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Project Proposal/Accessible Streaming Video on the Internet
Hello. Mary Watkins here from WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media.
As you know, NCAM specializes in research and development projects around making mass media accessible to people with sensory disabilities- people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired.
We are preparing a grant proposal to the Department of Education to fund a 3-year project to research solutions for making mobile media accessible. This term refers to video that is streamed on the Web, and includes both video or programs that have been captioned for broadcast or cable and then migrate to the Web without captions intact, or new programs that are developed specifically for a Web-based audience.
This topic, the inaccessibility of Internet-based video offerings by major media organizations and networks for viewing on computers or portable devices such as the Video iPod, personal digital assistants such as PALM devices or cellphones, and MP3 players, is of enormous concern to consumers and to those of us at NCAM. Captioning mandates set by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, and which have been in effect for several years now, do not have any effect over video offered via the Web or on these portable devices.
The grant would specifically fund the work needed to identify, tag, download and process caption data for viewing on these devices, and to contribute these specifications to emerging industry standards for media distribution to these devices. It would also fund user testing with people who are deaf or hard of hearing as to the the readability of captioning on these devices, and user interfaces for making the use of the devices as intuitive as possible.
Please consider providing NCAM with a letter of support, expressing your opinion that it is indeed a vital issue to maintain and build on the the access wins in the amount of captioning available on television over the last few decades as more and more video is available on the Web. I would be happy to draft a letter for you to edit. The letters would need to reach us in NCAM via fax, posted mail or e-mail by February 1 in order to be submitted with the official proposal. Simply respond to me at the e-mail address below and we can discuss further.
Best,
Mary Watkins
Mary Watkins
Outreach Director
Media Access Group at WGBH
mary_watkins@wgbh.org
http://access.wgbh.org
125 Western Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
617 300-3700 v/fax
617 300-2489 TTY
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer. More than one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup and companion Web content as well as many public radio favorites are produced by WGBH. The station also is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in access technologies for people with disabilities. For more information visit www.wgbh.org
Project Proposal/Accessible Streaming Video on the Internet
Hello. Mary Watkins here from WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media.
As you know, NCAM specializes in research and development projects around making mass media accessible to people with sensory disabilities- people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired.
We are preparing a grant proposal to the Department of Education to fund a 3-year project to research solutions for making mobile media accessible. This term refers to video that is streamed on the Web, and includes both video or programs that have been captioned for broadcast or cable and then migrate to the Web without captions intact, or new programs that are developed specifically for a Web-based audience.
This topic, the inaccessibility of Internet-based video offerings by major media organizations and networks for viewing on computers or portable devices such as the Video iPod, personal digital assistants such as PALM devices or cellphones, and MP3 players, is of enormous concern to consumers and to those of us at NCAM. Captioning mandates set by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, and which have been in effect for several years now, do not have any effect over video offered via the Web or on these portable devices.
The grant would specifically fund the work needed to identify, tag, download and process caption data for viewing on these devices, and to contribute these specifications to emerging industry standards for media distribution to these devices. It would also fund user testing with people who are deaf or hard of hearing as to the the readability of captioning on these devices, and user interfaces for making the use of the devices as intuitive as possible.
Please consider providing NCAM with a letter of support, expressing your opinion that it is indeed a vital issue to maintain and build on the the access wins in the amount of captioning available on television over the last few decades as more and more video is available on the Web. I would be happy to draft a letter for you to edit. The letters would need to reach us in NCAM via fax, posted mail or e-mail by February 1 in order to be submitted with the official proposal. Simply respond to me at the e-mail address below and we can discuss further.
Best,
Mary Watkins
Mary Watkins
Outreach Director
Media Access Group at WGBH
mary_watkins@wgbh.org
http://access.wgbh.org
125 Western Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
617 300-3700 v/fax
617 300-2489 TTY
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer. More than one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup and companion Web content as well as many public radio favorites are produced by WGBH. The station also is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in access technologies for people with disabilities. For more information visit www.wgbh.org