, we believe there is a need to present accessibility as part of both usability requirements and best practice in building a quality website, mobile site, app or other online software. Accessibility has a positive impact for all users, and it is important that practitioners and managers alike understand this.

2. Include accessibility at the beginning

Regardless of which approach you use, it is essential to include accessibility as a requirement and consideration from the beginning of any project.

Many project managers make the mistake of leaving accessibility until the end of the website building process, for example, by contracting someone to audit their website. This creates a much higher overhead in terms of time and money, as often elements of the website will need to be redeveloped or redesigned.

3. Ensure your team or service provider really knows how to implement accessibility

Conversations with other organisations building accessible websites tell us that it is also essential to ensure you have a developer who really knows about accessibility. Like any business requirement you may have for a website, you want to ensure the service provider really knows their stuff. As Henny suggests, you should ask for examples of websites they have built that have met accessibility standards, and ask them to explain how they test the accessibility of the site throughout the development. It’s definitely a good sign if they test your site with assistive technologies, like screenreaders such as JAWS and NVDA.

For detailed information on how to include accessibility in the project management process, see Henny Swan’s ‘Accessibility for Project Managers’ and Karl Groves’s ‘It’s time to let go of the waterfall model of accessibility’: 

First chapter of guide to creating accessible digital media released

Media Access Canada (MAC) has released a guide to creating accessible digital media. The project, of which Media Access Australia is a partner, offers advice on how media should be made accessible as technology rapidly evolves. The first chapter has been released, advising the best methods to place description within videos and movies. Provision of audio description increases access to video content for blind and vision impaired people.

MAC said that the lack of a similar guide in the past has led to a lack of consistency in description quality. The first chapter of Accessible Content Best Practices Guide for Digital Environments focuses on the audio description (called video description in North America) process and provides examples of best practice. The chapter offers a useful benchmark for audio description quality.

Subsequent chapters, to be released over the next two years, include discussion of convergence, telecommunications, closed captioning, end user interface and monitoring and measurement. The project has come about through collaboration with organisations such as the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

"Publication of these guidelines for descriptive video is an important first step towards our ultimate objective of a fully accessible broadcast day," noted Louise Gillis, National President of the Canadian Council of the Blind. "We are providing a blueprint to the broadcasters as to how they can best set about improving accessibility for our members."

The Canadian Government has committed to reaching Level AA Accessibility for each of its websites, a criterion of which is audio description for all video content.

The Accessible Content Best Practices Guide for Digital Technology can be downloaded from MAC’s website. 

UK website opens up accessibility discussion 

A new website created by the eAccessibility Forum in the UK will give people the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences with web accessibility. This will be used to advise government and industry across the UK on how they can design and develop websites that are accessible to people with a disability.

The eAccessibility Forum is a coalition made up of government, industry and voluntary bodies, working to ensure people who are disabled in the UK have equal access to information and technology. Launched by the UK Minister for Communications, Ed Vaizey, the website is part of the eAccessibility Forum’s web accessibility initiative and will inform the eAccessibility Action Plan.

The Action Plan includes a number of objectives, such as developing a regulatory framework for legislation and providing government and industry professionals with resources, information and guidelines on making their digital or web-based services accessible to everyone. 

eAccessibility has outlined five areas of discussion that people may engage in on the forum website. These areas include the regulatory framework of eAccessibility, accessible consumer technology and digital equipment, website services, accessible content and building awareness of accessibility.

The forum website itself is a case study of accessible web design and development, having been made to comply with AAA standards. This is the highest level of accessibility set by the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. 

While discussion on the website’s message boards informs UK legislation and policy, the website opens web accessibility up for discussion on an international level. The message boards are accessible to anyone around the world. Web accessibility experts, information technology professionals and people with disabilities can share their thoughts, experiences and ideas online, potentially contributing to the improvement of the UK’s websites.

For more information, see the eAccessibility Forum website. http://www.discuss.culture.gov.uk/eaccessibility/

Australian web accessibility awarded 

The winners of the Australian Web Awards were announced on 12 November, recognising the importance of accessibility in web development and design. The Cerebral Palsy Alliance took out the national award for best overall accessibility for its main website.

"We're delighted that there's a growing recognition of the importance of web accessibility in Australia," said Robyn Cummins, Manager of the Communication Design Team at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. "With one in five Australians with a disability and a rapidly ageing population, it should be on every organisation's agenda."

"We built the Cerebral Palsy Alliance website to meet the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 AA). There are so many small things that you can do that make a big difference for someone with a mobility or vision impairment. At the end of the day, good usability and accessibility benefits everyone."

In striving for community engagement, the Alliance has produced a website which is rich in a variety of content. Audio-visual content is made accessible to Deaf and hearing impaired users through closed captions. However, the site’s videos are yet to include audio description for people who are blind or vision impaired, proving that even the best websites can be improved.

"We aim to continually improve our website in all areas, particularly with regards to accessibility,” said Cummins. “Audio description of our videos is next on our agenda," 

Media Access Australia’s Manager of Digital Media, Sarah Pulis, commended the Alliance for their efforts. “The Cerebral Palsy Alliance is a good example of a website that not only meets WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility standards, and also has an engaging design. It is important that organisations and companies realise that you don’t have to compromise on the look and feel of a website for it to be accessible.”

The Australian Web Awards also gave commendation to the LEARN Foundation for Autism and Karen Williams, Candidate for Mayor. The awards feature categories across web development and design. All nominees must have considered accessibility in the development process.

For more information, see the Australian Web Awards 2011 website. 

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ONLINE MEDIA

American media regulator releases online captioning approach 

The US media and communications regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has released its draft approach on captioning of online video content. This is a major step in identifying how America will regulate captioning of online materials.

The Commission’s document makes it clear that regulation does not apply to user-generated content. This is complementary to the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 that states that a TV station that shows one of its captioned programs in an offline version must retain the captions for the online version.

This has implications for the Convergence Review that is currently being undertaken by the Australian Federal Government and also for the general availability of accessible online content.

The FCC document, ‘Closed Captioning of Internet Protocol Delivered Video Programming’, can be downloaded from the FCC’s website. 

New service provides live captions for ABC News24 online

tveeder.com is a new service which provides live captions from ABC News24 online. Powered through the tumblr.com blogging platform, tveeder.com displays the live caption feed of ABC News24 in a constantly updating feed. The site also provides caption transcripts and a program guide.

A mobile site has also been made available, increasing access to ABC news for Deaf and hearing impaired users on the move, who might use devices and applications that do not support captions.

The captions are displayed in a block format and currently do not distinguish between speakers, normally conveyed through the placement of captions or the use of colour.
The tveeder blog says the service is designed to aid Deaf and hearing impaired people assess the quality of captions on television. If enough interest is shown in tveeder, the service may be extended to cover other ABC channels.

The name ‘tveeder’ is a combination of ‘television’ and ‘RSS feeder’, reflecting the idea that television can be read as a stream of text like an RSS feeder reads the text of a web page. The service is currently still in development.

US court delays Netflix captioning suit

In June 2011, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) sued Netflix for failing to provide captions on the majority of titles available on its ‘Watch Instantly’ video-on-demand service. A court has now ordered a stay in the motion, pending an investigation into captioning of Internet media by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Netflix is a hugely popular service which accounts for up to a quarter of all Internet traffic in the US, but according the NAD’s suit, as of June 2011 only 5% of the ‘Watch Instantly’ titles had closed captions. One of the directives of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 was that the FCC look into making rules for the captioning of videos made available online.

US District Judge Michael Posner has stayed the case until 6 February 2012, "on the assumption that the FCC's rule-making process will be complete before the end of January 2012".

For more information, go to the Courthouse News Service website. 
 
Film Victoria to only fund accessible games

Film Victoria has added accessibility to its requirements for game developers seeking funding for new projects. Film Victoria is now the first government body to add accessibility to its funding criteria for game development. Developers must now consider how they can make their game accessible to people with a disability.

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi said the investment fund will contribute to “any costs the developer incurs as part of their accessibility efforts, which may include technology, testing or accessibility consultants”. Film Victoria provides up to $100,000 or 50% of the project budget for games developed in the state.

Some of these accessibility measures include using a colour blind friendly design, using high visibility graphics like large fonts and high contrast colour schemes, providing separate volume controls for music, sound effects and dialogue where applicable and using accessible menus.

According to Tosi, the gamer audience is similar in size to the cinema audience. Media Access Australia has previously reported that an estimated 20 per cent of gamers have a disability.

Film Victoria worked with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) on the development of the accessibility requirements. The IGDA is a non-profit organisation for creators of video games. One of its mission statements is to “advocate on issues that affect the developer community”.

The IGDA also has a number of special interest groups including the IGDA Accessibility Special Interest Group which works to make games accessible to everyone. A list of ways developers can make their games accessible to people with a disability can be found on the IGDA Accessibility Special Interest Group website: http://www.igda.org/

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Glossary

Audio description: The descriptive narration of all the visual elements of a TV    
program, movie, DVD, performance or other media, giving access for the blind or vision impaired. AD may be pre-recorded and delivered as an option for television programs or DVDs, or it may be performed live (e.g. for a theatrical performance). 

Captions: A transcription of the audio elements of a TV program, movie, DVD, 
performance or other media, giving access for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Unlike subtitles, captions include song lyrics, descriptions of sound effects and music, and are often positioned and coloured so as to make it easier for the viewer to identify who is speaking. Captions may be divided into:
•	Open captions: Captions which are ‘burnt onto’ a video or digital image and will be seen by anyone who looks at it, and
•	Closed captions: Captions which a viewer chooses to see (e.g. by accessing teletext captions on TV, or activating the captions on a DVD).   

Signing: Access to a TV program, movie, DVD, performance or other media via a 
signer using one of the various Deaf sign languages, e.g. Auslan (Australian Sign Language). Some TV programs in the US and UK have a signer occupying a space on the screen.

Stenocaptioner: A highly trained captioner who captions live programs using a 
stenographic keyboard.

Subtitles: This generally refers to English translations of foreign language TV 
programs or movies, presented as text at the bottom of the screen. It can also be a straight transcription of the dialogue of an English language program (this is a common feature on DVDs). Note however that captions are often called subtitles in the UK and other parts of Europe. 

Teletext: The broadcast data delivery system used in Australia to transmit captions 
on analog television. 

Acronyms

ACMA		Australian Communications and Media Authority
AD		Audio description
ADHD 	Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
CCS	Closed Caption System 
CRTC	Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
DCMP		Described and Captioned Media Program (US)
FCC		Federal Communications Commission (US)
IGDA		International Gamers Development Association
MAA		Media Access Australia
MAC 		Media Access Canada
NAB		National Association of Broadcasters (US)
NAD		National Association of the Deaf (US)
NCAM		National Center for Accessible Media (US)
RWC		Rear Window Captioning
VDRCD	Video Description Research and Development Center (US)
WCAG		Web Content Accessibility Guidelines