Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
6
↓
Descriptive Audio with Cable (self.Blind)
submitted by jrs12
Hey folks,
I'm trying to get audio description turned on for a few of my clients who still enjoy cable. There are directions for how to turn it on online, and I've turned it on, but nothing changes even during prime time shows on major networks. For the record this is in the United States with Verizon. What am I missing? Customer service has been no help at all and I can't find more information anywhere.
TL;DR: DVS on Verizon is on, still no audio description. What should I do?
I'm trying to get audio description turned on for a few of my clients who still enjoy cable. There are directions for how to turn it on online, and I've turned it on, but nothing changes even during prime time shows on major networks. For the record this is in the United States with Verizon. What am I missing? Customer service has been no help at all and I can't find more information anywhere.
TL;DR: DVS on Verizon is on, still no audio description. What should I do?
WarHamster40k 2 points 3y ago
A few things to narrow down or rule out: is this through a television or a computer app? Is it all channels/shows or just some of them? Is there a configuration on the TV itself that needs adjusting?
jrs12 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I'm having this problem across the board with all clients, so clearly I'm doing something wrong. They all have cable on TV though. Does it have something to do with the Secondary Audio Program?
WarHamster40k 3 points 3y ago
It may, but this is one of those awkward moments where there's probably one metaphorical switch set to "no" instead of "yes" buried under a bunch of other switches.
However, (assuming that the clients don't all have the same make/model of TV), I'd be more inclined to check if there are any other secondary audio options "claiming" that channel as theirs. I've come across some earlier setups where the SAP was conflicting between the Spanish Audio and Descriptive Audio. However, since it sounds like a consistent problem across multiple clients, I'd start treating this like trying to resolve IRQ conflicts from back in the ol' days.
However, (assuming that the clients don't all have the same make/model of TV), I'd be more inclined to check if there are any other secondary audio options "claiming" that channel as theirs. I've come across some earlier setups where the SAP was conflicting between the Spanish Audio and Descriptive Audio. However, since it sounds like a consistent problem across multiple clients, I'd start treating this like trying to resolve IRQ conflicts from back in the ol' days.
CloudyBeep 1 points 3y ago
I've heard that AD is only available in certain regions, but this is the limit of what I know.
razzretina 1 points 3y ago
It may be that there just isn’t anything described. I’ve got it on and working through my cable company and the only time anything has happened was when Law and Order SVU was on. Legally, there only has to be five hours of described programming a month or something like that and tv companies run with that. :/
CloudyBeep 2 points 3y ago
In the US, it's 87.5 hours per quarter, but all of the networks who provide AD exceed that.
razzretina 2 points 3y ago
Really?! Well! Why is it so hard to find any of this programming on live tv, then?! I'm glad there's more of it than I was lead to believe, though. That explains why Audiovault has so much (although a lot of it comes from the UK).
CloudyBeep 2 points 3y ago
Have you tried watching any of these shows with AD enabled? https://acb.org/adp/tvschedule.html
razzretina 2 points 3y ago
Ha ha, I kinda gave up on watching tv instead. I will check those out, thank you!
bscross32 1 points 3y ago
I'm wondering if the setting online only deals with streaming the shows that are found online, and not the actual box hooked to the TV?
jrs12 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I've gotta be honest here, we've already hit the limit of my knowledge. I don't have a tech background, so I basically fumble through these set ups half cocked with whatever worked in the past.
What happens if I do switch the SAP to Spanish (because that's the only one that ever pops up). If DVS is on does it automatically play audio description even if it says Spanish on the SAP I select? Will it play the non described shows as normal and automatically add description if the SAP is turned on and avalible for that show?
I don't have a good way to troubleshoot this because I don't have cable at home and many audio described shows are not on during the work day when I am in the home with these people. The last thing I want to do is tell them I've fixed their TV then have everything be in Spanish. Many of my clients are old enough to be grandparents. I want to be sure that whatever I'm changing is understandable to someone who is not tech inclined.
Thank you for your help! Talking to someone else who actually knows what I'm trying to do is a huge relief.
What happens if I do switch the SAP to Spanish (because that's the only one that ever pops up). If DVS is on does it automatically play audio description even if it says Spanish on the SAP I select? Will it play the non described shows as normal and automatically add description if the SAP is turned on and avalible for that show?
I don't have a good way to troubleshoot this because I don't have cable at home and many audio described shows are not on during the work day when I am in the home with these people. The last thing I want to do is tell them I've fixed their TV then have everything be in Spanish. Many of my clients are old enough to be grandparents. I want to be sure that whatever I'm changing is understandable to someone who is not tech inclined.
Thank you for your help! Talking to someone else who actually knows what I'm trying to do is a huge relief.
b2433 1 points 3y ago
This probably isn't going to be much help, my wife and I have cable but sorry, not Verizon. We have our default settings to have audio description on, which really just means we have the secondary audio as the default. Sometimes it will be audio description, sometimes it will be Spanish, sometimes neither and it'll just be the original audio track, it really just depends on the channel and show. We're able to turn it on or off easily with voice commands on the cable remote, but I know not all cable companies have those.
bradley22 0 points 3y ago
I can’t help with this but if you go to www.audiovault.net and sign up, you can download tv shows and movies.
I don’t know if they have laptops if they do, you could download the filesthere.
I don’t know if they have laptops if they do, you could download the filesthere.
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.