Review of access to electronic media

In a blog post marking his second anniversary as chairman of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), Tom Wheeler has emphasised the work that still needs to be done to make communications technology accessible for people who are blind and vision impaired.

The RNIB Audio Description Conference: Celebrating Progress and Looking Ahead, which was held in London on 23 September, brought together a host of audio describers, broadcasters, film distributors, academics and other professionals who were keen to discuss ways of improving and expanding this essential service for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Media Access Australia’s Director of Digital Accessibility, Dr Scott Hollier, will be presenting on developments in access technology for blind and vision impaired people at the Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) national convention in Perth on 10th October.

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.