Our cable boxes might not be accessible, but the good news is that there is something we can easily navigate using built-in voiceover: Apple TV.
The second-generation Apple TV allows you to access iTunes (for movies, TV shows, podcasts, music, and more), Netflix (in an accessible manner), YouTube, Major League Baseball or National Basketball Association subscription services, and Internet radio. Note that you do have to subscribe in order to use Netflix (a basic streaming plan that includes movies and TV shows goes for about $8 a month), and iTunes also requires you to pay for most content.
Set up is relatively easy. With some assistance from my sighted fiancée, I had Apple TV up and running in five minutes. It took an extra minute or two to set up voiceover in the accessibility settings. The device requires the following: high-speed Internet access, a high-definition television/monitor, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cord, an HDMI port on your TV, and high-definition content protection (HDPC) enabled on your TV.
I have less than one percent of my vision. In using Apple TV for the first time, I felt some freedom and independence in navigating through movies, TV shows, music, and more. In fact, my family and I are purchasing one for my mother, who is also visually impaired.
The device is so easy to use that after spending a few minutes playing with Apple TV, I turned to my fiancée and asked, "Why can't the cable companies do this? And why haven't we heard much about this option?" My colleague, Darren Burton of AFB TECH, was one of the first people I had heard talking about Apple TV, and that had piqued my interest.
I decided more people needed to know about this option, so when presented with the opportunity to do a product evaluation on Apple TV for AccessWorld, AFB's free online magazine, I jumped at the chance.
You can find out more about Apple TV and many other products from AccessWorld. AccessWorld offers great articles and evaluations on everything from the iPhone, iPad, printers/copiers, assistive technology, websites, and the most accessible apps available. Become an informed consumer--read AccessWorld!
And if you're thinking about how to best access media, including print and electronic text, you might want to check out Senior Site's eLearning webinar, Reading Without Seeing.
I hope the cable companies are listening and learning from companies like Apple. It is time for us to take back the remote control!
