There are quite a few television devices in the market today that have been developed to offer greater access to digital TV for blind and partially sighted people.
Lets have a look at some of them:
Smart Talk Freeview Digital Set Top Box
Smart Talk Freeview digital box announces all the on-screen information, including electronic programme guide (EPG) and menus, using synthetic speech. Smart Talk also delivers audio description.
Smart Talk Freeview digital box was awarded a Best Buy Award by Which? in its tests of set top boxes in February 2011.
Watch our Smart Talk Freeview digital box video on You Tube.
For more information or to order the device simply call us on 0303 123 9999.
A review of the Smart Talk Freeview Digital Set top Box is now available on our website. Our reviewer say that the "Set top box provides unparalleled levels of accessibility to audio description and on-screen information compared to other devices currently on the market."
Sky Talker
As the name suggests, Sky Talker is exclusively for people currently using Sky service. Sky Talker speaks some of the text which appears as part of the electonic programme guide (EPG) including:
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the search and scan banner
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programme information
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Sky + functionality, such as play, pause and rewind.
Sky Talker does not work with Sky + HD boxes at present however upgrades have been planned for future.
For more information or to order the device contact Sky by calling them on 0844 241 0333.
A review of the Sky Talker is now available on our website. Our reviewer say that "It allows me to mooch around and find something I want to watch. That's a simple pleasure I haven't been able to experience since I lost my sight more than a decade ago. It feels good."
Apple TV
There was a big cheer from all the Apple fans out there when Apple TV was launched. And it wasn't just jubiliation. It was pride that their trusted brand had not let them down.
Apple TV was launched with a feature called 'Voiceover'. Now this feature 'VoiceOver' is not exclusive to Apple TV but is available across a number of Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad etc.
As the name suggested, VoiceOver is a screen reading technology and helps people with sight loss to find out what's happening on the screen without having to ask a sighted friend for assistance.
However, on closer look, it was revealed that VoiceOver was the only accessibility feature available on the Apple TV, and this differed to the other Apple devices.
It did not feature a touch screen device and there is no Zoom functionality.
You can select the speech rate you want from 4 choices - slow, normal, fast and very fast.
A review of the Apple TV is available on our website for those of you who may want to read about other people's experience of using this technology before buying it. Our reviewer say that, "Up until the point that you are able to turn on VoiceOver, I would expect that most visually impaired people will need a sighted person to assist them."
Apple Inc have promised an upgrade this year which will feature 'Siri' enabling you to talk to your TV! Now that sounds like something right out of Star Trek!