TVs that talk – a first for the blind and vision impaired

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Tuesday, 3 April 2012 10:47am

Panasonic has announced that it will release 50 television models into the UK and Irish markets during the fast half of this year with a new talking feature, ‘voice guidance’, which will make them accessible for blind and vision impaired users.

Panasonic developed the feature in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB). The onscreen text which is spoken includes the channel name, information about the current program, and the electronic program guide. If you connect the TV to an external hard drive to record programs, it will also speak the recording and setting instructions.

While not all elements of the onscreen menus are supported by voice guidance, it will tell you if you have entered an area which is not spoken, and how to return to TV viewing. Panasonic intends to extend voice guidance in future models.

Prior to Panasonic’s announcement, the only digital TV receivers with talking menus were the Goodman’s Smart Talk set-top box, available in the UK, and the Bush Talking Set Top Box, which was released in Australia last year.

The RNIB has produced a fact sheet listing the first Panasonic models which will be available with voice guidance. Also capable of receiving audio description, they range in price from around £439 to around £3,800. It is not yet known whether they will be available in Australia.


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