Recent Changes on Responsibilities of Provision and Quality of TV Closed Captioning
New rules that assign responsibilities regarding the provision and quality of TV closed captioning entered into effect on December 22 of 2017.
Lawsuit against Hulu because it fails to be accessible to the blind and visually impaired
On November 20, the American Council of the Blind, Bay State Council of the Blind, and Brian and Kim Charlson, who are both blind, sued the video streaming company Hulu. There are 2 reasons for the lawsuit. First, none of Hulu's video content is offered with audio description, which in turn makes the video content inaccessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Second, Hulu's website and applications are also not accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
A peek into the eyesight of a person with visual impairment
A young man, from England, has created a short video talking about how he sees. His name is Alfie Fox. He suffers from Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI), caused by damages on his occipital lobes.
What traveling is like for a blind person
Have you ever wondered how somebody could without vision navigate airports, train stations, hotels, etc.? Tommy Edison, who is blind since birth and has a popular YouTube channel, has published an excellent video sharing part of his traveling experiences.
Improvements on Availability of Accessible Airport Kiosks
This is good news, 2 airlines will be making accessible, within 2 years, 50% of their automated kiosks at the airports. By law, at least 25% of the automated kiosks installed by airlines after December 12-2016 at U.S. airports have to be accessible* and at least 25% of the automated kiosks in each location at the airport have to be accessible by December 12, 2022.
Emergency preparedness - Recommendations for people with hearing and vision disabilities
As we hear about all the devastation that hurricane Harvey has left in Texas and Louisiana, and the country is preparing for hurricane Irma, we have complied some emergency preparedness suggestions. We provide general suggestions for everybody, but make emphasis on people with hearing and vision disabilities emergency preparedness.
What About Cooking in the Dark - Part 2
In a previous post we talked about cooking techniques for cooks who are blind or have low vision, and closed our post with chef Christine Ha’s video. Christine is an amazing chef who gradually lost her sight between 1999 and 2007. She now hosts the TV program “Four Senses” with Carl Heinrich, winner of “Top Chef” Canada.
What About Cooking in the Dark - Part 1
Dinning in the Dark made me wonder about other things, like how it would be to cook in the dark. How can you identify the right condiments, and not end up putting salt instead of sugar in the coffee (I have seen it happen!). Or even something as basic as avoid burning yourself while taking a dish out of the oven would be harder if you could not see.
FCC increases 75% the number of hours of required described programming
This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) increased the number of hours of required described TV programming. The description allows people with visual limitations improved access to TV programs by providing additional information about the programs with a narration that describes details that can’t be inferred by only listening to the original program.