A TV changed my life
Post categories: Arts and Entertainment
| 11:53 UK time, Monday, 8 October 2007
A very exciting thing happened at the weekend. our new television arrived, which wouldn’t usually get a blindy interested, but, it’s a Shiny 26 inch model, with built in freview, and audio description as standard.
Audio description is a soundtrack, added to a programme, which fills gaps in the dialogue by describing any action. The facility has to be turned on using your TV remote, and it plays to the room so there is no getting away from it. Around 10 percent of programming is currently described, but the are constantly campaigning for more.
This new television has actually changed my TV viewing experience for ever. I spent the past two days flicking around, clapping and squealing joyously when I came across an audio described broadcast. During EastEnders, I was treated to a description of the looks passing between Stacy and Max. During Friends, I knew why the whole audience were laughing, even when nothing funny had been said. I could have cried.
My housemates are also delighted with our new addition to the family. The Visually impaired one uses AD himself if he’s not sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, with his nose near the screen, and the fully sighted one is delighted because she can watch telly in peace, and isn’t regularly called away from what she is doing, to explain what’s happening during a rerun of Dauson’s Creak. Everyone’s a winner.
What are your experiences of Audio Description, or any other facility which has changed the way you watch TV for ever? Feel free to comment on this entry.
To find out more about Audio Description, and where you might get your hands on it, read the Ouch guide.
Comments
I grew up watching TV with subtitles, because my dad is deaf. When I moved away from home, I stopped using them, because I'm not deaf, so I assumed it wouldn't be appropriate. But I have a mild degree of hearing loss myself, thanks to childhood ear infections - and it was only when I started going out with my g/f, who is also a bit hard-of-hearing, that I discovered just how useful subtitles can be. Suddenly I'm not missing every other word - when I always thought that's what happened to everyone when they watched telly - and the neighbours don't complain about how loud the TV is anymore. Everyone's a winner. More people should turn on the subtitles and turn down the telly. It would make them happier people, yes it would.
My boyfriend has just bought a new tv with built in audio description. We originally got a different brand which claimed that their whole series had audio description only the one we got didn't. It went back to the shop and we got one that did. I could manage without audio description and sit with my nose to the tv but its much nicer to curl up on the sofa than sit uncomfortably in front of the tv. Some of my frustration now is sometimes the audio description isn't that good or useful.
We have just bought a new Sony TV with integrated Freeview and Audio Description and are quite pleased with it apart from the fact that although it receives AD on most channels it does not receive AD on any ITV channel, unlike our Netgem iplayer+ freeview box which receives AD on all channels from the same aerial.
I contacted Sony and they say that AD is not a service that they guarantee on their TV's and explained away the fact that the Netgem box could receive the AD on all channels whereby their TV could not by stating that their freeview decoder worked on high band signals and the Netgem works on low band so is able to pick up more at present. Another bug is the TV has only one digital tuner so you cannot watch one AD programme and record another at the same time, good job we kept our Netgem box so we can.
I need subtitles to enjoy the programmes, however there are many channels , freeview & cable that have no subtitles. My choice of programmes is therefore limited. More subtitles please