Deaf/hearing impaired TV, DVD, Cinema & the Arts news

Error message

Deprecated function: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated in include_once() (line 14 of /home/mediacc/public_html/themes/engines/phptemplate/phptemplate.engine).

Accessible documentary DVDs

no
Show on home page

In an expansion on our regular report on accessible entertainment DVDs, Media Access Australia has taken a look at recent documentary titles to see what is available for fans of this genre who require captions or audio description.

Listed below are just some of the interesting titles available from retail outlets with both captions and audio description. These synopses are sourced from movie website IMDB.


Top of page

New access for a new century: we sit down with Karen Peltz Strauss

no
Show on home page

At the recent M-Enabling Conference hosted by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network in Sydney, one of the keynote speakers was Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Bureau Chief at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA.  Peltz Strauss has been involved in access to media and information by people with disabilities for many decades, working from both the consumer and regulatory sides. Media Access Australia’s CEO Alex Varley caught up with Peltz Strauss at M-Enabling to discuss the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). Peltz Strauss was a major player in the development of the CVAA and now has the task of implementing the provisions of the Act in her capacity as a regulator.

Genesis of the CVAAof


Top of page

Hearing Awareness Week: the beginner’s guide to captions

no
Show on home page

Hearing Awareness Week runs from 25 to 31 August. To celebrate, we have put together a beginner’s guide to captioning to help raise awareness of the availability of captions across all types of media.

What are captions?

Captioning is the text version of speech and other sound that can be provided on television, DVDs, online videos, and at cinemas and theatres. Captions look similar to subtitles on foreign language content but provide additional information such as sound effects and music.

What’s the difference between ‘open’ and ‘closed’ captions?

Simply speaking, closed captions can be turned on and off while open captions are always on. In cinemas, captions are open when they are displayed on the screen and closed when they are shown on a personal device.


Top of page

Is Blu-ray as accessible as DVD?

no
Show on home page

In a twist to Media Access Australia’s regular statistics on accessible new release rental DVDs, we have taken a look at titles available over recent months and included the alternative Blu-ray format for comparison to see which format is ahead with accessibility. 

Blu-ray has been an alternative home entertainment video format since 2006 and sold itself on offerings of greater picture quality as well as increased disc space which would allow for more features. This space was promoted by some home entertainment industry representatives as the ‘sure thing’ that would lead to increased levels of closed captioning and audio description.


Top of page

Leading US accessibility advocate speaks at Sydney conference

no
Show on home page

Karen Peltz Strauss, one of the principle architects of accessibility legislation in the US, spoke today at the M-Enabling Conference about the decades-long efforts to make telecommunications, television and, more recently, the internet accessible for people with disabilities.

Peltz Strauss, who is currently Deputy Bureau Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has been involved in this field for 30 years. In her presentation, she explained that legislation always struggles to keep up with technology. For example, an amendment to the Telecommunications for the Disabled Act in 1988 ensured that all telephones would be accessible to people with disabilities – with the exception of wireless phones.


Top of page

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Deaf/hearing impaired TV, DVD, Cinema & the Arts news