I filed a complaint with the FCC indicating that Spectrum did not provide an accessible cable box. It was time for me to take further action. Therefore, it was Time Warner's fault and not Spectrum's that I did not have an accessible cable box. He explained that Time Warner did not install the necessary equipment for accessibility prior to the merger with Charter Communications. I called the support number on the website, asked to talk to a supervisor, and finally got through after being on hold for a very long time. I discovered Spectrum's accessibility website on my own and found that there was an easy way to turn on accessibility features, but I could not get them to work. Blaming Time Warner for Spectrum's Problems with Accessibility Furthermore, I ended up showing the technician and supervisor the best way to teach someone how to use the Spectrum app with NVDA. I could not watch TV with my family and still have complete accessibility. The only way I had access to the Spectrum guide and descriptive video was through the laptop. Instead, Spectrum gave me a large Windows laptop with the Spectrum app and NVDA screen reader installed. Furthermore, I could not use my cable box and my old modem was fine. The end result was that the Mac could not use the Spectrum codes. Both were extremely nice and tried very hard. Spectrum's First Solution: a LaptopĪ technician and supervisor came to my house twice. An appointment was scheduled for a technician to fix the problem. She tried to send the codes but that did not work. Apparently, cable box accessibility was available through my computer. I asked if the codes worked with the Mac and she said they did. She said Spectrum needed to send me the necessary computer codes. When I explained that there wasn't any text-to-speech, she said Spectrum does not have a voice-activated remote.Īfter a very long time, I spoke to someone who said she knew what to do. I finally reached someone who said I already had an accessible cable box. Others thought I meant closed captioning, not text-to-speech output on the cable device. Most of the people I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about. I was on the phone that night for well over an hour as I got transferred from person to person. When I got home from the conference in March, I called Spectrum to ask about accessible cable boxes. I live in New York City, which is a major market. Therefore, after the merger, Charter Communications became a major player in the cable industry. CNN projected that Charter Communications cable service will be in over 18 million homes in the US. Charter also purchased Bright House, a smaller cable company. According to a May 2016 CNN report, Charter was the number three provider in the US and Time Warner was number two, with Comcast being number one. So, my current cable provider is Spectrum, which is owned by Charter Communications. In 2016, Charter Communications acquired Time Warner Cable, which was my cable company before the merger. The largest cable companies are required to have the accessible boxes available now. In addition, the video description setting must be easily accessible with a specific key or button.Īccessible set-top boxes must be available on request from the TV provider, at no cost. Accessibility includes the ability to use menus, controls, and settings. Shel told the audience that any device that plays video and is made after December 2016 must be accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. They focused on access to video description. The FCC conference presenters were Suzy Rosen Singleton, Chief, and Will Schell, Attorney-Advisor, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. FCC Regulations Summary for Accessible Cable Boxes I figured I could call my cable company when I got home and get an accessible cable box. At the AccessWorld Tech Summit in March 2017, part of the American Foundation for the Blind's annual Leadership Conference, I was so excited while listening to a presentation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about accessible devices including cable boxes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |