Panasonic talking TVs now available in Australia

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Tuesday, 23 April 2013 14:34pm

Panasonic’s new range of Viera smart TVs which have just been released in Australia feature Voice Guidance, making them accessible for blind and vision impaired users. When activated, the feature reads out onscreen text including set-up and recording instructions, channel name, program information and electronic program guides.

Voice Guidance was developed by Panasonic in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) in the UK, and was first included in a range of models released to the UK and Irish markets in 2012.

The models in the Viera range with Voice Guidance which are on sale here include the VT60. ST60, WT60, DT60 and ET60 series. Recommended retail prices range from $1,149.99 for the 50” ST60, to $3,599.99 for the 65” VT60. The TVs are also able to receive audio description, which was trialled on ABC1 last year.

Panasonic has produced a YouTube video demonstrating how Voice Guidance works, while further information about the feature and a review of it by a vision impaired user are available on RNIB’s website.  


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