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Sony Welcomes the Ofcom Audio Description Campaign for the Blind |
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Written by CB Team
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Thursday, 28 February 2008 |
 Sony today publicly welcomed the recently launched Ofcom Audio Description (AD) Awareness Campaign running from February to March 2008 and calls for other countries to catch up with the UK’s AD education process.
The Ofcom AD Awareness Campaign highlights the same need for education among consumers as outlined in the Europe-wide 2007 BRAVIA initiative by Sony, which raised awareness of Audio Description throughout the TV industry by working with organisations such as the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB).
The Ofcom campaign will screen promotional trails across more than 70 television channels, to explain what AD is and invite viewers to find out more about the service.
The initiative is an alliance of broadcasters and the RNIB, facilitated by Ofcom. AD is an additional narrative soundtrack for blind or partially sighted people. During gaps in programme dialogue, an additional voice explains visual plot points, enabling visually impaired people to follow the storyline more fully.
In the UK, broadcasters are legally required to provide Audio Description content. Current regulations state that the BBC, for example, must audio describe at least 8 per cent of its programmes per week.
While broadcasters in other countries, such as France and Germany, do offer some level of AD supported programming, most campaigners agree that in order for it to become truly valuable for blind and partially sighted people, European broadcasters need to be legally obliged to offer it as a service.
AD is available on a variety of television programmes throughout Europe but generally has only been accessible through the purchase of a separate set-top box or satellite receiver.
Through technological advancements announced in 2007, all BRAVIA televisions include Integrated Digital Television (IDTV) as standard and provide access to AD without the need for an additional decoder.
SONY
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 February 2008 )
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