Category: 大象传媒
Date: 13.10.2004
Printable version
The 大象传媒, Channel
4 and ITV announced today that Audio Description 聳 a service which
enables viewers with sight problems to follow television programmes
without having to guess or ask someone what's happening on screen -
is now available via digital satellite television (Sky), as well as
on Freeview.
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Following an announcement in June that the service was
to be offered, the three parties have now successfully trialled Audio
Description on digital satellite, and it is now available to all digital
satellite viewers of our services.
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Audio Description, or AD, provides spoken details of
key visual elements - such as change of location, actions, facial expressions,
gestures, even the clothes people are wearing - giving blind people
the context and helping them set the scene and follow the action.
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The AD is fitted in between existing dialogue and commentary
without interrupting the flow of the programme.
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The 大象传媒, ITV, Channel Four and Five are committed to
audio describing at least six per cent of their output in 2005.
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Programmes described include the most popular soaps
like Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, dramas such as Ny-Lon,
Holby City, Nip/Tuck and The Streets of San Francisco, and comedies
like Friends and Sex and the City.
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Children's programming like Blue Peter, The Hoobs and
Fimbles feature this service also.
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The 大象传媒's Audio Description service will be accessible
via 大象传媒 ONE London (Channel 944 for viewers outside the region), 大象传媒
TWO England (Channel 959 for viewers outside the region), 大象传媒 THREE,
大象传媒 FOUR, CBeebies and C大象传媒.
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ITV'聮s service can be found by selecting 963, and
Channel Four聮s service is on 964. Five's service is already available
on 105.
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Information about Audio Description on digital is available
to the public from:
大象传媒 Information, on 08700 10 10 10, and via bbc.co.uk/info
and bbc.co.uk/reception;
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Channel Four on 020 7306 8333, and www.Channel4.com/access;
ITV on 0870 600 6766;
Sky on 08705 66 33 33 (Text Phone 08702 40 19 10), and www1.sky.com/accessibility/tvguide.htm;
RNIB AT www.rnib.org.uk
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Notes to Editors
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There are around two million people in the UK whose
sight problems cannot be corrected by wearing glasses.
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94 per cent of these people regularly watch television.
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To obtain Audio Description and/or Subtitles free of
charge on digital satellite all you have to do is:
聲 Select 'Services' on your remote
聲 Select no 4 - System Setup
聲 Select no 3 - Languages & Subtitles
聲 Then for Audio Description set Favourite Language / Audio to
'Narrative'
聲 Arrow key down and 'Save New Settings'
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Once you have saved the new settings you can press the
'Sky' button to return you to your programme.
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For the service to be received on digital terrestrial
(Freeview), with the advantage of adjustable volume of the narration,
a special box is required, available from Netgem.
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This box also provides a speaking EPG to aid people
with sight problems in locating programmes with AD.
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AD is not available on 大象传媒 Parliament or 大象传媒 News 24.
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