Secretary's Round-Up

We receive an increasing amount of feedback these days, both by fax, personal contact and by email. Email has opened up channels of communication for deaf people but it is not as "reader friendly" as letters, which is why there is no letters page this time. We do, however, welcome contact from everyone so please keep in touch.

We receive ongoing complaints about background noise/sound effects. The reason why we are not printing any of the letters is that they are all on the same lines to letters published in previous issues of Mailshot. Where the writer gives specific details of intrusive background noise, it is conveyed to the broadcaster.

Viewers have different needs when watching sports programmes. Some of you are quite emphatic that you don't want subtitles on sport. Others do want them, please will those who don't want to see the subtitles use the remote control to switch them off!

Both "do's" and "don'ts" are, however, agreed that access to pre, mid, and post game commentaries should be subtitled.

Talking of sport reminds me of all the subtitling we enjoyed for Wimbledon this year. It was the first year the Championships were fully subtitled which greatly added to the enjoyment of tennis fans.

Other summer treats were subtitling for the Queen Mother's birthday parade - on ITV because the BBC chose not to broadcast it. And the Last Night of the Proms (BBC) which was held at three different venues across the UK and the Olympic Games, live from Aussie.

BBC Breakfast programme has been re-launched and is subtitled from 6am. We pointed out to the BBC that, on the old programme, quite often subtitles covered the clock. To their credit, BBC have taken this feedback on board and, on the few occasions when I have been watching, the clock was clearly visible - an excellent example of co-operation across different divisions.

Recently our efforts to record some BBC programmes using Videoplus were unsuccessful because they had overlooked sending the code to the transmitter. Any time you have a problem with reception on BBC channels, you can get help via :
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/reception
Email: reception@bbc.co.uk
Fax: 020 8576 7466

Many viewers were disappointed that Big Brother was not subtitled. This is because most of the programmes were live, however, we hope that, should C4 decide to commission a similar series, they will do their best to subtitle it.

Have you noticed the subtle ways in which producers are referring to hearing difficulties? One positive instance was noted in One Foot in the Grave - the Meldrew's received a 50" TV set because fifty and fifteen sound the same.

There seems to be a perception that Channel 5 does not provide subtitling during the evening. This is not true. All broadcasters subtitle programmes transmitted between 19.00 and 22.00hrs as priority. Always use the teletext pages to check whether or not programmes are subtitled, keying in '888' might be successful! It is very difficult to get newspapers and magazines to flag subtitled and signed programmes and it will probably become even more difficult as the number of channels increases.

Readers might well be disappointed with the level of output on Sky channels. However, cable and satellite services are not covered by current legislation so Sky is going a very small way towards recognising the importance of providing access. Where sport is concerned, the service is live and all broadcasters have difficulty obtaining staff who can do live subtitling as there just are not enough qualified staff for the increasing number of live programmes. Remember that DBC places great importance on the quality of the service because we need both - quantity and quality.

There was disappointment that the film Land Girls was not broadcast with subtitles although it had been in the past. There are many reasons why this happens. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the subtitle tape because the film has been edited to fit in to the allotted time in the programme schedules. Another reason may be that the advertising break is taken at a different time than in the original.

Viewers in the Carlton region were disappointed that London at War was not subtitled. We understand their feelings because it would have been of great interest to the large number of people with memories of London during the 1939-45 war.

Most of us know that an increasing amount of purchases are made on the internet and this includes TV sets, VCRs and DVD players. One website which is planning to offer them is www.helpful.co.uk and reports indicated they may offer a 3 year guarantee. Before you buy on the Internet, make sure that the product you are buying is the one you want and find out how it would be serviced should the need arise.

Anyone considering replacing their TV set in the near future might like to look for an integrated TV set (iDTV). The price is coming down, they are attractively designed and it might even be worth considering renting a TV set until there is a wider choice of models.

Review of the Thomson VPH 7090 VCR

Anthony G L Kent, the DBC video representative, reports:

Unusually this VCR - which can record subtitles but does not display closed captions - comes with two instruction books. This can be a nuisance because you might be trying to find something in one book, only to realise it is in the other. They are, however, reasonably easy to understand.

It is recommended that the VCR be connected to an RGB equipped scart input on the TV using the lead supplied - this ensures that the menu list and other on-screen displays can be seen. The machine tunes in the TV channels by itself and puts them in the correct order. In most cases it will automatically find the appropriate teletext page number for the Naviclick system which is used for setting the timer. It is described as revolutionary and new technology but it seems to be the same as the Video Programming by Teletext (VPT) method used in the past by several other manufacturers but it does eliminate unnecessary information and just gives a list of programmes with their start and stop times. You can find out what is on any TV station without having to change channels, all you need to do is press a button to position a cursor alongside the name of the programme you wish to record and press "ok". Similarly you can change channels and subtitles will appear without having to cancel them and then call them up again. Other manufacturers have abandoned VPT in favour of Videoplus (which this machine also has), however, the magazine What Video & TV describes the Naviclick system as "the easiest way to set the timer we've ever seen" and I agree. If only other manufacturers would take note, we might see the return of teletext and subtitles on other VCRs. NOTE: This Thomson machine does not display other pages of teletext.

Subtitles are permanent on playback and cannot be switched off which enables them to be seen when tapes are played on other manufacturers' machines. All timed recordings will have subtitles, provided you have selected this in the 'Preferences' list. On playback subtitles are always black and white which can be confusing when several people are on screen and it is not clear who was the speaker. However, the quality of playback is impressive, even on long play, and it has a tape library feature which gives an on-screen list of recordings made and the number of the tape they are on. The contents of up to 200 tapes can be stored.

I could not connect the VCR to my Caption Reader via my TV's RGB input and had to connect it via the VCR's phono output using a different lead. Indeed, this VCR is not what I could call 'connection friendly', it is the first I have seen that requires it to be ideally connected to an RGB input - so if your TV does not have an RGB input, using a different lead or socket can be a bit of a nuisance. With RGB, certain parts of on-screen displays are highlighted in colour. Without RGB, it is all black and white.

[This model has been superseded by the VTH 7090. Two other Thomson machines also record subtitles - the DVH 8090 and the VTH 6080U]

Interactive TV

Interactivity allows viewers to create a personal schedule so that they can watch the programmes they want to see when they want to see them. That can be done via a set-top box called TiVo, the first personal video recorder to be launched in the UK.

It is claimed that, when you have told the box the programmes you want to see, you can pause, rewind and playback live broadcasts instantly - and you can even instruct it to leave out the advertisements. The 'pause' feature allows you to stop the live TV broadcast but TiVo automatically records the rest of the programme. Useful if the phone rings whilst you are watching a programme.

The TiVo box will cost approx £399, it is marketed in partnership with Sky and will work on any TV set. Recordings are digital onto a hard drive which ensures that picture quality is much better. There is also a £10 a month subscription for the listings service which highlights the functions of the box.

Next year Sky digital customers will be offered a new set-top box, developed by Pace, with a 40Gb hard disk and two satellite tuners. This will allow viewers to playback one programme whilst recording two others (ie two completely different programmes) and can store 40 hours of programming. At an additional cost you would be able to choose whether or not you want to see the advertisements. It is also claimed you will be able to fast forward and rewind.

Because all this technology is "intelligent", it can learn your taste in programmes. This means that if you are a soap addict, you would not need to programme a VCR with each individual episode every time you are likely to miss an episode because the boxes will know you don't want to miss them. They will record your favourite programmes automatically!

Interactive services provide opportunities to play games, gamble, shop and bank online direct from your TV instead of a PC, and you could also use them to get detailed information about what you see on your TV set. This would come from the Internet. Clearly there are going to be a lot of questions to be answered about access for deaf people - will all the opportunities to play DBC - and Channel Four - are very aware that deaf viewers were unhappy that Big Brother was not subtitled at all so they could not even cast their vote. Hopefully by the time the next programme of this type is transmitted, they will have found a way of overcoming this problem.

Cable Services

More and more people are subscribing to cable channels to enjoy the large number of channels they offer. Unfortunately many of them do not carry subtitles and they are not required to do so by legislation. We will follow this up and try to encourage them to provide access for deaf and hard of hearing people. ITV2 will be carried on ntl franchises- and the former Cable & Wireless networks - on channel 117 this autumn - as part of the basic entry package. We understand that at least some of the programmes are repeats, we therefore hope ITV will ensure that the subtitle tape is made available and used.

Eurobell, a company with franchises in South Devon, Kent and the Gatwick region, sent us details of their services. They can be contacted by text telephone on 0800 068 7661 and told us that they have a "protected service" by which you can nominate another person to deal with your account on your behalf. Customer services can be contacted on 01752 300 300 (voice).

New series for young deaf people on C4

A new Channel 4 series goes into production this autumn with a commitment to creating new opportunities for young deaf people with ambitions in film and broadcasting. Set in internet cafes across the UK, 12 programmes explore the world of 18-25 year olds, their creativity and culture in a format which fuses entertainment, drama, documentary and the internet. The new series is a co-production between two award-winning companies, Maverick and Resource Base.

The programme makers are still developing ideas for the series which will be transmitted early in 2001. On-screen, C4 is committing resources to give young deaf film-makers their first broadcast screening in a dedicated programme strand. Off-screen, the production team will offer more opportunities for deaf people to get involved. Anyone wishing to get involved or wanting more information should contact: PULSE on:

textphone: 023 8033 5116
fax: 023 8023 6816 or
email pulse@resource-base.co.uk