>From the web page
http://www.bca.org.au/digtv.htm

When a Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures

WHEN A WORD

IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

IMPROVED TELEVISION ACCESS

FOR BLIND VIEWERS

IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Prepared on behalf of:

BLIND CITIZENS AUSTRALIA
VISION AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION

November 1999 John A Simpson

ISBN: 0958706522 Information Alternatives

18 Prosper Parade

Glen Iris Vic. 3146

Tel: 03 9889 0392

Fax: 03 9889 6286

Email:
jsimpson@infoalt.com.au

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
2.2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2.2.1 Acknowledgments
3. BLIND AND VISION IMPAIRED TV VIEWERS
3.1 AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND RESEARCH
oQ!
3.2 EUROPEAN RESEARCH

3.3 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE
4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUDIO DESCRIPTION?

4.1. WHAT IS AUDIO DESCRIPTION
4.2 VIDEO DESCRIPTION
4.2.1 Descriptive Video Services
4.2.2 DVS on Cable.
4.2.3 Audio Described Home Videos
4.2.4 Narrative TV
4.3 EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT
4.3.1 Developments in the UK
4.3.2 RNIB Home Videos
4.3.3 Other European Developments

5. AUDIO ENHANCEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

5.1 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT AND RPH
oQ!
5.2 DESCRIBED HOME VIDEOS IN AUSTRALIA

6. THE DEPRIVATION STUDY

6.1 WORKSHOP METHODOLOGY
6.1.1 Sample Material
6.1.2 Workshop Facilities
6.1.3 Participants
6.2 ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION DEPRIVATION.
6.3 WORKSHOP OUTCOMES
6.3.1 Drama:
6.3.2 Entertainment:
6.3.3 Documentary:
6.3.4 Current Affairs:
6.3.5 Sport & Events:
6.3.6 News:
6.3.7 Information Segments:
6.3.8 Infotainment:
6.3.9 Advertisements:
6.4 FOCUS GROUP INPUT
7. AUDIO ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES

7.1 OUR CONTENTION
7.2 ENHANCEMENT ALTERNATIVES
7.2.1 Timed and Scripted Integration
7.2.2 Improvised Description
7.2.3 Audio Captioning
7.2.4 Real-time Events Coverage
7.2.5 Commercial and Promotional Content.
7.3 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT EXEMPLARS
8. DIGITAL TELEVISION - DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

8.1 THE FUNDAMENTALS
oQ!
8.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE US

8.3 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE UK
9. OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPERATIVES IN AUSTRALIA

9.1 THE FUNDAMENTAL ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TV
9.2 THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
9.2.1 Technical Capacity
9.2.2 Systemic change in the Broadcast Industry
9.2.3 New Receivers and Set Top Boxes
9.2.4 International Co-Ordination
9.2.5 Industry & Regulatory Co-Operation
9.3 COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS
9.3.1 Objectives of the Broadcasting Services Act
9.3.2 The Disability Discrimination Act
9.3.3 The Commonwealth Disability Strategy
9.3.4 Other Access initiatives
10. MAKING TODAY'S TELEVISION MORE ACCESSIBLE

11. WHERE TO FROM HERE?

11.1 INFORMATION ACCESS INDUSTRY CODE
11.2 BCA AUDIO ENHANCEMENT INTEREST GROUP
11.3 DEMONSTRATION VIDEO
11.4 DDA STANDARD ON ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION

11.5 DISABILITY ACTION PLANS
11.6 DIGITAL TELEVISION CONSULTATIVE GROUP
11.7 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT STANDARD
11.8 A PILOT AUDIO ENHANCEMENT SERVICE.
REFERENCES

ATTACHMENT 1 - QUESTIONNAIRE - WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS' PROFILES

ATTACHMENT 2 - TELEVISION USAGE SURVEY

ATTACHMENT 3 - WORKSHOP ONE PROGRAM

ATTACHMENT 4 - DEPRIVATION OF BLIND TV VIEWERS - SUMMARY OF VIDEO
MATERIAL USED
ATTACHMENT 5 - DEPRIVATION OF BLIND TV VIEWERS - ASSESSMENT OF
COMPREHENSION LEVELS
ATTACHMENT 6 - WORKSHOP 2 - AGENDA
ATTACHMENT 7 - WORKSHOP 3 - RUNNING SHEET

SYNOPSIS

Experimentation with Audio Description of television (the
addition of a verbal

description of the on-screen action, scene and other visual
elements) began in

Australia in the early 1980's.

>From 1983 3RPH in Melbourne has broadcast ball by ball
description of international tennis as an extension of the
television coverage. More recently 3RPH
has provided description of major Australian drama series. These
services have not generally been available beyond Melbourne and
their incorporation into
RPH programming has been at the expense of other content.

In June 1998 Blind Citizens Australia, in association with the
Vision Australia

Foundation, received funding under the National Disability
Research Grants

Program, administered by the Commonwealth Office of Disability,
to undertake

research into the need for and practicality of introducing
ongoing audio description services in association with the
introduction of Digital Television
Broadcasting.

The Australian Broadcasting Authority's Specialist Group on
digital

Television had already identified that the additional audio
capacity

available with Digital transmission could be used for services
such as

Audio Description.

The Government had indicated that it would seek the advice of the

Community of Interest in regard to the introduction of Audio
Description.

Encouraged by this identification of a potential delivery
platform for Audio

Enhancement and given the expectations placed on the Industry by
the Disability Discrimination Act and other Government policy, we
sought, through this
project to:

1. Identify and report on the extent and level of deprivation
that is

common across the various elements of television content in
Australia:

2. Identify and document enhancement techniques that address the

information deprivation experienced by blind and vision impaired

viewers:

3. Assess the Regulatory and Industry Environment that is
underpinning

Audio Description development in Europe and North America:

4. Assess the opportunities that will arise as a result of
Digital

Television implementation for the introduction of comprehensive
Audio

Enhancement Services in association with broadcast television

services.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

The term Audio Enhancement was adopted for our work in preference
to Audio

Description as the techniques that we have identified to improve
access to

Broadcast Television for people who are blind or have a vision
impairment go

beyond Description.

They include:
the introduction of standards relating to the content elements
that

must be provided in a verbal or audible form;
the use of verbal captioning to provide audible access to
on-screen

text information.

In Summary the project
"Improved TV Access for Blind and Vision Impaired Viewers in the
Digital Era" has achieved the following:

1. Conduct of an informal survey to establish the extent to which
blind and vision impaired people in Australia view television.

We had access to a comprehensive research report
"Who's Watching? A Profile of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Audience for Television and Video" published by the American
Foundation for the Blind in 1997
but needed to establish whether these results were applicable in
Australia.

Fifty five blind or vision impaired people completed a brief
questionnaire. Their

combined response can be summarised as follows:

52 of 55 respondents indicated that they own or are part of a
household

that owns a television set;

51 of 52 respondents indicated that they watch TV for at least
four

hours per week;

10 of 52 respondents indicated that they watch TV for 20 or more

hours each week;

39 of 52 respondents indicated that they do at least some of
their

viewing without someone on hand to interpret the visual aspects
to

them;

35 of 52 respondents indicated that issues of access to the
content

determine their choice of program types;

27 of the 42 Internet respondents indicated that they had viewed

audio described material at least once;

25 of this 27 considered that the audio description had added to

their understanding of the program(s). One indicated that the

experience had been two short to make such a judgement and the
other

indicated that he considered his sight level did not limit his

understanding of the content.

Clearly, for this group at least, TV viewing is an important
aspect of life. For many however, their experience is lessened by
the need to consider access
issues when making program choices. For those who had some
experience of Audio Description its potential to add to their
viewing understanding and enjoyment
was clear.

2. Conduct of a study to assess the level of information
deprivation experienced by people who are blind or vision
impaired.

We identified that this deprivation is a result of:
the broadcast of vision only information, such as sports and
lottery results, advertisers contact details and price
information, talent identification and
text based captioning of foreign language material;
reliance on on-screen action which is not supported with dialogue
or other audible cues;
coverage of sport, news and other events that is supported by
comment rather than direct description of the action.

As a result, people who are blind or experience a severe vision
impairment are

handicapped in their participation in community life.

This study was conducted across a two day workshop involving the
twelve

members of our Consumer Panel. Participants viewed sample
television content segments across a range of types and recorded
their response to specific questions
about the action, information or message shown. These responses
were tabulated against a benchmark score for each sample item
viewed and the participants
scores were expressed as a percentage, representative of the
comprehension level achieved. These scores were then averaged
across each of the blind and
vision impaired sub-groups.

The comprehension levels achieved across nine content types, (and
thus a measure of the level of deprivation experienced) can be
summarised as follows:

Content type Low Vision Blind

Drama 44% 25%

Entertainment 35% 18.5%

Documentary 27% 24.5%

Current Affairs 37.5% 32.5%

Sport/Events 19% 21%

News 33% 39%

Information 38% 35%

Infotainment 28% 20%

Commercials 66% 14%

OVERALL AVERAGE 36.4% 25.8%

3. We identified a range of Audio Enhancement techniques that
offer substantial benefit to the target audience

In association with the Consumer Panel that was an integral part
of this project we concluded that Audio Enhancement should be
offered at four levels depending
on the nature of the television content concerned. These are:
Scripted and Timed Integration: The technique used in both the US
and UK, where the description is tightly scripted and its
integration is timed to fit
into the available breaks in program dialogue:
Improvised Description: Where the describer previews the material
and makes notes about key description elements but then adds the
description in real-time
as the program is broadcast:
Audio Captioning: Where enhancement is limited to verbalisation
of on- screen text and perhaps graphics:
Real-time Events Description: Where sport and other dynamic
events are described in real-time without the opportunity to
preview the action.

Our conclusion is that a mix of these techniques is both
appropriate to the needs of the blind viewer and would enable the
cost efficient provision of Audio

Enhancement across the various content types.

4. We produced and tested with the consumer panel a range of
Audio Enhancement Exemplars.

Material was selected from the Australian content broadcast by
the various free-to- air networks and across the different
content types from drama and comedy
to news, infotainment, documentaries and commercials.

Following an initial production round all sample segments were
shown to the

consumer group for their feed back and much valuable input was
provided relating to:
the appropriateness of the different Audio Enhancement methods to
various content types;
the level of detail needed in various situations;
the terminology and other language attributes used by the
Describers;
the placement of description in relation to the existing sound
track;
the sound balance between the two audio sources.

With benefit of this input we were then able to produce a further
set of Exemplars to a quality suitable for demonstration beyond
the Consumer Group.

A further eight segments (115 minutes of content) and five
advertisements were

then produced. These were previewed by the Consumer Group at its
third

workshop and formed the basis for an extensive presentation to
the Strategic

Planning Seminar held in March 1999.

A video tape containing these Exemplars forms an important part
of our project

report and will be available as an education tool for Industry
and Community

groups.

5. We have reviewed the Audio Description currently available
overseas and the moves toward its delivery through Digital
Television in the US and UK.

Blind Citizens Australia has established a close relationship
with Descriptive Video Service in the US and those staff at the
Royal National Institute for
the Blind in England who are responsible for advocating on audio
description matters. Through these relationships we have been
able to study closely development
of Audio Description in both the US and UK and to monitor
progress toward its availability as part of Digital Terrestrial
Television Broadcasting (DTTB).

We have noted that while DTTB services commenced in major US
markets early in 1999 Video Description Services are not being
delivered via this medium at
the time of writing.

The National Centre on Accessible Media has however commenced
distribution of test materials for both Video Description, and
Closed Captioning for the Deaf
to inform the Consumer Products Industry on developments in this
area.

A similar situation exists in the UK where DTTB services
commenced in November 1998. Audio Description was not available
from the commencement of these
services as while there is legislative provision mandating these
services, facilities for reception through integrated digital
television receivers and
set-top conversion boxes were not provided for. A plug-in decoder
card has now been developed for connection via the Common
Interface slot provided in
most new digital reception equipment and it is expected that
Audio Description services will begin from November 1999.

6. We have monitored progress toward Digital TV implementation in
Australia.

The Australian Government has legislated for the commencement of
DTTB services in major metropolitan centres from 1 January 2001
and in other locations
by no later than 2004.

We have concluded that beyond the more general advantages of
digital television that are promoted by the Government and
Broadcasting industry alike, Australia's
move to DTTB offers a unique opportunity to improve access to
television for the blind and vision impaired audience.
DTTB has the technical capacity to carry Audio Enhancement as
part of the transmission package:
As all free-to-air television broadcasters in Australia need to
make extensive changes to their program production and
transmission facilities to enable
their provision of digital TV, the costs of providing for Audio
Enhancement become marginal to the overall upgrade cost
Similarly television viewers will purchase new reception
equipment to facilitate their access to digital television. Again
the additional cost of accessing
Audio Enhancement would be marginal to this expense.
Overall, there is a willingness to consider the information needs
of the blind audience at a time when the Industry and Regulatory
environment is undergoing
substantial change.

THE WAY AHEAD

In the final chapter of our project report we detail a number of
Regulatory,

Industry and community initiatives that we believe must be put in
place in

advance of the establishment of comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services.
Our study of the information deprivation reveals a number of
significant matters of current practice that need to be addressed
in order to maximise access
by blind and vision impaired viewers. We note that the Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has recently determined
that information provision
constitutes a Service for the purposes of the Disability
Discrimination Act and we remind television providers of their
vulnerability to action under the
DDA if they fail to address the information access requirements
of their blind and vision impaired viewers. We recommend the
development of an industry-wide
Code addressing issues of Information Access for the blind and
vision impaired audience.
Reflecting on the strong consumer interest and support we have
experienced throughout the project and mindful of the important
role that blind and vision
impaired people can play in advocating the need for Audio
Enhancement and setting the benchmarks for its effective
provision we recommend the establishment
of a Special Interest Group within Blind Citizens Australia.
While the Exemplars produced for the project were adequate to
introduce the concepts of Audio Enhancement and the production
techniques we have identified,
we are conscious that there is much work to be done in explaining
and promoting the intricacies of Audio Enhancement to the
broadcasting industry, consumer
products manufacturers, regulators and the broader community. We
believe that urgent attention should be given to the production
of a comprehensive demonstration
tape which can be used both to promote the general concepts of
Audio Enhancement and to introduce industry and regulatory
interests to the cost effective
production techniques we have developed. Our preferred option
would be for this production to be undertaken as a co-operative
arrangement with one or more
of the television networks whereby a sampling of their Australian
made programming and some commercial content could be assembled.
Within the report we outline the process currently underway
whereby a Standard under provisions of the Disability
Discrimination Act is being developed
relating to Access to Commonwealth Government Information. We
point out that the Commonwealth is a major contributor to the
Australian Television Industry
as Licensee and funder of the two national services and as a
major provider of advertising content on the commercial networks.
We recommend inclusion of
television based information in the DDA Standard currently being
developed.
We also canvass the notion of television content producers and
broadcasters committing themselves to the development of DDA
Action Plans. These Plans represent
a commitment to address matters of potential discrimination over
a realistic time frame and we particularly urge television
broadcasters to commit themselves
to Action Plans that include a specific commitment to the
provision of comprehensive Audio Enhancement.
We note that Australia's move to the introduction of Digital
Television is closely following implementation in both the UK and
USA and that Audio Enhancement
is not yet functioning in the digital domain in either country.
We believe that Australia is well placed to monitor and learn
from overseas experience
in relation to Audio Enhancement, just as it is with the broader
issues around DTTB. In order to maximise this window of
opportunity we propose that the
Digital Television Consultative Group, established by the
Minister for Communications Information Technology and the Arts,
investigate all matters pertaining
to the transmission and reception of comprehensive Audio
Enhancement Services as part of the DTTB platform.

A review of Standards for the provision of Closed Captioning for
the Deaf is a requirement of the Legislation that mandates
digital television provision
and similar legislation in the UK establishes levels of
programming that must carry closed captioning and audio
description. There is however a substantial
disparity between the required level of captioning and the
requirement for described programming. We believe that a Standard
should be mandated which would
ensure the increased provision of Audio Enhancement over a
realistic time frame and we affirm the contention which
underpinned our application for funding
of this project, "that Audio Enhancement should be as widely
available as is closed captioning for deaf and hearing impaired
television viewers.

While we have written of the "window of opportunity" that
presents for the

introduction of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services in
parallel with the

introduction of Digital Television Broadcasting, we expect that a
concerted effort will be required over the next two to three
years if this time frame
is to be

achieved.

- There is much to be done on the technical front to ensure that
Audio Enhancement can be transmitted as a standard component of
the digital television
package and can be readily received and accessed by the users of
popular brand digital television sets and set top boxes.

- There is extensive work to be done in improving Audio
Enhancement production techniques to a point where they fully
meet the needs of their primary users.

- There is also a lot to be done to demonstrate the viability and
commercial advantage that will attach to the use of effective
Audio Enhancement.

All of this work needs to occur in a real life situation where
the needs and

expectations of the user group can be factored in. We conclude
that the

establishment and operation over a realistic time frame of a
model service is

essential.

We believe that it would be practical to establish this service
in a major city location where it could offer Audio Enhancement
of a range of Australian-made
television content across the various Networks.

Such a service would best function as a community based
organisation with a small staff to lead the service and the
active involvement of a larger number
of suitably skilled and trained volunteers. Delivery would need
to be as a simulcast using a dedicated radio channel and it would
be important to have
the active involvement of a specialist in Audience Research.

We believe that funding for this initiative should be provided on
a joint basis from Government, the Broadcasting Industry and
wider community.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That the Australian Broadcasting Authority, with support from
the Human

Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission establish a working
party,

including representation from National and Commercial
Broadcasters,

Production Organisations and Disability Advocacy Bodies to
develop an

Industry Code of Practice which would detail practices and
policies that

would maximise access to the information and entertainment
content of

Broadcast Television for people who are blind or vision impaired.

2. That Blind Citizens Australia establish from among its members
an Audio

Enhancement Interest Group which would provide a focus for BCA's

continuing advocacy on television access issues and would work to

establish co-operative relationships with Audio Description/Video

Description Providers in Europe and North America from where
audio

enhanced videos and program materials might be sourced for
dissemination among blind and vision impaired people in
Australia.

3. That Blind Citizens Australia, in association with the Vision
Australia

Foundation, seek funding and Broadcast Industry support for the
production of a demonstration video which would include
information on the need for and
benefits of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services as well as
detail of the various enhancement techniques developed as part of
this project. And that
BCA and Vision Australia Foundation use this video to engender
support from the Broadcasting Industry, consumer products
manufacturers, regulators and
the community for the establishment of permanent Audio
Enhancement Services across Australia.
That the Working Party responsible for the development of a DDA
Standard on Access to Commonwealth Government Information give
consideration to the inclusion
within this Standard of specific provisions relating to access to
Commonwealth information distributed via broadcast Television
That a Broadcast Industry Seminar be convened to inform
television production and broadcast organisations on the
Disability Discrimination Act Action Plan
process and its potential to encompass strategies toward the
implementation of Audio Enhancement Services.
That the Digital Television Consultative Group, established by
the Minister

for Communications Information Technology and the Arts, establish
a sub-committee to investigate matters pertaining to the
transmission and reception of
comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services as part of the DTTB
platform.

7. That a Standard be developed, under authority of the
Broadcasting Services Act, that will ensure the availability of
Audio Enhancement on Australian
television, at the same level as that mandated for closed
captioning, within five years of the introduction of Digital
Television Services.

8. That an Audio Enhancement Pilot Service be established; to
operate over a minimum twelve period; to provide a focus for the
development of Audio Enhancement
techniques and production standards; and to work in close
co-operation with television broadcasters toward the integration
of comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services into the Australian Broadcast Television System.

WHEN A WORD IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

IMPROVED TELEVISION ACCESS FOR BLIND VIEWERS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

1. INTRODUCTION

Television is established as the primary information and
entertainment medium for the Australian community. The Australian
Broadcasting Authority has concluded
that 84% of the population watch television on a daily basis
(ABA Update October 1995).

Within the mix of programs, advertisements and other material
that makes up

television transmission, is a huge amount of material which we
rely on for news, sporting and other general information,
education, informing our purchase
of goods and services, enhancing our knowledge in specialised
subject areas and general entertainment. However, viewers who are
blind or vision impaired
are denied access to much of this content.

This deprivation is a result of:
the broadcast of vision only information, such as sports and
lottery results, advertisers contact details and price
information, talent identification and
text based captioning of foreign language material;
reliance on on-screen action which is not supported with dialogue
or other audible cues;
coverage of sport, news and other events that is supported by
comment rather than direct description of the action.

As a result, people who are blind or experience a severe vision
impairment are

handicapped in their participation in community life.

Television content can be classified into distinct elements:

- pre-recorded drama, comedy etc;

- live entertainment;

- scenic documentary;

- head to head interview, chat shows etc;

- coverage of sport and other events;

- "show and tell" - infotainment type programs;

- information segments - sports results, weather etc;

- cartoon style presentation;

- news coverage - which uses many of these elements in short
segments;

- advertising - which draws on all of these elements from time to
time.

Our contention was that the level of deprivation to the blind
viewer varies across these content elements. Little, if any, work
has been done to identify
its extent and thus the degree to which the program maker or
advertiser's message falls short of a significant part of the
target audience.

There are however methods available to redress this situation. A
process variously known as Audio Description or Described Video
is in development and limited
use in North America and the United Kingdom. In the main, this
technique has been used in association with pre-recorded
programming, including drama and
documentary type productions, where a secondary sound track is
introduced which includes a pre-scripted description of the scene
and on-screen action.
This service is delivered via a supplementary audio channel which
is transmitted in association with the broadcast and available
through decoding equipment
supplied to the viewer.

In Australia, valuable work has been done to enhance the value of
television to the blind viewer by adding ball by ball description
to televised sports
coverage;

description of the scene and on-screen action in TV drama; and
detailed description of special events such as street parades.
Access to a secondary audio
channel has not been available in Australia so delivery of this
descriptive information has been via Australia's Radio for the
Print Handicapped Services,
particularly 3RPH Melbourne, which has made available broadcast
time to simulcast with commercial television networks. With the
benefit of international
time differences, this technique is used on a regular basis in
Melbourne to provide description of major international tennis
events that are shown live
by the television networks overnight.

In North America the availability of Audio Description has been
limited, as virtually all description is pre-scripted and timed
so that it fits well into
the natural dialogue or commentary breaks in the production. For
this reason, it is a costly adjunct to television production and
is only offered with
a few hours programming each week.

It is our view that forms of "Audio Enhancement" can be
introduced on a more cost effective, less formal basis, inserted
in real-time in association with
much of the television content broadcast in Australia. Our
overriding goal remains that Audio Enhancement should be as
widely available as Closed Captioning
is for deaf people.

2. BACKGROUND

With the release in 1997 of the Final Report of the Australian
Broadcasting

Authority's Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Specialist Group,
(Digital Television Broadcasting in Australia; Australian
Broadcasting Authority; 1997) and the Government's commitment to
work toward Digital Television
implementation, it was timely that these issues be addressed.
Digital Television not only provides a delivery platform that
will readily accommodate supplementary
audio channels for this and other uses, but the regulatory review
that is occurring as part of the policy development process
provides an opportunity for
Audio Enhancement to become a formal part of the delivery system.
This is already happening in the UK for example, where the
Broadcasting Act now includes
targets for the inclusion of Audio Description, linked to Digital
Terrestrial Television Broadcasting.

2.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES

In its report
"Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Australia" the
Australian Broadcasting Authority's Specialist Group on Digital
Terrestrial Broadcasting
notes (page 82)

"Other Features of DTTB (Digital Terrestrial Television
Broadcasting)

DTTB's multi-channel sound delivery capability might also be used
in

innovative ways to provide further support to persons with
disabilities.

One suggestion has been made that audio description services
could be

provided in conjunction with some types of television programs.
The

precise need, demand and costs associated with such services have
not been defined. At this stage the Specialist Group has noted
the potential

application for further consideration by service providers
because they are

not likely to be constrained by the system decisions."

Encouraged by this identification of a potential delivery
platform for Audio

Enhancement and given the expectations placed on the Industry by
the Disability Discrimination Act and other Government policy,
Blind Citizens Australia
and the Vision Australia Foundation looked to the conduct of a
project which would:

1. Identify and report on the extent and level of deprivation
that is

common across the various elements of television content in
Australia:

2. Identify and document enhancement techniques that address the

information deprivation experienced by blind and vision impaired

viewers:

3. Assess the Regulatory and Industry Environment that is
underpinning

Audio Description development in Europe and North America:

4. Assess the opportunities that will arise as a result of
Digital Television

implementation for the introduction of comprehensive Audio

Enhancement Services in association with broadcast television
services.

2.2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

This work has been undertaken as a co-operative venture with
funding support from the Commonwealth's National Disability
Grants Research Fund.

Blind Citizens Australia is the united voice of blind and vision
impaired Australians. It is governed by a Council of its members
and provides a national
advocacy service on behalf of all Australians who experience
print handicap as a result of vision loss or other disability.

The Vision Australia Foundation provides a range of low vision,
rehabilitation, peer support and information services across
Victoria. It is governed by
a Board of fifteen, including seven Directors elected from among
its service customers. It currently provides Radio for the Print
Handicapped Services
through 3RPH Melbourne and 3MPH Mildura and is a substantial
program provider to RPH Network Stations throughout Australia.
Vision Australia also hosts
an Audio Description Service for theatre patrons in Melbourne and
has pioneered radio based audio description in Australia. It has
a major commitment to
information services and is currently working to establish RPH
Stations across Victoria and a National Information Centre in
Melbourne.

Within its national policy development work, Blind Citizens
Australia has, for many years, advocated for the needs of blind
people, as users of television
services, to be addressed. It has a formal policy position on the
use of "vision only information" on Broadcast Television and has
made direct representations
to the ABC, SBS and commercial networks on this issue and the
need for comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services.

Both Blind Citizens Australia and the Vision Australia Foundation
are strong

advocates for the principles of equity and equality that underpin
the Disability

Discrimination Act, Commonwealth Disability Strategy and broader
disability policy. They are also fully committed to the
application of emerging communications
and information technologies to address the needs of people with
disabilities.

The Principal Consultant undertaking this work has been John
Simpson. John has undertaken several disability related research
projects with a consumer focus.
As former Executive Officer with Blind Citizens Australia and
current Executive Officer with RPH Australia, he has a well
developed understanding of and
empathy for consumer needs and expectations. This is matched by
his expertise in matters relating to the application of current
and future technologies
to address the needs of people with a disability.

The Project's Technical Support Consultant was Dale Simpson, an
Audio Engineer with ten years experience in producing spoken word
material for print disabled
people. Dale manages Information Alternatives, a specialist audio
production organisation, and has enjoyed a long involvement with
RPH broadcasting where
he has undertaken technical production for much of the network's
Audio Description coverage of major events. He has worked as the
principal technical producer
for the network's coverage of major tennis events and was
responsible for development of the various operational protocols
and standards that underpin
these broadcasts.

2.2.1 Acknowledgments

This Project was conducted with the active support and
involvement of a panel of thirteen blind and vision impaired
television viewers. This group comprised
the Consumer Panel for the Deprivation Study and contributed
feedback to the

Consultants during development of the Audio Enhancement
techniques and Exemplars described in this report. It is
indicative of their assessment of the value
of Audio Description that all Group members have indicated there
willingness to provide ongoing voluntary support toward the
introduction to Australia
of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services. We thank all
Consumer Panel members for their contribution and commitment to
the project. The constructive
feedback that we have received, particularly in relation to the
development of Audio Enhancement Exemplars, has been highly
valued by the Project Team.

Valuable technical and policy advice was provided by the Project
Advisory Group which included:
William Jolley, BCA Executive Officer and Project Manager;
Geoff Payne, General Manager Information Services, Vision
Australia

Foundation;
Stephen Jolley, Manager RPH Services, Vision Australia
Foundation;
Peter Simpson, Engineering Manager with HSV Channel Seven
Melbourne.

We thank all Advisory Group members for their input to the
project and take this opportunity to acknowledge the technical
support received from HSV Channel
Seven Melbourne.

Finally, our work in producing sample material for review by the
Consumer Panel and the Audio Enhancement Exemplars that form an
integral part of this work
was made possible because of the skill and dedication offered by
our team of Audio Describers.

We thank Marje Westh, Brian Collier and Ray Lord for their work
in describing

sample material for review by the Consumer Panel and we thank and
congratulate Victoria Howell for her expertise and dedication in
scripting and narrating
much of the Exemplar material.

3. BLIND AND VISION IMPAIRED TV VIEWERS

Any assessment of the value of Audio Enhancement Services to
blind and vision

impaired viewers is dependent on an understanding of the usage
that such people make of television.

While no comprehensive research in this area has been undertaken
in Australia, survey work undertaken by the American Foundation
for the Blind and the Bavarian
Blind Union in Germany provide useful information that we believe
can be applied generally to the Australian situation.

As reported below we have tested this contention through the
conduct of an

informal usage survey among fifty five blind or vision impaired
Australians.

3.1 AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND RESEARCH

In 1994 the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) received from
the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services a two
year grant to study
Described Video's audience and methods of distribution.

This study investigated the actual and potential audiences for
video description and determined the range of methods of delivery
that are potentially available.
Two surveys were conducted:
a telephone survey of a sample of vision impaired individuals
throughout the country;
and a written survey (in large print and braille) of a sample of
people currently on the mailing list of the largest producer and
distributor of Video Description.

In addition, secondary analyses were conducted of major Federal
Databases which contain relevant social-demographic information
about people who are blind
or vision impaired.

One of the outcomes of this work was the Publication
"Who's Watching? A Profile of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Audience for Television and Video" (Jaclyn Packer & Corinne
Kichner, American Foundation for
the Blind, 1997)

In determining the need for and anticipated usage of Audio
Enhancement Service in Australia we have drawn heavily on this
work.

The following extract from the Report's introduction provides a
most helpful

snapshot of the US situation and likely Australian scenario.

"Who is the Blind and Visually Impaired Audience for Television
and Video?

This audience, hardly a homogeneous group, encompasses people
who,

like the general audience for television and videotapes, have
varied

interests, priorities, and amounts of available leisure time.
They represent

all levels of education and income, and all races and ethnic
groups.

Additionally, the blind and visually impaired audience is made up
of people with varied levels of vision, ranging from those whose
only difficulty is reading
printed words on the television screen, to those who can see most
of the action but find the images blurry, to those who can pick
up very little of what
is on their screen, to those who have no vision at all. It is
estimated that in the United States there are 10 million people
who, even while wearing their
glasses, are visually impaired (McNeil, 1993). This report
focuses on the 6.5 million adults among them who are more
severely visually impaired, according
to a special analysis of federal health data (UCSF/RRTC, 1996).

While there are blind and visually impaired people in every age
group, the oldest age groups have the largest concentration of
them. Since older

people are the fastest growing age group in the United States,
the number of blind and visually impaired persons is expected to
increase.

Because so many people watch television and videos on a regular
basis,

those with visual impairments already make up a substantial part
of the

viewing audience. In fact, as viewers, they are similar in most
ways to the

general audience; as a group, they watch television and
videotapes in

similar numbers and with similar frequency to the general
population, and - our research suggests - they have similar
tastes and preferences in

programming.

Isn't Viewing TV and Video Frustrating for People Who Are Blind
or

Visually Impaired?

Yes, because television and video are primarily visual.
Programming often is difficult to understand if one is only
hearing it, or hearing it along with
seeing it, but poorly. Many visually impaired people have had the

frustrating experience of, say, listening to a chase scene for
which they

hear lots of tire squeals, crashes, and gun shots, but no
dialogue that

explains the action. Others have watched a one hour television
mystery,

following and enjoying it for 58 minutes until, at the climax,
the show

turns dramatically silent and reveals the ending in a visual way
- that's

who killed Mr. X!

Many visually impaired people prefer to watch with a sighted
friend or

relative who explains enough parts of the presentations to make
them

aware of important elements that are presented only visually.
However,

the visually impaired person may not have someone available who
can

describe programming to him or her, or may wish to watch some
shows

alone. In addition, impromptu description, while better than
nothing,

leaves much to be desired. First, enjoyment of the show is
reduced for the person describing by the responsibility of doing
so. Second, it happens that,
just at the moment one thing is being described, another more
important incident is missed, detracting from the viewing
experience of the visually impaired
person, the person describing, and anyone else in the room
watching. Third, the person describing simply may not be good at
it.

Besides frustration while watching television and videos, many
people who are blind or visually impaired feel "left out" because
they miss information that
sighted people easily get in this culture where television and
films play such a large part. Not only do they lack information
or have to work harder to
obtain information readily available to others, but they also are
at a social disadvantage when they are not able to discuss
popular topics like current
movies or last night's TV sit-com. Co-called "water cooler"
discussions play a large part in adult social interaction, and
similar types of discussions
may play an even larger role in the lives of children and
teenagers; being unable to participate fully limits interactions
and can negatively effect one's
self-concept.

Is There a Solution to the TV and Video Viewing Problems of
People who are blind or Visually Impaired?

Yes--Video Description is a solution. Whenever possible all forms
of media should be made accessible to everyone, regardless of
disability. A special technique
called "video description", in existence since th3e mid 1980s,
opens the possibility of full access to television and video for
people who are blind or
visually impaired.......

Why is Video Description Important?

Adding video description to a soundtrack is likely to increase
the size of

the audience of blind and visually impaired people for a
videotape or

television show, and is almost certain to enhance the viewing
experience

for the existing as well as the future audience of blind and
visually

impaired persons, plus family and friends who view the programs
with them. Those who are visually impaired are within the
demographic groups that watch
the most television (Papazian, 1996) as they are
disproportionately older and are less likely to be employed.

In addition to the benefits for people with visual impairments,
there is

some evidence that video description helps people with cognitive

impairments or learning disabilities understand and enjoy
programming.

It also has been shown that people without disabilities have
interest in

description, in situations where it is inconvenient to pay
attention

continuously or at all to the visual aspects of a show. For
instance, they

might enjoy listening to television while doing housework or
receiving

description over the radio or on audio cassette while driving.
This

parallels the situation with closed captioning in which people
who do not

have hearing impairments have found captioning to be convenient
when the audio aspects of a show are difficult or impossible to
hear, such as in a crowded
bar or health club or at a train station or airport."

3.2 EUROPEAN RESEARCH

Our review of the available literature has only revealed one
study of the potential audio description audience in Europe. This
was a survey of blind and
vision impaired people undertaken by the Bavarian Blind Union and
reported in the January 1997 edition of The European AUDETEL
Project Newsletter.

The Bavarian Blind Union has conducted a survey on audio
description of

television. Results show a strong interest in audio description.

Questionnaires were sent to 2600 visually impaired people aged 20
- 60

and nearly half responded. The key findings are:

- 97% own a television set;

- 81% watch television regularly;

- 90% would like audio description of television;

- 92% would like the Bavarian Blind Union to promote regular
audio

description of television programs.

Respondents would like audio description for specific programme

categories:

- 19% for talk shows;

- 31% for magazine programmes;

- 36% for westerns;

- 38% for news programmes;

- 39% for sports programmes;

- 52% for documentaries;

- 60% for police drama series;

- 82% for television films.

3.3 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

As indicated above, there has been no comprehensive assessment of
television

usage by blind and vision impaired people in Australia

While we believe that the AFB study is widely applicable in
Australia we were keen to undertake at least an informal survey
to test the validity of this
assumption. To this end a sampling of blind and vision impaired
people were asked to complete a brief questionnaire. Respondents
came from two sources:
The thirteen blind and vision impaired people who comprised our
Consumer consultative group each answered the questionnaire which
appears as attachment
One as part of their introduction to the project.
42 members of Internet discussion lists comprised of blind and
vision impaired people responded to the questionnaire which
appears as Attachment Two.

The combined response of 55 blind or vision impaired people can
be summarised as follows:

52 of 55 respondents indicated that they own or are part of a
household

that owns a television set;

51 of 52 respondents indicated that they watch TV for at least
four

hours per week:

10 of 52 respondents indicated that they watch TV for 20 or more

hours each week;

39 of 52 respondents indicated that they do at least some of
their

viewing without someone on hand to interpret the visual aspects
to

them;

35 of 52 respondents indicated that issues of access to the
content

determine their choice of program types;

27 of the 42 Internet respondents indicated that they had viewed
audio described material at least once; (Consumer Panel Members
were not

asked this question).

25 of this 27 considered that the audio description had added to
their understanding of the program(s). One indicated that the
experience had been two short
to make such a judgement and the other indicated that he
considered his sight level did not limit his understanding of the
content.

Clearly, for this group at least, TV viewing is an important
aspect of life. For many however, their experience is lessened by
the need to consider access
issues when making program choices. For those who had some
experience of Audio Description its potential to add to their
viewing understanding and enjoyment
was clear.

4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUDIO DESCRIPTION?

4.1. WHAT IS AUDIO DESCRIPTION

The term "Audio Description" is applied to the process of
providing for blind and

vision impaired people a verbal description to support their
understanding of a

location, event or exhibit. Audio description services are best
developed in the

United States where Audio Describers, most often on a voluntary
basis, provide

descriptions of live theatre; works of art and museum exhibits;
sport and other

public events; large format movie presentations; broadcast and
cable television and home videos.

While there is anecdotal evidence of audio description provision
from the 1970s it is generally recognised that the service was
established on an ongoing
and organised basis when Margaret and Coby Pfanstiehl established
"The Metropolitan Washington Ear" as an ongoing Audio Description
Service in the Washington
DC area, in 1981.

Audio description services now operate across the United States
offering

description on a scheduled basis in theatres movie venues,
museums and art

galleries, and for major public events. Often these services
operate in close co-

operation with captioning services for the deaf and frequently
audio described

theatre performances are linked to opportunities for blind and
vision impaired

patrons to inspect the sets, costumes and props used in the
production and to meet and interact with cast members.

Audio description in theatres and similar venues is usually
delivered through the transmission of a magnetic field, radio
frequency or infrared signal which
is received by the patron through a small unit equipped with an
ear piece, or similar, for private listening.

Description of a live theatrical performance or movie
presentation will include

background information such as the layout and features of the
set, costumes and appearance of the characters. This is often
provided in advance of the presentation
and the detailed description of the action and changing scene is
inserted in the natural breaks in dialogue throughout the
performance.

4.2 VIDEO DESCRIPTION

Experiments in describing broadcast television and videos
occurred in the US from the early 1980s. There are now two major
providers of this service.

4.2.1 Descriptive Video Services

WGBH is a member station and major program contributor to the
Public

Broadcasting Service. "Descriptive Video Services" was
established in 1986 and

now functions as a separate division within WGBH. The following
extract from the WGBH website provides an insight into the DVS
Service.

"What is Descriptive Video Service?

Descriptive Video Service (DVS) is a national service that makes
Public

Broadcasting Service (PBS) television programs, Hollywood movies
and

other visual media accessible to people who are blind or visually
impaired. DVS provides narrated descriptions of the key visual
elements without interfering
with the audio or dialogue of a program or movie.

The narration describes visual elements such as actions,
settings, body

language and graphics. DVS was launched nationally in 1990 by the

WGBH Educational Foundation, producer of many prime time public

television programs and leader in the development of accessible
media.

How does a viewer watch DVS on Television?

A viewer must live within range of a PBS Station that carries DVS
and

must have a stereo TV or a stereo VCR that includes the Second
Audio

Program (SAP) feature, standard on most newer stereo televisions
and

video cassette recorders. Inexpensive receivers that convert TV
sets to

stereo with SAP also can be purchased. Viewers who subscribe to
cable

should ask the cable company to "pass through" stereo with SAP."
(DVS and How it Works; WGBH/DVS Brochure;
www.wgbh.org;
June 1999)

Public Broadcasting Service programming is networked to
affiliated stations across the US. DVS currently promote the
availability of described programming
on 159 of these stations in 36 States (September 1999). Between
five and eight hours of described programming is broadcast each
week, including a daily
childrens' program. Other material includes high budget drama and
documentary series, such as "Nature", "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre"
and "Mystery".

A comparison between the DVS program guide and the schedules for
Australian broadcasters reveals that often documentary features
aired on ABC and SBS have
been enhanced with Video Description for their original American
audience. A notable recent example was "The American Experience"
feature "McArthur" aired
on ABC TV earlier this year (1999).

DVS via Public Broadcasting Service affiliates is delivered as a
closed component of the broadcast television signal. As an
adjunct to the stereo sound
component of Television in the US and elsewhere there is a
Secondary Audio Program (SAP) feature. This was originally
designed to meet the need for bilingual
audio delivery and can be accessed via a switch which is provided
as a near standard feature on stereo TV and VCRs sold in the US.
When the SAP channel
is accessed and video description is being delivered the viewer
receives a mix of the normal program sound overlayed with the
description.

Stand alone SAP receivers are also available. These are
relatively portable although some have fixed tuning to the local
PBS Service so only provide access
to described programming within the service area of the
designated station.

As many of the Radio Reading Services available across the US
have developed

close relationships with their local PBS provider, described
programming is often broadcast as a simulcast with its TV
transmission. This further extends
its

availability although as US Radio Reading Services are often
provided as a closed service receivable on a pre-tuned receiver
portability of access is again
often limited to the local coverage area. The DVS website
currently lists 30 Radio Reading Services across eighteen States
that regularly broadcast DVS
programming (September 1999).

4.2.2 DVS on Cable.

DVS also provides described feature length movies to a number of
cable providers and most notably to the Turner Classic Movie
Service. TCM currently broadcasts
around 30 described movies each month. While these are mostly
aired outside prime viewing hours they are well spread throughout
the day and a described
feature film goes to air at 6.00 pm each Sunday evening. TCM
currently list 75 described movies in their broadcast list
(September 1999). These include
many popular classics.

Described movies delivered through cable providers such as Turner
Classic Movies are broadcast in an open format so the
"Description" is heard by all viewers
of the program.

4.2.3 Audio Described Home Videos

DVS also offers a range of described Hollywood movies and PBS
programming to the home video market. The current catalogue lists
more than 200 titles

(September 1999). These are available for purchase by direct
mail; through many public libraries; and through commercial
rental outlets such as Blockbuster
Stores.

Again these products are provided in an open format so the viewer
needs only a regular VHS video cassette recorder and a television
to watch these videos
and hear the description.

4.2.4 Narrative TV

Narrative Television Network (NTN) was established in 1988:

"to make movies and television programming accessible to blind
and

visually impaired people through Narration, an "extra" voice
added to

the show to describe the visual elements of the story."
(Narrative

Television Network, Opening the world of entertainment to blind
and

visually impaired people;
www.narrativetv.com;
July 1999)

NTN programming is distributed via 1200 broadcast and cable
outlets across the US. Their Website claims an audience reach of
some 25 million homes. They
note that while the service is designed to meet the needs of
people who are blind or vision impaired 60% of there audience is
made up of fully sighted
people who simply enjoy the programming.

NTN's programming format is to preview the described program with
a talk or

interview style program often featuring interviews with Actors,
Producers or

Directors responsible for the production.

Around twenty hours of programming is provided each week. The
narration is

added to the program soundtrack and broadcast in an open format
so is accessible to all viewers. No special equipment is needed
for use of the service.

NTN has affiliations with major Cable providers in the US such as
Nostalgia

Television and Kaleidoscope Television; it is available via an
open satellite service; is distributed throughout Canada on "The
Family Channel; and is available
in ten other countries including New Zealand.

Like DVS, NTN receives major funding support from the US
Government, directed in the main through the Department of
Education. Some of NTN's library of
more than 200 movie titles are available to view via

their website at
narrativetv.com.

4.3 EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT

Much of the early history of audio described television in Europe
is linked to the

AUDETEL Project, a joint European Community initiative which
brings together the TV Broadcasting Industry, equipment
manufacturers and disability service

organisations. Although established some ten years ago this
consortium has not yet achieved ongoing broadcast of described
programming.

4.3.1 Developments in the UK

A detailed AUDETEL trial was conducted in England some years ago.
Something of the early history of AUDETEL and this trial is
detailed in the following,
which is extracted from a presentation made by representatives of
the Independent Television Commission, Independent Television
Association and BBC to
the International Broadcasting Convention in September 1994.

"In late 1991 an international group of broadcasters,
manufacturers and

organisations with an interest in elderly and visually impaired
people,

came together to form the AUDETEL Consortium. Its objective was
to

perform a thorough investigation into the technical, logistic and
economic

possibilities of providing a descriptive commentary of television
which would enhance programme enjoyment and comprehension for
visually impaired people.
Such a commentary provides a carefully crafted description of
actions, locations, body language and facial expressions in the
gaps between normal programme
dialogue. What began as a service concept for helping people who
had difficulty seeing the television screen,

however, has since been recognised to have hugely wider
potential.

General studies of television viewing habits, increasingly show
that

viewers do not always want to fix their visual attention on the
screen, but

instead wish to direct it towards a range of domestic activities
or

past times such as cooking. One major survey for example, carried
out by

face-to-face interview with 1185 respondents in their homes,
revealed

that 39% of viewers often or occasionally "watched" television
just for

background while doing other things. Not only would an AUDETEL

commentary be invaluable to these people, but more especially to
those

who spend time travelling and listening to personal or in-car
audio cassette players. Recorded AUDETEL description could allow
a listener to catch up with
a previous night's "soap" or even enjoy a movie."

.......

"At the time of writing, (June 94) these developments are about
to

culminate in the launch of national test transmissions to a
population of

about 140 prototype receivers throughout the UK. These tests will
last at

least 4 months, during which about 3 hours of described programs
per week will be carried on the ITV and BBC Networks. Just over
half of the

receivers are being installed in the homes of a carefully
selected population of users who will have the opportunity to
experience the broadcast and to
report there experiences to a researcher during individual
interviews.

The Delivery Challenge

A major technical challenge for AUDETEL was to develop an
economic

method of conveying the voice of the describer within existing
European

television systems. These not only, do not have a spare audio
channel but do not have the available spectrum capacity to create
one. It was here that digital
speech compression technology was able to offer a potential
solution, operating via one of two possible transport mechanisms;
NICAM or teletext....

Development of the first Prototypes

The first prototype system was designed to be carried in the
spare NICAM

capacity with speech transmission at 9.5kbit/s (and with 1.5
kbit/s of

control data).

After specifications were drawn-up with the EBU for the use of
this capacity, the system was built by both NTL working under
contract to the ITC and R E
Technology of Copenhagen. Another key system feature incorporated
here for the first time was "fade signalling" which instructs the
receiver to reduce
its background programme sound level while the description is
being inserted. This is important, particularly for elderly
listeners, who commonly experience
the difficulty (presbycusis) whereby they become increasingly
less able to interpret speech in the presence of background
sounds such as traffic noise
or restaurant "hubbub".

The first over-the-air trial using the NICAM variant was carried
out in the

London area in December 1992. Although the experiments
successfully

confirmed the operation of the system, tests had to be rapidly
discontinued when complaints began to arrive from television
retailers that normal NICAM
reception was being effected......

AUDETEL TEST TRANSMISSION

The work of AUDETEL is about to reach its peak with a major trial
of

described broadcasts which will be receivable by 140 receivers
throughout the UK. A vital aspect of these test transmissions is
not only to gain feedback
from selected individuals who will be loaned receivers but also
to perform a full economic analysis of the production costs in
describing on a regular
basis and against real scheduling deadlines. Current estimates
reveal that it takes between 15 and 30 hours to describe one hour
of program, depending
on whether it is a simple "soap" or all action movie. Records of
time expended using the workstation will show whether increased
efficiency has occurred.

The test transmissions will broadcast for about 3 hours per week
and will

be shared between BBC and ITV programmes. Two experienced
describers have been appointed to support the trials in addition
to the current AUDETEL describer,
and each has his/her own workstation
." (AUDETEL, Audio Described Television - the Launch of National
Test Transmissions; N K Lodge, N W Green and J P Nunn;
International Broadcasting Convention;

September 1994)

An item on the Website of the Royal National Institute for the
Blind (RNIB) (Audio Description on Television - Coming to a
television set near you!; 1998;

www.rnib.org.uk/wedo/research/european/audetel)
records details of the AUDETEL trial.

"The research and development culminated in the production of a
small

number of prototype receivers, and the broadcasting by the BBC
and ITV

Network of three to four hours of audio described programmes a
week for four months in 1994.

Fifty receivers were placed in the homes of visually impaired
television

viewers. These were moved once during the test period to provide
100

participants in the important viewer reaction research that was
conducted

during that period. These viewers were selected at random from an
RNIB

database of 60,000 visually impaired people; in order to gather
objective

and systematic feedback, and reflect the overall visually
impaired

population. This is a standard approach for audience research.

A wide range of programmes were described during the AUDETEL
test.

They included episodes of Coronation Street, The Bill, Cracker
and

Taggart; comedies such as One Foot in the Grave; wildlife series
such as

Realms of the Russian Bear; documentaries and many films,
including

Beetlejuice, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Truly Madly
Deeply, and

Black Widow.

The data collected from the viewers shows that the majority of
them

welcomed the addition of audio description as it considerably
enhanced

their enjoyment of television programmes. Description of facial

expressions were very popular, especially when people's emotions
were

crucial to the plot. Two comments were "I enjoyed Taggart for the
first

time in my life I could really understand it" and "AUDETEL really
made

Roughnecks come alive".

The next major development toward the ongoing delivery of audio
description

services in the UK occurred in July 1996 when a new Broadcasting
Act was

introduced to provide for the implementation of Digital
Terrestrial Television

Broadcasting. This Legislation includes provisions that mandate a
requirement for at least 10% of broadcast programmes to include
audio description by the
10th year of their digital licence.

"An Explanatory guide to the provisions introduced by the
Broadcasting Act 1996" includes the following:

"
Provisions for viewers with Sensory Disabilities.

The Act provides that the ITC should publish a Code giving
Guidance on

provision for viewers with sensory impairments. This Code will
form part of Broadcasters' licence conditions and will require 
that by the tenth anniversary of the introduction of any digital 
programme service not less than 50% of non-exempt programme hours 
broadcast in the service should be subtitled and not less than 
10% of non-exempt programme hours broadcast should
be presented with audio description. The Secretary of State also
announced in the House of Commons during Report Stage that she
intends to introduce by
order at the earliest possible opportunity a parallel 5% target
for sign language.

The Act provides for the ITC's Code to exclude some types of
"exempt"

programmes for which it considers this level of assistance to be

unachievable, from the targets on the face of the Act and set
lower targets for those programmes. The ITC will do this only
after consulting both broadcasters
and organisations representing people with sensory

impairments. It should be emphasised that these exclusions will
be the

exception rather than the rule; the majority of programmes should
be

subject to the targets set out on the face of the Act.

There are currently no requirements on Channels 3, 4, or 5
regarding sign language or audio description. The new Code and
targets will however apply to
the digital simulcasts of their existing analogue services.

All these targets are amendable by order and the Secretary of
State will

have the power to increase them to reflect future technological
advances.

(Explanatory Memorandum, Television Broadcasting Services"
(Digital

Conversion) Bill 1996;
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/96055-h).

4.3.2 RNIB Home Videos

In parallel with its work toward the introduction of
comprehensive Audio

Described Television Services the RNIB has established an Audio
Described

Videos service. A range of more than fifty feature length movies
is available

for purchase or loan (June 1999) and the loan service is
available either

directly from RNIB or through Blockbuster Video Stores across the
country.

Most titles have been narrated in England by audio describers
commissioned

specifically for this work however the range also includes some
features

supplied by DVS in Boston.

As an adjunct to this service RNIB also has available a smaller
range of

documentary features, largely related to modern British history,
where the

original narration of the work is deemed to be adequate for a
blind viewer and

description has not been added.

4.3.3 Other European Developments

While the AUDETEL Project includes the involvement of
Broadcasters,

manufacturers and Community Organisations across the European
Community we were not able to identify manifestations of the
project in other European

Countries during this research.

5. AUDIO ENHANCEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

5.1 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT AND RPH

In Australia the history of audio description of television is
closely linked to that of our Radio for the Print Handicapped
Services. To this time all
Audio Enhancement of broadcast television, provided for the
direct benefit of blind or vision impaired viewers has been
delivered as a simulcast transmission
from the RPH services.

By 1983 RPH Stations were established and operating on an
extended hours basis in several State Capital Cities. In
Melbourne the 3RPH licence was held by
a Co-Operative which involved several blind people as well as
representatives of the major blindness service provision
organisations. It was from among
this group that the idea of using the RPH service as an outlet
for providing ball by ball description of international tennis
came. Tennis events such
as Wimbledon, the US and French Open Tournaments and the annual
Davis Cup Competition were of interest to a substantial number of
blind people and were
broadcast via Australian commercial television networks, often
during overnight hours. As such, tennis description could be
carried on 3RPH without detriment
to normal programming.

Regular coverage of major international tennis events began with
coverage of the 1983 Wimbledon Tournament. It has operated each
year since, with the co-operation
of the TV networks who give permission for their court-side sound
and commentary to be intermixed with ball by ball description
added in the 3RPH studios.
The Description is provided by leading sports callers who give
their time on a voluntary basis for the project.

The strategy of providing enhancement to television coverage of
major events was then extended to coverage of Melbourne's annual
Moomba Parade and then
to description of Australian made television drama series such as
"Man from Snowy River", "Law of the Lands" and more recently the
police drama series
"Water Rats".

Originally 3RPH sourced the television sound from an off-air
receiver however the various television providers now make
available clean-feeds of the source
program with the advantage that inappropriate content such as
commercials, program promotions and the like can be readily
eliminated from the modified,
radio delivered sound track.

Although coverage of international tennis has now become a much
anticipated part of the 3RPH programming schedule and description
of some Australian drama
series is keenly sought by many, two factors have mitigated
against the extension of Audio Enhancement of television in
Australia.
Firstly, while 3RPH and its parent organisation the Vision
Australia Foundation remain committed to the provision of
comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services,
their only available delivery mechanism is via the RPH Service.
As such every decision to provide description has to be balanced
against other programming
needs. In general, while the audience values the opportunity to
enjoy Described Television there is resistance to this service
provision being at the expense
of core RPH content.
Secondly, until quite recently it has not been feasible to extend
the service to other parts of the country. While 3RPH is
relatively well resourced with
facilities and volunteer support, as part of a larger Disability
Service Organisation, this is not the case with other RPH
providers who are all smaller
stand alone organisations. As such they have not been able to
direct there resources to duplicating the 3RPH commitment to
Audio Enhancement and until
recently there has not been an affordable means of relaying the
3RPH material to its sister stations.

It is however now possible to relay Audio Enhancement to other
parts of the

country as the RPH Services have access to a satellite audio
channel that is used for program distribution from Melbourne to a
regional service in the Mildura
area and for program transfer to other stations. As a result of
this development coverage of the 1999 Wimbledon tournament was
carried from Melbourne to
Mildura and Hobart.

This system is however not totally satisfactory as the digital
compression and

transmission time involved with the satellite link from Melbourne
introduces a small but noticeable delay to the signal in
comparison to the television
distribution, so the enhanced sound is out of synch with the
television sound and action for the viewer/listener in a remote
location.

An interesting bi-product of the 3RPH Tennis coverage occurred
recently as a result of the involvement of commercial and ABC
radio personnel in the project.
In early 1999 the Australian team unexpectedly made the final of
the Hopman Cup Tennis Tournament in Perth. While ABC television
had the broadcast rights
for the event no arrangements were in place for radio coverage of
the finals as part of the ABC Radio Grandstand program. Using the
skill acquired through
his involvement in RPH tennis coverage over several years ABC
Radio News presenter Rohan Forster provided a comprehensive ball
by ball commentary of both
the Mens and Womens' Finals working from the television picture
and court-side sound received in Melbourne.

5.2 DESCRIBED HOME VIDEOS IN AUSTRALIA

As reported above, the provision of audio described television in
both the US and UK is closely linked to the provision for sale or
rental of described
videos.

While a little experimental work has been done in Australia to
this end, there is no ongoing production and availability of
local product. However, some
of the Talking Book Library Services are importing titles from
both Descriptive Video Services in the US and the Royal National
Institute for the Blind
in the UK.

In particular, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind has
developed a Video

Library Service within its Library and Information Services Unit.
As at May of 1999 the library had a selection of some 51 titles
available and had recorded

approximately 450 loans to its registered borrowers. At the time
of our inquiry the library was holding a further 206 loan
requests.

6. THE DEPRIVATION STUDY

PROJECT OBJECTIVE ONE: To identify and report on the extent and
level of deprivation that is common across the various elements
of television content in
Australia.

If blind and vision impaired viewers in Australia are to have the
benefit of Audio Enhancement to support their use and enjoyment
of broadcast television
it is necessary to demonstrate the extent to which they are
currently deprived of access to the information and entertainment
content of the medium.

Television content is produced and broadcast so as to be
attractive to the broadest possible audience. The program maker
wants his work to be enjoyed and
his message to be understood by all who view his work: the
advertiser wants to communicate with all those with a potential
interest in his product or service.
By demonstrating that much of this creative effort falls short of
a significant section of the viewing public we seek to enlist the
support of programmers
and advertisers in our quest for the provision of comprehensive
Audio Enhancement Services.

6.1 WORKSHOP METHODOLOGY

This study was undertaken through the conduct of a two day
workshop involving a group of twelve blind and vision impaired
television viewers. This Group
was recruited from the start of the project to provide input to
the Deprivation Study and feedback on the sample material
produced later in the project.

Our methodology for this study was to ask blind and vision
impaired workshop

participants to respond to a particular question, or questions,
in relation to their

viewing of a program segment or advertisement. These questions
were designed to draw out the participants on their understanding
of the material they had
viewed.

Responses were then rated against benchmark figures that had been
established for each clip and the score across the blind and the
vision impaired sub-groups
were expressed as a percentage to indicate the approximate
proportion of the segment content that had been identified by the
viewing group.

Television content was divided into the following types:

- pre-recorded drama and situation comedy;

- entertainment, including variety, game shows and skit comedy;

- documentary;

- current affairs and interview;

- sport and events coverage;

- news;

- information segments, including lottery and sports results,
whether

and finance information;

- infotainment;

- advertisements.

Within the workshop framework specific sessions were conducted on
each topic

area. Participants had the opportunity to view or listen to a
number of pre-selected segments in each category and then to
record their response to the
question asked.

Each session also included a replay of the material presented,
with explanation.

This was followed by a focus group discussion in order that
participants could

provide feedback on their broader viewing experiences.

Participants worked independently and recorded their response in
braille, on

computer or by hand writing.

6.1.1 Sample Material

In advance of the workshop, considerable time went into the
selection and

assembly of program material. As indicated in the project
proposal, all material used was sourced from free-to-air
Australian content, broadcast in Melbourne.

Following a review of the broadcasting schedules of all networks,
blocks of material were recorded on a selected basis so as to
attain material in all the
content categories, across all networks and covering the widest
possible spread of Australian content.

Most material was recorded during June and July 1998 although
some material

used was already available, particularly in the Special Events
area.

Once program blocks were recorded the material was reviewed in
order to identify segments where there was significant non-verbal
content. Consideration
had to be given to segment length and to ensuring that there was
not an over representation of vision only material.

Once selection was completed the project's Technical Consultant
compiled all

material, in order, onto video tape, recording both a main and
back up copy.

Fifty four program segments were selected and compiled, of these
48 were put

to the Workshop.

>From across a broad sampling of current and near current
advertising 50

advertisements were selected and compiled. 20 of these were put
to the

Workshop.

Schedules detailing all program segments and advertisements used
are attached for information. Duplicate video tapes of both
program and advertising material
assembled are also included.

6.1.2 Workshop Facilities

In order to ensure that workshop attendees responded on the basis
of their own perception of the material screened it was necessary
to establish a facility
where participants were separated from each other and where they
could view or listen to the material in the manner most suited to
their vision level and
other needs.

Seven of the twelve participants had no useable sight so were
provided with an

individual audio feed of the material. They could adjust the
volume and other

aspects of this to suit their particular listening requirements.

Five participants had sufficient residual sight to benefit from
viewing the material at close quarters. These people were
provided with a small television
monitor positioned to their best advantage, They could also
adjust sound and picture to suit their requirements.

All video material was fed from a central control facility
equipped with switching capacity to ensure a clean start and end
to each segment. This facility
also allowed for freeze frame and slow motion replay which was
used during segment replay and explanation.

The Workshop was held in the meeting room of Blind Citizens
Australia where the room was configured so that participants had
a separate work station for
viewing and responding to program segments. They were then able
to come together for the focus group aspects of the workshop.

6.1.3 Participants

Blind Citizens Australia advertised among its membership for
potential workshop participants.

The group was chosen so as to include:

- a range of sight levels and conditions;

- people of various ages;

- people who view on their own, with sighted family or friends,
and with

other blind people;

Although participants were all television viewers on at least an
occasional basis, deliberate effort was made to ensure that the
group was not comprised
of people who were prolific viewers.

A brief questionnaire was completed by all participants. As can
be seen from the copy attached, this sought some background
information about the person's
sight level and viewing habits.

All participants were recruited on the basis of their continuing
involvement with the project. It was felt that continuity of
involvement would be important
to later aspects of the research where participants would be able
to make direct

comparisons based on their understanding of the development work
being

undertaken. In the end one participant in the deprivation
workshop was unable to continue with later parts of the project,
thus the reference in other parts
of this report to a group of thirteen.

6.2 ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION DEPRIVATION.

The direct output from each workshop participant was a series of
statements

written immediately after their viewing of the sample segments
and advertisements.

In most cases, for the program segments, participants were asked
to describe the scene as they understood it. For the
advertisements and some information
type segments a more specific question was used to test
understanding of key

information elements.

Following the workshop we reviewed all of the material used and
established a

benchmark score against which comprehension of each item could be
assessed. For those segments where an extended response had been
sought this was done
by awarding a one point score for each content element identified
in the clip.

Points were allocated for identification of:

- the location or setting;

- the situation in which the scene took place;

- the characters (one point each);

- the action sequences (one point each);

- any data content;

- any underlying message or call to action.

Naturally the benchmark scores for each segment varied depending
on the

complexity of the selected clip.

For some of the information segments and advertisements the
rating used was a simple one point for a YES or confirmation of
some key aspect of the content.

Attachment four includes a listing of the content clips used;
together with the

questions put to the workshop group; and a brief description of
the segment.

These benchmark scores were compiled into a table, separated by
content type.

Each participant's responses were rated against these benchmark
figures.

The tables that appear as Attachment five identify the segment by
type give the

benchmark score and then the scores achieved by participants. it
is then possible to express the response received as a percentage
of the benchmark score.
In order to minimise the impact of previous knowledge of the
material and variations in the skill of participants in
expressing their understanding we
have developed averages across the two sub-groups of
participants, those with some useable vision and those who had no
sight to aid their interpretation
of the material. The percentage figures expressed represent the
average response across these sub-groups for each clip viewed
these are then summarised
as the average across the content type.

While this methodology has allowed us to demonstrate the
existence of substantial deprivation among the blind and vision
impaired television audience we
recognise the need for its further refinement and for the conduct
of any further study to involve a control group in order that a
more sophisticated analysis
of the incidence and level of deprivation might be completed.

6.3 WORKSHOP OUTCOMES

The following summary table provides an indication of the
comprehension level for each content category studied. The
information is provided for the two
distinct sub-groups, those with no useable vision and those with
sufficient sight to assist their understanding of the material.

The table includes:
identification of the category;
the aggregate points score possible for the items in that
category;
the average score achieved by sub-group members;
and that score expressed as a percentage of the possible score.

If we accept the percentage score as an indicator of the level of
comprehension

that the sub-group had across the segments in each category we
can conclude that the lower the percentage score the greater the
level of deprivation experienced
in relation to that content.

Aggregate Low Vision Blind sub-group

points sub-group

Drama 64 28.2 44% 16 25%

Entertainment 55 19.4 35% 10.2 18.5%

Documentary 25 6.8 27% 6.2 24.5%

Current Affairs 39 14.6 37.5% 12.7 32.5%

Sport/Events 52 10 19% 10.9 21%

News 48 16 33% 18.7 39%

Information 33 12.6 38% 11.5 35%

Infotainment 18 5.0 28% 3.6 20%

334 118.6 35.5% 89.8 26.9%

Advertisements 30 20 66% 4.3 14%

364 138.6 36.4% 94.1 25.8%

The following notes set these responses in context.

43 of the 48 segments shown required a descriptive response.
For the low vision group there was only one segment "A Current
Affair" (Nine) where the group achieved a comprehension rating of
60%.
There were nine segments where the low vision sub-group achieved
20% or less, including one "Thundercats Surf Boat Series" (Nine's
Wide World of Sports)
where only a 5% comprehension rating was achieved.
For the blind sub-group there was only one segment that achieved
50% or better, "Burke and Wills story" (Our World, Seven) 54%.
There were three segments where the blind sub-group registered no
comprehension at all and a further two that rated below 10%.

6.3.1 Drama: (Low Vision 44% Blind 25%)

This was the category in which the low vision sub-group did best.
This was

perhaps due to the fact that most of the sample material was
drawn from popular drama and soapie series where participants
could be expected to recognise
characters and have a sense of the circumstances in which the
segments were set.

It is worth noting that the clip from "Home and Away" (Seven),
which was

relatively static and conversational rated highest at 53%
comprehension while the police chase action sequence from "Water
Rats" (Nine) only rated 36%.

Ratings across the content segments were much lower for the blind
sub-group.

Again the "Home and Away" (Seven) segment rated highest at 47.5%
while a sequence from "Correlli" (ABC) which included no dialogue
and only muffled contextual
sound with underlying music rated only 8.8% comprehension.

6.3.2 Entertainment: (Low Vision 35%, Blind 18.5%)

The Entertainment section included four comedy sequences from
variety

programming and two game show segments.

Again familiarity with the program was evident. "Wheel of Fortune
(Seven) was

relatively well comprehended by both the low vision and blind
sub-groups (Low

Vision 51.5% and Blind 43%).

A segment from "Midday"(Nine) in which an American woman with
extensive

tattoos was being interviewed was also relatively well understood
by both groups. (Low Vision 48% and Blind 25.5%).

On the other hand, a complex introductory piece from "Hey Hey its
Saturday"

(Nine) in which cartoon drawings and interventions from the
audience and other performers were used to support the host's
routine, proved difficult to follow
for most. (Low Vision 24.5% and Blind 18.5%).

Similarly a comedy segment from "In Melbourne Tonight" (Nine)
which was a take-off of the Channel Seven Show "Who Dares Wins"
was most difficult for both
low vision and blind participants. (Low Vision 21.5% and Blind
10.5%).

6.3.3 Documentary: (Low Vision 27% Blind 24.5%)

While both low vision and blind participants indicated relatively
high comprehension of the "Our World" Segment about Burke and
Wills (Seven) (Low Vision
45% and Blind 54%), it is interesting to note that the blind
sub-group had better comprehension of the content. This would
appear to relate to their better
recall of the commentary included in the segment.

On the other hand, the ABC documentary "The Pitch" which explored
the

operations of an Advertising Agency, was not well comprehended
(Low Vision

22.5% and Blind 14%). This was a very busy segment with poor
audio and indirect references to a series of Artists Drawings
shown on-screen.

6.3.4 Current Affairs: (Low Vision 37.5% Blind 32.5%)

This category included one clip which required a simple
"identification" response.

The opening sequence of "The Elizabeth Durak Story", Australian
Biography (SBS) was shown. This interview program started with a
direct to-camera comment
from the interviewee and then continued with her voice over a
series of still photographs. Participants were asked to identify
the interviewee, The only
reference within the early part of the program was through
on-screen text. The response here was directly linked to the
level of useable sight of the participant.
Three of the five low vision sub-group were able to read the
caption while none of the blind sub-group could identify the
subject.

A graphically described sequence from "A Current Affair", (Nine)
about the

mistreatment of birds at a Western Australian poultry farm rated
relatively highly among both sub-groups (Low Vision 60% and Blind
44.5%) although a sequence
within this where the poultry farm operator attacked the film
crew was reported as confusing and hard to follow for all
participants.

On the other hand, a crime re-enactment scene from "Australia's
Most Wanted"

(Seven) scored quite poorly (Low Vision 20% and Blind 19.5%) as
did a sequence from the ABC series Uncensored (Low Vision 20% and
Blind 11.5%) where the
interviewee Normal Mailer's challenge to the feminist beliefs of
the interviewer, Jana Went, were illustrated through the facial
expressions of both parties.

6.3.5 Sport & Events: (Low Vision 19% Blind 21%)

This category was dealt with in two sub-sections.

Four sporting segments were used and participants were asked to
describe the

action or play for each. AFL football (Seven) was included to
test the theory that familiarity assists comprehension. The other
three sports, Womens' National
Hockey Championships (ABC), Power Boat Racing (Nine's Wide World
of Sports) and Ten Pin Bowling (Nine's Wide World of Sports),
were less known to the audience
and less often seen on television.

For the low vision sub-group AFL Football was clearly the most
comprehendible scoring 25% in comparison to 17.5%, 7.5% and 12,5%
respectively.

On the other hand, the blind sub-group was far more accurate in
their recounting of the Ten Pin Bowling sequence, (27% as against
football 19.5%, Hockey
18% and Power Boat Racing 18%). Arguably this was because of the
audio clues provided through the clear conversation that could be
heard between the contestants
and with the audience.

Segments from two Special Events telecasts were shown.

A sequence from the Seven presentation "Melbourne City Christmas
Concert" was chosen because of its complexity and the fact that
it was set in an outdoor
location at night. In this sequence one of the hosts encourages
crowd support to get Santa to come down onto the stage from the
roof of a nearby building.
The segment included a lot of dialogue between the host, other
guests and Santa, as well as the audible reaction of the crowd.
It is interesting to note
that the blind sub-group indicated a far higher level of
comprehension of this material than did the low vision sub-group
(Low Vision 14% and Blind 31.5%)

The second segment was taken from the Opening of the 1998 AFL
Grand Final

(Seven). Here the visual portrayal of the scene was supported by
choral

presentations and solo artists. Although both sub-groups recorded
relatively low scores for this segment the low vision sub-group
did somewhat better (Low
Vision 28%,and Blind 11.5%).

6.3.6 News: (Low Vision 33% Blind 39%)

Five News segments were used, one from the ABC and each of the
commercial

networks plus an additional sports story from the Ten Network.

Across all of these the enhanced listening ability of the blind
sub-group was

demonstrated as they out-rated the low vision sub-group in their
comprehension of four of the five stories. None-the-less,
comprehension levels of between
25% and 43% can hardly be seen as sufficient for access to the
information content of major news bulletins.

6.3.7 Information Segments: (Low Vision 38% Blind 35%)

Ten information segments were used.

Three of these were announcements of lottery results. Respondents
were asked to indicate if they could access the key information
(the numbers drawn). Where
this information was provided verbally all of the blind sub-group
and most of the low vision sub-group indicated that the
information was accessible to
them. However, where the information was available only in a
visual form only those with sufficient sight to comfortably view
the screen indicated that
they could access the information.

While we did not ask participants to record the numbers it was
clear from our

subsequent discussion that even those with relatively good
useable sight felt they would have struggled to write down the
keno draw information (Nine) which
included far more numbers than the others.

The fourth segment used was an ABC promotion "On ABC Tonight"
This was

chosen deliberately as the verbal presentation was given in an
informal manner and did not follow the sequence shown on-screen.
Four of the low vision sub-
group indicated that they could follow it sufficiently to have an
understanding of the night's program choices, however, some of
the blind sub-group found
the announcer's oblique references to what followed what hard to
comprehend. (Low Vision 80% and Blind 57%).

Finance segments from both Ten and Seven News were used. In both
cases this information was provided as a bridge into or out of a
commercial break and as
a visual component only. Comprehension of this material was very
poor. Low vision participants were able to gleam some details but
none were able to gain
a comprehensive understanding of the material. Among the blind
sub-group the material was totally inaccessible and several
participants

indicated that they did not know that financial information was
delivered in this way as a regular part of the Evening News. (Low
Vision 20% and 20%, Blind
0% and 0%).

Four television weather segments were used. For three (Seven,
Nine and Ten)

participants were asked to record key elements of the reports.
Comprehension

levels varied across both sub-groups and group members indicated
that this was attributable to the particular style of the
Presenter as well as the clarity
of the graphics used. There was little difference between the
comprehension level of the low vision sub-group and the blind
sub-group and in fact the blind
sub-group scored higher for two of the segments. (Low vision 40%,
40% & 36.5% and Blind 38%, 50% & 53%).

The final weather segment used was taken from the ABC 7.00 News.
Given that this service is intended for viewers across Victoria,
participants were asked
to nominate a country location ahead of their viewing and then to
try to establish tomorrow's forecast for that location. Among the
low vision sub-group
some members were able to find details for their chosen location
(or a nearby regional centre) on the map and to draw conclusions
from these. For the blind
sub-group the only success came for those lucky enough to pick a
location where there was verbal reference to a bad storm that
day. (Low Vision 40% and
Blind 11%)

6.3.8 Infotainment: (Low Vision 28% Blind 20%)

Segments were used from four infotainment programs. The clip from
the Nine

program "Money" provided the most information to both sub-groups
(Low Vision 50% and Blind 36%) as much of the general content was
verbalised. Participants
however reported that they were not able to access certain key
information such as contact details which had been included in a
vision-only form.

Segments from Better Homes and Gardens (Seven) and Gardening
Australia (ABC) were shown to be of less value as the commentary
was oblique to the main visual
content. The situation for the low vision sub-group was however
marginally better as they were able to gain some benefit from the
visual content. (Better
Homes: Low Vision 30% and Blind 21.5%; Gardening Australia: Low
Vision 25% and Blind 18%).

A Real Estate segment from Our House (Nine) was chosen as all of
the information here is included on slides that are shown at high
speed. The viewer is
then encouraged to record the segment and view it via the slow
motion feature on a standard video recorder.

Our intention here was to test participants understanding of the
segment and its methodology. Only one of the twelve participants
indicated that they could
follow the process that was being suggested.

6.3.9 Advertisements: (Low Vision 66% Blind 14%)

Twenty advertisements were shown to the group and participants
were asked to

identify one or two key elements of the advertiser's message,
such as the name of the product being promoted, price or contact
details. No attempt was made
to test for a deeper understanding of the storyline or content
detail.

Among the low vision sub-group a 66% level of
recognition/information was

achieved while for the blind sub-group the level dropped to 14%.

For the low vision sub-group recognition/comprehension was
highest where

participants were asked to identify products or services that
have a high community profile and lowest where they were asked to
record specific information
such as contact details.

Among the blind sub-group there was very high recognition of an
advertisement promoting work place safety,(Workcover Victoria)
where the dialogue made the
message quite clear, although the punch line was in visual form
only. There were however eleven advertisements where none of the
seven sub-group members
could provide the information requested.

6.4 FOCUS GROUP INPUT

Focus Group discussions in relation to each workshop segment were
recorded on tape and by a notetaker for later review. This
material includes useful information
about participants broader television viewing experiences as well
as the group's reaction to explanation of the sample material
viewed during the workshop.

Set out below in summary form are the main themes that emerged
from these

discussions.

Drama
Often the level of concentration needed to follow television
drama is such that the experience becomes less than enjoyable.
Low vision participants indicated that they often draw wrong
conclusions from their limited visual access to television
programming.
For those with low vision, production techniques such as the use
of visual effects and subdued lighting further limit their access
to the visual content.
Character identification is a particular frustration for low
vision viewers. Frequently the plot has little or no meaning for
this reason.
Blind viewers also identified character identification as a major
problem as they are totally dependent on voice identification and
reference from other
characters.
Often the music bed behind a scene detracts from its
comprehension as it masks the contextual sound.

Entertainment
Members of both the low vision and blind sub-groups indicated
that they avoid pacey comedy scenes (such as the Hey Hey Its
Saturday segment used) as the
emphasis on visual elements such as body language, graphics and
interaction with the audience and other talent make such segments
confusing and sometimes
senseless.
As those involved with comedy and light entertainment often
present in a less formal manner their speech is sometimes lazy
and difficult to follow without
reference to the visual context.
When contextual clues are only given visually the content becomes
less meaningful. An interview segment from "Midday" was reviewed.
It was clear from the
visuals that the interviewee was in a remote location but this
information was not conveyed by the host or guest so was not
known to the blind and some
low vision members of the group.
Both low vision and blind participants indicated significant
frustration when there is sustained laughter or other audience
noise during an interview or
comedy segment as this often masks the audible clues that would
otherwise be available to them.
The perception that many group members had of the format and
objective of TV Game Shows was significantly different from the
reality. Even with a long running
show like Wheel of Fortune, which was known to most, there was
significant misunderstanding of the fundamentals of the game and
its physical dimension.
This level of misunderstanding was even greater with a program
such a Hot Street which was largely not known to the group.

Documentary
Several group members commented that the music bed used with
scenic documentary material can often provide a real clue to the
scene being portrayed.
In contrast, members felt that the voice-over material used with
some scenic documentaries confuses the message as the commentary
might be centred on something
other than the visual content. The segment from Our World viewed
was reported as confusing to members in both sub-groups as much
of the message appeared
to be given in the visual component while the commentary centred
elsewhere.
Again the issue of confusion over context was raised,
particularly in relation to the clip from Healthy, Wealthy and
Wise. While the segment was about touring
experiences in the Buchan Caves area of East Gippsland there was
a focus later in the segment on a North American Indian Village.
While the link to this
"model village" would have been obvious to viewers with full
access to the visual content it was not recognised by most of
this group.
Often the audio production techniques used in documentary
material detract from its comprehension. Techniques such as use
of conversation recorded on location
and the tendency toward fast cutting between apparently unrelated
components were cited.

Current Affairs
Reliance on on-screen captioning for talent identification was
cited as a real problem for all members. Even those who could
read on-screen graphics in
an ideal viewing situation indicated that they could not rely on
access to this information in an every day setting, as often by
the time they focused
on the slide or super it was taken down before they could read
it. There was also a great deal of discussion about the fonts and
colour contrast used.
The use of time shifted material (flashbacks, file footage etc)
was identified by many as a cause of confusion as often the only
indication of time shifting
is provided visually.
All members of the group indicated that they could not normally
rely on facial expression or other body language as a clue to
reaction. They commented that
while voice characteristics often provide clues in a real life
situation, those involved with Television Current Affairs are
often able to mask audible
indications of there feelings. The medium places a higher
reliance on facial expression and body language to portray
surprise, anger, and other emotions.
There was extended discussion about problems associated with use
of on-screen captioning of foreign language material. All group
members indicated that
they could not follow on-screen captioning at least in an
everyday viewing situation. The group was most critical of
Current Affairs and News Producers
who use this technique in preference to voice-over
interpretation.

Sport
All participants indicated that they find television coverage of
sport less meaningful and less enjoyable than radio coverage. The
major reasons for this
were identified as:

- the commentary is usually around the action rather than a

description of it;

- while scores and other key information are available in a
visual form continuously, or at least frequently, verbal
references to this key information
are infrequent and often paraphrase the visual

information;

- for the low vision sub-group poor colour contrast was a major

problem, sometimes in identifying the opposing teams and often in

reading scores and other graphics based information;

- often the verbal information provided is of a subordinate
nature, for example all participants new that the Power Boat
Racing segment

viewed was the sixth race in the series but few new what the
series was.

Events
Participants reported that when viewing a major event such as the
AFL Grand Final Opening their experience is substantially an
audio based one:

- the blind respondents commented that an event like this is
purely a series of musical items with no contextual information;

- the low vision participants indicated that they gain little
from the visual presentation as they cannot see the detail in the
wide shots and the closer
shots offer them nothing in context. A sequence in the segment
viewed showing heraldic trumpeters standing on top of the MCG
Scoreboard was cited as a
demonstration of this point. Many of the low vision sub-group
could identify the trumpeters in the close-up shot but had no
idea of their location as they
were lost in the wide shot.

- Blind participants indicated that they had been able to follow
much of the Christmas Concert segment, as the language used had
been pitched for children
in the large on-site crowd and therefore was far more descriptive
than usual.

- Low vision participants indicated that they had found this
segment hard to follow because of its night time setting; the
frequent changes in camera shot
between the set, the crowd and Santa on the roof. Again the issue
of context was raised as some low vision participants had been
able to identify Santa
on the roof and then identified him when he arrived down the
chimney on set. They had not however understood the relationship
between the building (which
was across the road) and the set, so had not recognised that
there must have been two Santa characters.

News
The group was about evenly divided on their use of television as
their primary news source.
Participants indicated that they rely, in the main, on the
reporter's content to provide the core component of the story.
They gain far less from the video
grabs and contextual audio.
Both blind and low vision participants spoke of the frustration
in not being able to identify speakers in news stories and
sometimes not identifying a cut
from one contributor to another.
All of the low vision sub-group indicated difficulty and
frustration with on-screen captioning. They commented on font
size and style, colour contrast and
on-screen duration as barriers to their use of this
identification.
Blind participants spoke of issues around the relative levels of
background sound, interviews and reportage as a major problem.

Information Segments
Group members praised those situations where lottery result
information is verbalised during the draw but were critical of
the practice of providing summary
result information as a slide with a generic voice-over message.
They pointed out that it takes no more air-time to say "tonight's
Tatts Two numbers are
14 and 18" than it does to say "here are tonight's tatts two
numbers".
Low vision participants again identified issues of colour
contrast and on-screen duration as barriers to their accessing
much on-screen information.
Participants were critical of the segment "On ABC Tonight" as the
verbal information para-phrased the on-screen detail and omitted
key information such
as broadcast times and the program rating. Participants argued
that the matter of program rating was of particular importance
because of the broadcaster's
legal and community responsibilities in this regard.
All participants were critical of the practice of including
finance reports in news bulletins as part of the bridge into or
out of a commercial break. Comments
centred on the lack of verbal content, the complex graphics used
and the on-screen time allocated for these segments. Several of
the blind sub-group indicated
that they were not aware of the placement of financial reports in
some network new bulletins as there was no audible clue to their
existence.
Issues around vision-only information content were discussed more
broadly and participants expressed extreme frustration and
resentment with the practice
adopted by some networks of providing scores of in-progress
sports matches in visual form only in order to protect there
later replay of the material.
This practice was seen as blatant discrimination by some among
the group.
Group members generally indicated that they do not rely on
television weather forecasts as a primary information source.
They indicated frustration with
the form of these presentations where only selected information
is verbalised and often what is verbalised is marginal to the
core content of the report.

Infotainment
Blind participants indicated that they got very little value from
"how to" type programs (gardening, house renovation, etc) largely
because the instructional
information is usually portrayed visually while the commentary is
supplementary to this.
Low vision respondents indicated that they gained some overall
ideas and concepts from "how to" programming but that much of the
detail and the context
was often hard to follow. The Better Homes and Gardens segment
was cited, here. It had been possible for some to gain an
understanding of the suggestions
made but without a broader perception of the size, shape and
other characteristics of the room.
The segment from "Money" was discussed in some detail.
Participants indicated that they had gained an overall
understanding of the Presenter's message but
that they were frustrated by not having access to the contact and
other detail provided on-screen.

Advertisements
Low vision participants indicated that they pay little attention
to advertisements that rely on unsupported vision content. While
they might be able to
identify the product, service or company being promoted, the
storyline is often difficult to follow and even where they could
do this with some concentration
they tend to use the ad breaks as an opportunity to "tune out"
given the high level of concentration needed during program time.
Blind participants indicated that there are many commercials that
hold no meaning to them because all of the information and
attraction is conveyed visually.
All participants spoke of their frustration with advertisements
where key contact detail, prices, sales dates, etc are only
provided in a visual form. In
particular the group was critical of an advertisement from the MS
Society where the contact information was only in visual form.
Participants were also most critical of apparently misleading
advertising. The sample advertisement screened "Sound and Vision
Stores" was seen as particularly
poor as its verbal lead in "here is a very special announcement"
followed by silence, was both discriminatory and likely to course
alarm. Similar comments
were made about the advertisement "Millennium Bug" where the only
audio content was sound akin to loss of transmission by the
television station.
Across the group there were a number of people who indicated
their hostility to advertisers who perpetuate discriminatory
advertising techniques.

The themes that run through these comments and some suggested
ways in which television viewing can be made more accessible to
the blind and vision impaired
audience are picked up in Chapter Ten below.

7. AUDIO ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES

PROJECT OBJECTIVE TWO: To identify and document enhancement
techniques that address the information deprivation experienced
by blind and vision impaired
viewers.

7.1 OUR CONTENTION

In planning and conducting this project the Project Team were
fortunate to have significant experience with Audio Enhancement,
both as delivered overseas
and as trialed in Australia.
Principal Consultant John Simpson had visited the facilities at
WGBH in Boston and held discussions with personnel at the RNIB in
London who had been central
to the European AUDETEL Project.
Technical Consultant Dale Simpson and Project Advisory Committee
Member Stephen Jolley had been central to the development of
simulcast Audio Description
through 3RPH in Melbourne.

With the benefit of this expertise the Project Team was convinced
that:
Success in establishing Audio Enhancement as a permanent adjunct
to Australian Television was dependent on finding and developing
enhancement techniques
that were far more cost effective than those used for broadcast
Video Description in the US and home video description in both
the US and UK:
To meet the information deprivation experienced by blind and
vision impaired viewers Audio Enhancement must be available
across the full spectrum of television
content:
The best opportunity to gain industry support for the
introduction of Audio Enhancement would come with the
introduction of Digital Television:
As television advertising is one of the main drivers of the
industry in Australia it would be essential to include
enhancement of commercial content when
quantifying information deprivation and in developing Audio
Enhancement techniques for the Australian situation.

Our fundamental objective was to have Audio Enhancement
established as an easily accessible adjunct to Australian
Television Broadcasting that would add
value for the blind viewer, the program maker and the commercial
sponsor.

Our target is that Audio Enhancement should be at least as
available as Closed

Captioning is for deaf and hearing impaired viewers.

With the benefit of the consumer input provided as part of the
first Project

Workshop our next step was to produce some Audio Enhancement
Exemplars and to test their effectiveness with our Consumer
Group.

As part of the first workshop we reached agreement with the
consumer group that we should look to the development of Audio
Enhancement in Australia using
four defined techniques:

A) Scripted and Timed Integration: The technique used in both the
US and

UK, where the description is tightly scripted and its integration
is

timed to fit into the available breaks in program dialogue:

B) Improvised Description: Where the Describer previews the
material and

makes notes about key description elements but then adds the

description in real time as the program is broadcast:

C) Audio Captioning: where enhancement is limited to
verbalisation of on-

screen text and perhaps graphics:

D) Real-time Events Description: where sport and other dynamic
events

are described in real-time without the opportunity to preview the

action.

Our view remains that a mix of these techniques is both
appropriate to the needs of the blind viewer and would enable the
cost efficient provision of Audio

Enhancement across the various content types.

7.2 ENHANCEMENT ALTERNATIVES

7.2.1 Timed and Scripted Integration

We have coined this term to describe the production technique
used both in the US for broadcast description and description
added for the home video market
in the US and UK.

Clearly this remains the optimal style of description for use in
those situations

where time and budget allow for the writing of a detailed
description script and for its refinement so that it fits into
the natural breaks in program dialogue.

The description is generated by an appropriately trained script
writer who works

from the finished program material. This is available to them
through a specially developed computer work station where the
program is provided on video
with on-screen time code so that the descriptive passages can be
timed to fit into the dialogue breaks. Once the description
script is completed a narrator
records the description sound track so that it is synchronised
with the program video and audio.

If the end product is to be a home video the original program
sound and description are combined onto the tape in an open
format so that all viewers hear
the description, integrated with the original sound.

If the purpose is television broadcast then the description sound
track is held in a digitised form and is inserted into the
transmission in parallel with
the program video and audio at time of broadcast or network
distribution. The description is carried as a discreet element
within the transmission and
is only available to those who have the appropriate decoding
facility at the reception end. While the method of carrying the
audio description and its
reception varies between the US Public Broadcasting System
service and the AUDETEL trial conducted in the UK, the principle
is fundamentally the same.

As indicated earlier, Descriptive Video Services in the US
provide between five and eight hours per week of described
programming which is broadcast via
Public Broadcasting System affiliates. While the quality of this
contribution is very high it represents a very small proportion
of the free-to-air programming
broadcast in the US.

When we visited DVS in April 1995 their budget for provision of
an average

six hours content per week was around $3 million per year. Above
all, it is this

level of production cost that causes us to seek alternative Audio
Enhancement

techniques. Clearly the Australian industry and community could
not sustain an effective Audio Enhancement service with
production costs at this level.

Our view is that Scripted and Timed Integration should be
provided and funded as part of the process for producing high
budget Australian drama and documentary
content.

Beyond this, the Australian Television Industry could have access
to Described

programming from the US and UK. In reviewing the range of
programming available through DVS for example, we were aware of
several major documentary series
screened recently by the ABC and SBS where Description would have
been available had a delivery mechanism been in place in
Australia.

7.2.2 Improvised Description

Where description of television drama has been undertaken in
Australia it has been accomplished through use of a technique we
identify as Improvised Description.
Here the Describer has access to the program material after its
production but before its broadcast. As undertaken by 3RPH in
Melbourne a team of two Describers
previews the program, taking detailed notes that will prompt
their description of key visual elements. The Describers, who
have been volunteers in the
Australian context, go over the program several times to ensure
their familiarity with it, in order that they can predict when an
action sequence or scenic
view is to be shown so that their description remains timely and
relevant to the program content. 3RPH has arrangements in place
to have direct access
to the program audio at time of broadcast, via ISDN or broadcast
line. The Describer then views the program via an off-air monitor
and their description
is mixed with the program sound and broadcast as a simulcast in
parallel with the television transmission.

The blind viewer can then listen to the Description via a
standard radio receiver or can balance the television sound and
radio broadcast so that they can
effectively determine the relative levels of the original sound
and description.

As undertaken in Australia this Enhancement technique has been
very inexpensive as the description has been prepared and
provided by volunteers from among
the large and dedicated group who sustain the 3RPH service.

While the quality of the Description provided has varied over
time and across the various drama productions described, the
service is popular among the
3RPH listening audience and its availability is limited more by
the scarcity of available air-time than it is by the availability
of enthusiastic and trainable
volunteers.

Our view is that Improvised Description should be developed as
one of the mix of enhancement techniques that would be part of a
comprehensive Audio

Enhancement Service. We see this as the technique which could be
most suited to support lower budget drama series, soapies, and
much of the pre-produced

entertainment content.

7.2.3 Audio Captioning

When reviewing overseas development and implementation of Audio
Description we were concerned to note that no sustained attempt
was being made to enhance
access to news, current affairs, sport, information and
infotainment programming.

A quick review of television program guides in Australia shows
that such

programming dominates the Australian content available on
free-to-air television. The consumer group assembled for this
project made it clear that programming
across these content types is important to them yet is often the
hardest to access.

It is our view that access to this content could be dramatically
improved through

the provision of what we describe as Audio Captioning.

As described below we have produced a range of audio captioned
material and

tested its effectiveness with our consumer group. The response
was that the

addition of a verbalisation of the on-screen text and graphics
often allowed the blind viewer to make effective use of such
programming.

Based on the production and consumer testing described below, our
view is that Audio Captioning can often be added in real-time (as
the program goes to
air) and that where provided by a trained narrator who is
familiar with the program format, requires little preparation. If
such a service were provided
in co-operation with the Producer, Audio Captioning would be an
easily achievable and highly valued adjunct to television news.

We have also tested the technique with sports coverage, game
shows, information segments and advertisements.

Even if Audio Captioning was being provided without the direct
involvement of the program originator there are techniques
available such as Digital Frame
Store that would allow the narrator to add the captioning in a
professional and timely manner.

The video material that accompanies this report includes examples
of Audio

Captioning across a range of content types.

7.2.4 Real-time Events Coverage

There are each year many hours of television air-time devoted to
coverage of sport and other major events in real-time. Clearly
Audio Enhancement in support
of this programming presents its own demands and opportunities.
This again is an area where the Australian experience appears to
be ahead of the US one.

As described earlier in this report, Audio Description in
Australia was largely

founded on coverage of major tennis events and then coverage of
other public

spectacles.

The need for what we describe as Real-time Events Coverage is
both extensive and diverse. The priority of course should be to
ensure access to those events
of major interest, that do not enjoy effective radio coverage. In
the Australian context this form of Enhancement should be
available for live or delayed
sports coverage, major public spectacles, live entertainment and
ceremonial occasions.

The Technique of Real-time Events Coverage requires a Describer
or Describers with an understanding of the Event to be described
and with adequate advance
access to key information. For sports cover this would include
team lists; player and team statistics; details of the Event
program (what match will be
on when etc). For other events it might include the Producer's
script or running sheet, details of key participants; and details
of any visual effects
that are to be introduced.

Where the service can be provided in close co-operation with the
providers of the television coverage this can be of real
advantage as it might enable access
to the Director's Talkback, off-line camera shots and a direct
audio feed of the actuality sound.

The Australian experience shows that even where this direct
linking is not possible, skilled and well prepared Describers can
soon read the situation so
that they can predict when best to intersperse their description.

The 3RPH experience is that when Real-time Events Description is
offered as a

genuine community service, professional sports callers and the
like are keen to offer there support.

7.2.5 Commercial and Promotional Content.

Our study of the commercial content of Australian Broadcast
Television

(advertisements and promotional announcements) revealed that this
aspect of

television content mirrors program content in that:
some segments are not accessible to the blind and vision impaired
audience as their story line is presented in a totally visual (or
near totally visual)
form: they need Audio Description.
other segments are discriminatory to this audience as, while the
underlying content might be intelligible, key information such as
prices, contact details,
conditions of sale, etc are provided only in a visual form: These
announcements need modification or where this is not possible
Audio Captioning.

Section 6 "The Deprivation Study" reports on consumer response to
a range of

commercial material. With the benefit of this input we produced
Exemplars of both Audio Described and Audio Captioned commercial
material.

As indicated elsewhere in this report we are convinced that
Television Advertisers deny themselves access to a significant
part of their market by poor
advertising practices.

Clearly, the addition of Audio Description and Audio Captioning
should become an integral aspect of Australian Television. It is
however equally important
that those who produce and fund commercial content recognise that
there are simple techniques available that will often ensure that
their core message
reaches the blind and vision impaired audience. In so doing,
their message will be better reinforced to the broader population
of television viewers who
can not be expected to sit with their eyes glued to the set for
the entirety of their viewing,

Our point here is perhaps best made by reference to an
announcement shown

widely on commercial and ABC television during October 1998. This
contained

essential information as it related to the restoration of Gas
supply throughout

Victoria following major interruption to supply in late
September.

The announcement consisted of a series of still slides and a
voiced message. The speaker verbalised all of the information
shown on-screen except the most

important detail, the telephone number to be used for further
information or in cases of uncertainty. The slight script
modification necessary to include
verbalisation of the six digit number would have made no
difference to the length of the announcement but would have
substantially increased its impact
across the community.

This practice is not however confined to instances where urgent
material needs to be got to the viewing audience. In fact, in
preparing material for the
Deprivation Study we noted many similar instances where the key
information was not provided to the vision impaired audience,
including material produced
for both the MS Society of Victoria and the Guide Dog
Associations.

In selecting and preparing material for this project we reviewed
much of the

commercial content going to air in mid-1998. We noted that much
of the high

budget corporate or product identification content had a high
visual emphasis, often with a relatively complex story line. Our
expectation was that this
material was well suited to the addition of closed format Audio
Description. We tested this contention by adding description to a
number of advertisements
and then testing the impact with our consumer panel. Some of the
advertisements selected such as the White Pages and Kawasaki
adverts included in the video
material associated with this report had been completely unknown
to the blind members of the sample group and had been meaningless
to those with a substantial
vision impairment.

Other selected material, such as the CSR Sugar and RACV adverts
that are included in the report material, had sufficient audible
information for broad identification
by group members but the story line and fuller message content
had not been accessible to them. In all cases, the addition of
Audio Description was seen
as being of substantial benefit to group members.

We also tested simple Audio Captioning techniques with the group
by adding basic contact information, prices etc. Again the group
was highly appreciative
of this additional information.

All group members expressed the view that access to commercial
content would be of substantial value to them. It was clear from
our discussions that this
response was in part due to the fact that this population are
isolated from much of the ephemeral advertising information that
others in the community
absorb without specific effort.

7.3 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT EXEMPLARS

As indicated above, our belief is that a comprehensive Audio
enhancement service operating in the Australian context would
need to draw on all of these
enhancement techniques to be viable and to offer more than token
access to the blind and vision impaired audience. A major part of
this research has been
devoted to testing the likely effectiveness of these techniques.

Within the discussion at our first Consumer Workshop there was a
focus on what might be achieved through Audio Enhancement. The
group readily understood
the concepts of various forms of Audio Enhancement and offered
constructive input on where various techniques might be
advantageous.

With the benefit of this input our next task was to collect and
produce various

examples for testing purposes.

An initial set of 14 program segments and ten advertisements were
prepared for presentation to Consumer Workshop Two.

Three of the program segments were taken from Audio Descriptions
made in the USA and UK. The remainder were produced from off-air
recordings of recent Australian
Broadcast TV content. Three days were spent in studio adding

enhancement to this material and two further days were spent in
post production and assembly of the segments for presentation.

As our objective was to simulate as closely as possible the
environment in which each form of Audio Enhancement might be
generated for an actual service,
it was important to ensure that our Describers had a level of
prior knowledge of the material that would exist in the real life
situation.

For this reason material that was to be Audio Captioned and that
for Real-time

Events Coverage was not previewed while that for the Improvised
Description

Exemplars was made available to the Describers in advance.

We did not attempt to produce Scripted and Timed Integration
material at this

time preferring to rely on overseas generated material.

Recognising that material that is to be Audio Captioned does not
always stay on-screen for long enough to be verbalised in
real-time, and mindful of the
fact that in a TV studio environment the Describer would have the
opportunity to preview this, or have an isolated feed for
description purposes, our Technical
Consultant employed a digital frame store to assist the
Describer.

A split of the input video was supplied to a second monitor via
the frame store

device so that the shot could be frozen at the point where a
caption appeared and held until the verbalisation was completed.

This initial round of Exemplars was reviewed by the Consumer
Group at Workshop Two and much valuable input was provided
relating to:
the appropriateness of the different Audio Enhancement methods to
various content types;
the level of detail needed in various situations;
the terminology and other language attributes used by the
Describers;
the placement of description in relation to the existing sound
track;
the sound balance between the two audio sources.

With benefit of this input we were then able to produce a further
set of Exemplars to a quality suitable for demonstration beyond
the Consumer Group.

A further eight segments (115 minutes of content) and five
advertisements were

then produced (three studio days and three days post production).
These were

previewed by the Consumer Group at its third workshop and formed
the basis for an extensive presentation to the Strategic Planning
Seminar held on

March 3.

A video cassette containing this material forms part of this
report.

8. DIGITAL TELEVISION - DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

PROJECT OBJECTIVE THREE: To assess the Regulatory and Industry
Environment that is underpinning Audio Description Development in
Europe and North America.

Our firm view has been that the introduction of Digital
Television Broadcasting, both in Australia and elsewhere would
bring with it unprecedented opportunities
to improve television access for people who are blind or vision
impaired. An appreciation of the opportunities that will emerge
with the role-out of this
new delivery platform is however predicated on a an understanding
of the essentials of the medium.

In this chapter we have provided some explanation of the
characteristics of Digital Television Broadcasting along with
some comment about how moves to apply
the technology to the benefit of blind people in other countries.
In Chapter Nine we will then look more closely at the
opportunities that will present
in Australia for the introduction of comprehensive Audio
Enhancement Services in consort with the role-out of Digital
Television Broadcasting.

8.1 THE FUNDAMENTALS

Australia's Broadcasting Services Act, the legislation that
governs the provision of broadcast radio and television services,
was amended in 1998 to facilitate
the introduction of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting
(DTTB). The government has announced its intention that
free-to-air television services
in the major cities should begin digital transmission from 1
January 2001 and in other areas sometime between then and 2004.

This legislative change and the frenetic Industry, and Regulatory
activity that

surrounds it, followed an extended study of the options for
introducing Digital

Terrestrial Television Broadcasting undertaken by a Specialist
Group established by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA)
and comprising representatives
from the Government, ABA, Broadcast Industry and consumer
products manufacturers.

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the
Arts Website includes a good deal of information about
Australia's move to digital television,
including a series of responses to frequently asked questions.
The following extract from this material will help to explain the
Government and Industry's
intentions and expectations.

What is the difference between digital and analog television?
Analog and digital television differ in the way the information
is carried from the source to the receiver. In simple terms, in
analog broadcasting the
signal is in the form of a continuous wave form whereas a digital
signal is in the form of discreet bits of information.
The advantages of digital lie in the possibility of manipulating
the bits of information in certain ways, so that information can
be processed by both sender
and receiver, can be compressed into smaller packages (hence
using the available carrying capacity more efficiently) and the
desired information can more
easily be separated from the background noise and interference
(hence resulting in clearer reception).
The ability to compress the digital data stream means that
digital transmission is far more efficient in its use of spectrum
than analog transmission.

What are the benefits to consumers of digital television?
The benefits of digital terrestrial television to viewers are
substantial.
Digital television allows the broadcast of widesceen, cinema
quality programs with surround sound. It can also allow the
provision of multiple information
streams allowing the user access to a more enriching and even
interactive television experience.
>From a technical point of view, it provides clearer, sharper
pictures without the interference and ghosting that currently
effect many viewers in built
up areas or hilly terrain.
The change to digital is also being driven by adoption of digital
television in other countries. The UK and the US are in the
process of migrating to digital
television, and a number of other countries are developing
digital TV strategies. Increasingly programs sourced from these
markets (which comprise a substantial
proportion of those broadcast on Australian networks) will be in
digital format.

What will consumers require?
To take advantage of the benefits provided by digital television
consumers will be required to purchase either a new digital
television set, or a set top
box to convert the incoming digital signal for display on an
analog receiver.
It is difficult to predict how much sets will cost, and the price
could fall rapidly once the market is established. Large
widescreen digital sets capable
of displaying high definition video will probably cost several
thousand dollars while conventionally sized sets are likely to
approach the prices of current
sets. The price of set top boxes will depend on their
functionality, but will probably be a few hundred dollars.
The simulcast period of at least eight years will ensure that
viewers have plenty of time to plan the purchase of digital
technology.

Why is the government making these decisions now?
Decisions by Government are required now to allow planning and
capital investment to proceed and ensure that digital television
becomes a reality within
the next five years.
Delays by Government in taking these decisions will result in
continuing uncertainty for broadcasters and consumers and
ultimately see Australia fall behind
the rest of the world in the transition to digital broadcasting.
Major broadcasting markets including the US and UK, from which a
substantial proportion of the programs shown on Australian
television are obtained, have
already announced the implementation of digital TV. (Digital
Broadcasting Questions and Answers:
www.dcita.gov.au/nwsirel/98
March 1998)

In Australia as elsewhere, television is available via three
principle delivery

mechanisms:
direct to home satellite offers both pay and free-to-air
services;
cable systems provide access in major cities to pay TV services;
terrestrial delivery from a ground based transmission source to
the home has been the traditional and predominant medium for
delivery of free-to-air television.

The move from analog to digital television is occurring across
all of these platforms:
satellite transmission of both free-to-air and pay TV is now
provided in a digital form;
while the Optus cable service is provided in a digital format the
Foxtel service is transmitted in analog format but with use of a
digitally based access
management system;
terrestrial services have traditionally been provided in a analog
form and will move, over the next few years, to digital. The
legislation that enables
this migration however, provides that operators of free-to-air
terrestrial services must maintain their analog transmission for
eight years from the introduction
of digital, so as to ensure that all Australians continue to have
access to free-to-air television services.

While the need for and potential application of Audio Enhancement
is common

across all delivery platforms the focus of this project has been
to look at the

opportunities for introducing comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services in consort with the introduction of Digital Terrestrial
Television Broadcasting (DTTB).

Migration to DTTB has been mandated through amendment of the
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to include a new Schedule 4. It is
this Schedule which lays
out the Government's intentions for the delivery and regulation
of the platform. The Explanatory Notes to the amending
legislation include the following
simplified outline of the new Schedule.
The ABA (Australian Broadcasting Authority) is to formulate
schemes for the conversion, over time, of the transmission of
television broadcasting services
from analog mode to digital mode.
There is to be a simulcast period throughout which broadcasters
are to transmit their television programs in both analog mode and
digital mode.
At the end of the simulcast period analog transmissions are to
cease.
Broadcasters must meet standards relating to High Definition
Television (HDTV) format transmission of television programs in
digital mode.
Broadcasters must meet standards relating to captioning of
television programs for the deaf and hearing impaired.
Broadcasters will be allowed to use spare transmission capacity
on digital transmission channels to provide datacasting services.
Owners and operators of broadcasting transmission towers must
give digital broadcasters and datacasters access to the towers
for the purpose of installing
or maintaining digital transmitters.
There are to be reviews before 1 January 2000 and 31 December
2005 of certain elements of the digital television regulatory
regime. (Explanatory Memorandum
to Television Services Broadcasting (Digital Conversion) Act
1998).

Among the reviews required by 1 January 2000 is one to determine
the scope of regulations which should be made in relation to
standards covering captioning
for deaf viewers. Matters relating to the provision of captioning
on Australian broadcast television have been covered by the Codes
of Practice that apply
to Commercial Licensees and the ABC. This review is determining
standards that would apply to all free-to-air broadcasters. These
standards will relate
to the extend of captioning provision as well as its style and
quality.

The Issues Paper released with the Call for Submissions to this
Review includes the following reference to Audio Enhancement.

"While not specifically addressed in the Digital Conversion Act,
the opportunity has also been taken to canvas issues on the
provision of enhanced television
to another relatively disadvantaged group in the community, the
blind and vision impaired. The possibility of providing audio
description for blind and
visually impaired viewers was noted by the Environment,
Recreation Communication and the Arts (ERCA) Senate Committee
Inquiry into the Television Broadcasting
Services (Digital Conversion) Bill 1998. The Committee's final
report recommended that the issue of audio description for
television be referred to the
Consultative Group on Digital Television. The committee further
recommended that, after consultation with user and consumer
groups and Industry representatives
the Group should report on the matter to the Parliament."
(Issues Paper Review of Captioning Standards; Department of
Communications Information Technology and the Arts: December
1998."

8.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE US

Serious moves toward the provision of Digital Terrestrial
Television Broadcasting commenced in the US in 1991 when the
Industry concluded that High Definition
Television could be delivered via the existing 6 Mhz VHF and UHF
channels used for analog transmission.

During the 1990's Industry and Regulatory interests worked
together through the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television
Systems (ACATS) to develop and
test the ATSC Standard for digital terrestrial television.

The ATSC standard mandates use of MPEG-2 technology for
compression of the

video, the Dolby AC-3 standard for provision of the surround
sound audio and an MPEG-2 standard transport stream. The ATSC
standard was approved in December
1996.

Among the advantages claimed for digital television the relative
merits of High

Definition Television and the potential to broadcast multiple
program streams of standard definition television often via for
supremacy. In the US context
the

emphasis is clearly on the potential for High Definition
transmission.

DTTB services commenced transmission early in 1999 in the US.
Affiliates of the four major networks operating in the ten
largest markets were required to
begin digital transmission by May 1st and network affiliates in a
further 20 markets were required to commence their digital
service by November 1 1999

Work toward the provision of audio description on digital
television has also been underway for some time.

The President's Advisory Committee on the Public Interest
Obligations of Digital

Television Broadcasters completed its report and recommendations
in December 1998.

Recommendation 7 states:

"Broadcasters should take full advantage of new digital closed
captioning

technologies to provide maximum choice and quality for Americans
with

disabilities; where doing so would not impose an undue burden on
the

broadcasters. These steps should include the gradual expansion of

captioning on public service announcements, public affairs
programming

and political programming; the allocation of sufficient audio
bandwidth for the transmission and delivery of video description,
disability access to

ancillary and supplementary services; and collaboration between
regulatory authorities and set manufacturers to ensure the most
efficient, inexpensive and
innovative capabilities for disability access."
(Recommendation Seven Charting the Digital Broadcasting future;
President's Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of
Digital Television Broadcasters
(USA)

1998; provided by Kevin Taglang, The Benton Foundation Washington
DC)

The framing of this recommendation followed enactment of Section
305 of the

Telecommunications Act 1996 which among other things directed the
Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct an inquiry into the
provision of

Video Description. While Video Description has been available on
a limited basis for more than ten years its availability has been
limited in part because
of restricted opportunities for its inclusion in the transmission
of analog television. It is argued in the US that the
availability of additional audio
streams within the DTTB transmission provides the opportunity for
substantial expansion of the service.

The National Centre on Accessible Media, a sister organisation to
Descriptive Video Services, under the WGBH Education Foundation,
established an Industry-
wide Access Project in 1998 to work toward the implementation of
Descriptive Video and Closed Captioning as part of DTTB delivery.

Throughout 1999 the NCAM has taken a number of significant steps
toward this goal:
On April 5 DVS broadcast via satellite its first programming with
a second stereo audio service containing the descriptive
narration;
On April 21 Broadcasters had their first opportunity to study
closed captioning and descriptive narration solutions for digital
television at the National
Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in Las Vegas;
On July 26 NCAM demonstrated the broadcast of High Definition
Digital TV with encoded multiple closed caption services, text
data and descriptive narration.
This demonstration was conducted at a meeting of the Technical
Committee of WHD-TV, the model station and Digital TV research
centre in Washington DC.
A single digital TV bitstream was broadcast containing English
captions, Spanish captions, TV cross-over (Web TV) links, and an
alternate stereo audio
track with Video Description added. Each of these features was
displayed simultaneously on a separate Digital TV receiver.
On August 31 NCAM released the first in a series of CD--Rom based
test materials for use by broadcast equipment manufacturers. The
CD contains an ATSC compliant
bitstream with a four and a half minute program sample, alternate
stereo audio track with video description, English and Spanish
captioning and TV cross
over hyperlinks. The disk comes with a user's guide and other
documentation. Single copies of the test disk are available
without charge initially to equipment
manufacturers and a subscription system is being set up for
future releases.

At the time of finalising this report (November 1999) we note
that the US Federal Communications Commission has under
consideration draft Rules that if
approved would formalise a requirement for the provision of Video
Description on Broadcast Television. As the FCC Rule making
process is a closed one until
the public comment stage the details of the draft Rules are not
known.

8.3 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE UK

Britain's move toward DTTB has been as a leader among the
participants in the

European DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) initiative.

The final report of the ABA' Digital Terrestrial Television
Broadcasting Specialist

Group "Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Australia"
records:

"In 1990 Swedish Television suggested that fellow European
Broadcasters

should form a concerted pan-European platform to develop digital

terrestrial HDTV. During 1991 broadcasters, consumer electronics

manufacturers and radio-regulatory bodies came together to
discuss the

formation of a pan-European group that would oversee the
development of digital television in Europe - the European
Launching Group.

Over the course of about a year the ELG expanded to include the
major

European media interest groups, both public and private, the
consumer

Electronics manufacturers, and common carriers. It drafted a
Memorandum of Understanding (which) was signed by all ELG
participants in September 1993 and
the Launching Group became Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB).

The European DVB project comprises a core system which is
intended to

provide for a family of systems covering all transmission media.
It is

based on the use of the MPEG-2 video and audio coding and the
MPEG-2

transport multiplex. Common service information and scrambling
systems

will be available for all systems but the modulation and channel
coding

systems will be chosen to meet the different transport system
requirements."
 (Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Australia;
Australian Broadcasting Authority; 1997).

The DVB system incorporates six standards:
DVB-S for satellite delivery;
DVB-C for cable networks;
DVB-CS for television distribution systems within buildings;
DVB-MC for direct to home microwave multipoint distribution

systems operating at frequencies below 10Ghz;
DVB-MS for direct to home microwave multipoint distribution

systems operating at frequencies above 10Ghz;
DVB-T for terrestrial television broadcasting.

The DVB-T Standard is based on use of MPEG-2 technology, which
here is used for encoding and compression of the video component
and for compression of the
audio. The transmission scheme is based on Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexing where a bundle of carriers are transmitted
across a block of frequencies
at slightly different instances in time so that the receiving
equipment can draw on the best received information stream. It is
argued that this system
facilitates reception of consistently high quality signals as it
eliminates problems of multi-path and reflected signals. It lends
itself to use of Single
Frequency Networks where the transmission emanates from more than
one geographic point on the same channel to eliminate poor
reception and extend coverage.

The ABA Specialist Group's Report goes on to discuss the
situation in the UK:

"The UK policy framework for the introduction of DTTB services in
the UK

was set by broadcasting legislation introduced in December 1996.
The

key forces driving the UK policy were early commencement, more
services

choices and an entry path to eventual complete migration to
digital.

Spectrum shortages have encouraged the UK to adopt a system
whereby

the available DTTB channels are divided up into three or four
standard

definition (PAL broadcast equivalent) channels which can be
accommodated within the spectrum space needed for one existing
analog television channel.

To achieve this the UK has placed a third party, the "multiplex
operator",

between the service provider and the transmitter......

The multiplex operators will be covered by a new multiplex
licence and are required to assemble a package of services as
part of a competitive licence grant
arrangement. The proposed arrangements preclude any move to HDTV
services until after PAL transmission ceases. The UK Legislation
encourages broadcasters,
manufacturers and transmission multiplex operators to work
together for an early launch of DTTB. It also allows Ministers to
consider the timing of switching
off analog services within the five years after awarding the
multiplex licences. The six proposed national multiplexes are
currently being planned within
bands IV and V on an interleaved basis alongside the existing
analog services."

(Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Australia;
Australian Broadcasting Authority; 1997).

It is worth noting here the emphasis in the UK on providing more
standard definition channels rather than HDTV as this has some
impact on the system's capacity
to carry alternative stereo soundtracks encompassing Audio
Description.

The 1996 UK legislation includes a specific provision to mandate
the broadcast of closed captioning, audio description and sign
language enhancements.

The explanatory guide to the provisions included in this amending
legislation states:

"Provisions for viewers with sensory disabilities

The Act provides that the ITC (Independent Television Commission)
should

publish a code giving guidance on provisions for viewers with
sensory

impairments. This code will form part of broadcasters' Licence
conditions

and will require that by the tenth anniversary of the
introduction of any

digital program service not less than 50% of non-exempt program
hours

broadcast in the service should be subtitled and not less than
10% of non-

exempt program hours broadcast should be presented with audio

description. The Secretary of State also announced in the House
of

Commons during Report Stage that she intends to introduce by
order at

the earliest possible opportunity a parallel 5 per cent target
for sign

language.

The Act provides for the ITC's Code to exclude some types of
"exempt"

programmes for which it considers the level of assistance to be

unachievable, from the targets on the face of the Act and set
lower targets for those programmes. The ITC will do this only
after consulting both broadcasters
and organisations representing people with sensory

impairments. It should be emphasised that these exemptions will
be the

exception rather than the rule; the majority of programmes should
be

subject to the targets set out on the face of the Act.

There are currently no requirements on Channels 3,4 or 5
regarding sign

language or audio description. The new code and targets will,
however,

apply to the digital simulcast of their existing analog services.

All these targets are amendable by order, and the Secretary of
State will

have the power to increase them to reflect future technological
advances."
(Explanatory Memorandum, Television Broadcasting Services
(Digital Conversion) Bill 1996;
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/95055-h).

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) is an active
partner with the BBC, independent television services, the
Independent Television Commission
and consumer product manufacturers in efforts to establish
ongoing Audio Description, or AUDETEL Services.

Both prior to and during conduct of this research the Project
team has enjoyed a close working relationship with those staff at
the RNIB responsible for
advocacy on matters relating to Audio Description and
broadcasting more generally. The Project Consultant visited the
RNIB in 1996 to discuss these matters
and has met with senior RNIB personnel during the conduct of this
work.

As part of this co-operative effort Denise Evans, RNIB's
Broadcasting Officer

provided the following briefing for this project in May 1999:

"RNIB is currently working with the Broadcasting Industry on the
introduction of an audio description of television service in
November this year. The service
will be for Digital Terrestrial Television only, as provided for
in our 1996 Broadcasting Act.

Digital Terrestrial Television launched in the UK in November
last year but

it was not possible to start audio description at that stage as
the receivers

(set-top boxes) did not include the receiving capability. That is
what is being addressed now. The audio description will be
delivered into the home via
a module which will fit into the Common Interface Slot in the set
top boxes and integrated digital television sets that are
starting to become available.
This of course means that the viewer has to have both the digital
equipment and the AUDETEL module, Both of which have to be paid
for separately. We are
not happy with this situation but it is the only way to get a
service started. We view this, therefore, as a short term measure
and will be working with
the industry to try to ensure that the receiving capability is
incorporated into future receivers.

Alongside the development of the module the broadcasters are
starting to

prepare for the provision of the descriptions. The BBC will
probably set up its own in-house unit and the commercial
companies will contract out the work.
Two, ITV and Channel 4 have already contracted a company called
ITFC which is one of the main sub-titling companies. We have had
regular contact with ITFC
on describer requirements and will continue to do so.

The broadcasters will select the programs for describing which
will be

initially prime time programmes (eg drama, soaps, films) as
identified in

the AUDETEL test transmission research from 1994.

The ITC is the regulatory body for digital terrestrial multiplex
operators

(except for the BBC) and they have issued guidelines on achieving
the

audio description targets (hence a rush to get a service started
this

November) and on audio description.

The overall target for audio description is 10% per channel by
the tenth

year of the licence. We feel that this is inadequate and the
government

should be reviewing the situation next year.

If you have a chance to influence legislation do try to ensure
that the

targets are higher and that the reception of the audio
description is taken

into account, as well as the transmission. This aspect was
missing from

our legislation and has proved to have caused a lot of work to
try to

resolve."

9. OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPERATIVES IN AUSTRALIA

PROJECT OBJECTIVE FOUR: To assess the opportunities that will
arise as a result of Digital Television implementation for the
introduction of comprehensive
Audio Enhancement Services in association with broadcast
television services.

Digital Television Broadcasting is claimed to offer substantial
benefits to all of its users. In this Chapter we will look
briefly at how those generic
advantages might benefit people who are blind or vision impaired.
We will then look more closely at how the technology itself and
the timing and policy
framework for its introduction to Australia creates a window of
Opportunity for the parallel introduction of Audio Enhancement.
Finally we will consider
some of the broader Community expectations and policy imperatives
that underscore the need for improved television access for blind
and vision impaired
viewers.

9.1 THE FUNDAMENTAL ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TV

Plans for the introduction of Digital TV are invariably
accompanied with

explanations of the superiority of the medium:

- cinema quality programs with surround sound;

- clearer, sharper pictures that are free from ghosting and the
other interferences that are common to analog transmission;

- the opportunity for a greater diversity in programs and
providers as a result of the spectrum efficiency of the medium;

- and, in the future, interactively akin to the Internet and the
prospect of multiple views of the same sporting or other action
sequence.

Clearly many of these general advantages will be of particular
benefit to those who are blind or vision impaired:

- improved picture clarity will be highly valued by those with
limited sight who's ability to interpret fine detail is marginal;

- distortion free transmission will also directly assist those
with limited vision;

- improvements to the audio component of the transmission will
allow those with little or no sight to maximise the information
they receive from the program
soundtrack;

- also, as many people who are blind or vision impaired are in
the older age range and suffer hearing loss in association with
their vision loss the ability
to better customise the program sound to meet their particular
hearing requirements will be of distinct advantage;

- finally, as substantial users of television, blind and vision
impaired viewers like others, will appreciate the diversity of
programming that should come
with more efficient spectrum usage.

9.2 THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Beyond the more general advantages detailed above, Australia's
move to DTTB

offers a unique opportunity to improve access to television for
the blind and vision impaired audience.

It is clear from our review of the planning process currently
underway that the

introduction to Australia of Digital Terrestrial Television
Broadcasting over the next few years will provide a unique
opportunity for the establishment
of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services. Our expectation is
that various elements, and the circumstances of this
implementation strategy will combine
to create an environment in which Audio Enhancement can take its
place alongside Closed Captioning, as an integral part of
broadcast television delivery
in this country.

9.2.1 Technical Capacity

Work undertaken by both the AUDETEL Project in the UK and the
National Centre for Accessible Media in the US indicates that
Audio Enhancement can be readily
delivered as part of the digital television transmission package.

This might be achieved in one of two ways:

1. Given that the specifications for both the US and European
forms of Digital Television provide for the transmission of
multi-channel surround sound,
verbalised description could be carried in one of the virtual
sound channels so that it would be presented from one speaker, as
part of the overall sound
mix, where its relative level and other characteristics could be
adjusted in comparison to other sound components.

Delivery in this way would however be more akin to the open audio
description found on analog home videos, as the description could
not be turned of without
detriment to the overall sound balance. Also, such a system would
present as an open described form where viewing was through a
television or video player
that did not offer surround sound capacity.

2. The second and arguably preferable alternative would be to use
some of the datacasting capacity that will be contained within
each 7 Mhz channel for
the transmission of a supplementary audio stream containing the
Audio Enhancement.

This system would however require the provision of multi-output
receivers or set top boxes so that the supplementary audio stream
can be directed through
headphones or a second audio amplifier and listened to in
parallel with the primary sound and picture.

Also, there is a regulatory question that will need resolution if
this option is to be used in Australia. While current planning
provides for broadcast
television licensees to offer datacasting services on the unused
portion of there allotted 7 Mhz channel, there are unresolved
questions about the relationship
between such datacasting services and the primary television
service. Although a distinction has been drawn between stand
alone datacasting services and
enhancements to the primary television programs, matters around
the divide between the two and consideration of issues such as
the imposition of additional
licence fees for datacasting are the subject of a regulatory
review being undertaken by the Department of Communications
Information Technology and the
Arts, in association with the Australian Communications
Authority.

Clearly if Audio Enhancement is to be offered for the benefit of
blind and vision impaired Australians it must be seen by
Government as an enhancement of
the primary television content, provided to meet the needs of a
disadvantaged group within the community, rather than as a
supplementary product of the
television broadcaster provided for commercial gain or to more
generally enhance the attraction of their programming.

9.2.2 Systemic change in the Broadcast Industry

All free-to-air television broadcasters in Australia are required
to move to digital transmission over the next one to five years.
This requirement brings
with it the need to make extensive changes to program production
and transmission facilities. Fundamental to this system upgrade
will be the capacity for
multi-channel sound recording as part of the production and post
production process and the delivery of ancillary information
streams as part of the transmission
process.

It is our view that in the context of this rebuilding of the
television broadcasting

system the provision of facilities to enable delivery of Audio
Enhancement will have a minimal cost and planning impact.

9.2.3 New Receivers and Set Top Boxes

Similarly, for television viewers to take advantage of the new
system in the short term, and for them to access the medium at
all following the mandatory
simulcast period, they will need to purchase new reception
equipment. Regardless of whether the consumer opts for a digital
television receiver or a set
top box to enable viewing through their current set, such
reception equipment should readily facilitate access to Audio
Enhancement Services.

The fundamental issue for resolution here is not one of available
technology but rather is one of the pragmatics of equipment
design and manufacture for
the mass market.

We are aware from our contact with the Royal National Institute
for the Blind that the delay in introducing Audio Description
Services in the UK, following
the launch of Digital Television in November 1998, has been
caused by the absence of suitable domestic reception equipment
rather than any delay from the
broadcasting Industry perspective.

Correspondence from Denise Evans, Broadcasting Policy Officer
with RNIB, quoted in full in Section 8.3 of this report advises:

"Digital Terrestrial Television launched in the UK in November
last year but it was not possible to start audio description at
that stage as the receivers
(set-top boxes) did not include the receiving capability. That is
what is being addressed now. The audio description will be
delivered into the home via
a module which will fit into the Common Interface Slot in the set
top boxes and integrated digital television sets that are
starting to become available.
This, of course, means that the viewer has to have both the
digital equipment and the AUDETEL module, Both of which have to
be paid for separately. We
are not happy with this situation but it is the only way to get a
service started. We view this, therefore, as a short term measure
and will be working
with the industry to try to ensure that the receiving capability
is incorporated into future receivers."

Clearly, in the Australian context we have the opportunity, and
the good

will to learn from the UK experience and resolve this issue ahead
of the role out of domestic receivers and set top boxes.

9.2.4 International Co-Ordination

Australia's move to digital television will closely follow
implementation in both the US and UK,

Australia has opted for the European Digital Video Broadcasting
(DVB) system, one of the two major delivery systems being
introduced worldwide.

While this and the US ATSC system differ in the way that they
assemble and

transmit television content, they offer the viewer a similar
range of features - they both offer multi-channel sound and both
feature datacasting capacity,
part of which can be applied for the delivery of Audio
Enhancement.

>From our assessment of the implementation processes as they
unfold in Australia, the UK and US, we believe that the timeframe
for Australian implementation
and the fact that we have opted for one of the two substantially
similar delivery platforms being introduced around the world
creates a most favourable
climate for the parallel introduction of Audio Enhancement in
Australia:
The Australian Television Industry and those with an interest in
Audio Enhancement can build on the work being undertaken in both
the US and UK;
As much Australian television content is sourced from the US and
UK and as the availability of audio enhanced programming is
expanding in both markets there
is an excellent opportunity to acquire described programming from
its source for broadcast in Australia;
As most domestic electronic equipment marketed in Australia is
manufactured from European or US design there is an enhanced
opportunity to ensure that receivers
and set top boxes available in Australia are capable of Audio
Enhancement delivery.
As Audio Enhancement production and delivery in both the US and
UK will be founded on similar DTTB technology to that being
introduced in Australia, there
will be a real opportunity for an international approach to the
development of production and content standards.

9.2.5 Industry & Regulatory Co-Operation

It is clear from the interaction we have had during the conduct
of this project with both representatives of the Television
Broadcast Industry and those
responsible for its regulation that there is a willingness to
consider the information needs of the blind audience at a time
when the Industry and Regulatory
Environment is undergoing substantial change.

This final point is best demonstrated by reference to the extract
quoted previously in Section 8.1 of this report from the Issues
Paper released by the
Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts
to inform its review of Captioning Standards in the lead-up to
digital television.

"While not specifically addressed in the Digital Conversion Act,
the

opportunity has also been taken to canvass issues on the
provision of

enhanced television to another relatively disadvantaged group in
the

community, the blind and vision impaired. The possibility of
providing

audio description for blind and visually impaired viewers was
noted by the

Environment Recreation Communications and the Arts (ERCA) Senate

Committee Inquiry into the Television Broadcasting Services
(Digital

Conversion) Bill 1998. The Committee's final report recommended
that

the issue of audio description for digital television be referred
to the

Consultative Group on Digital Television. The Committee further

recommended that, after consultation with user and consumer
groups and Industry representatives, the Group should report on
the matter to the Parliament."

With these various incentives available to us it is clear that
both the Television

Broadcasting Industry and those representing the interests of
blind and vision

impaired people in Australia should take full advantage of this
window of

opportunity.

9.3 COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS

In reviewing the case for the introduction to Australia of
comprehensive Audio

Enhancement Services it is important to take full account of the
broader legislative and Government policy imperatives that impact
on the situation of people
with a disability.

9.3.1. Objectives of the Broadcasting Services Act

Among other things, Section 3 of the Broadcasting Services Act
indicates that the legislation seeks:

"to promote the availability to audiences throughout Australia of
a diverse range of radio and television services offering
entertainment, education and
information"

"to provide a regulatory environment that will facilitate the
development of a Broadcasting Industry in Australia that is
efficient, competitive and responsive
to audience needs. (Section 3 Broadcasting Services Act:
Commonwealth of Australia: 1992)"

We are very aware of the reference to "availability" in the first
of these Objectives, which we assert relates to access by all
sections of the community.
We also draw attention to the expectation in the second Objective
that the Industry be "responsive to audience needs".

In the context of equitable television access for people who are
blind or vision

impaired, these references clearly provide the mandate for
Government to ensure that comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services become an integral element
of broadcast television provision in this country.

9.3.2. The Disability Discrimination Act

In 1992 the Australian Parliament enacted (with bi-partisan
support) the Disability Discrimination Act. The Objects of this
legislation are:

"(a) to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against
persons on

the grounds of disability in the areas of

(i) work, accommodation, education, access to premises, clubs and

sport; and

(ii) the provision of goods, facilities, services and land; and,

(iii) existing laws; and

(iv) the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs; and,
to ensure, as far as practicable, that persons with disabilities
have the same rights to equality before the law as the rest of
the community; and,

(c) to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of
the

principle that persons with disabilities have the same
fundamental

rights as the rest of the community. (Section 3 Disability
Discrimination Act: Commonwealth of Australia: 1992)"

The DDA functions substantially as complaints based legislation,
that can offer a remedy through conciliation or as a result of a
formal hearing, either
after

discrimination has occurred, or where it can be demonstrated that
future action

would be unlawful.

DDA Standards

The DDA provides for the development of DDA Standards which are
developed in consultation with relevant sectors of the community
and set a benchmark for
what will be accepted as compliance with the Act. One of the
defined areas for the application of DDA Standards is access to
Commonwealth Laws and Programs.
Work is currently underway under this head to develop Standards
relating to access to Government information and communication.

Beyond its regulatory role the Australian Government is a major
player in the

Australian Television Industry:
it funds and mandates the operation of our two national
television services;
it is a major user of national and commercial television for the
dissemination of information about its laws and programs.

As such the Australian Government has a legal and moral
responsibility to ensure that television content that it funds or
auspices is not presented in a
way that is discriminatory against those who are blind or vision
impaired.

It is arguable that provision of a television service and
provision of television

content for entertainment or information purposes are all
"Services" as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act. It is
equally arguable that the mandating
and funding of the ABC and SBS constitute "Commonwealth
Government Programs".

It is our view that in all these circumstances the Commonwealth
should work with community interests to develop a standard under
the DDA which would address
issues of access to the television content that it has
responsibility for, either as the broadcaster or as contributor
of the content.

Clearly the Commonwealth should then use such Standards as a
lever to ensure that both national and commercial television
broadcasters provide access to
their programming and information content via an Audio
Enhancement service.

DDA Action Plans

In addition, there is provision under the DDA for Government
Agencies,

Corporations and other organisations to develop DDA Action Plans
which are then lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission. These plans
articulate the course of action that the lodging organisation
will take to ensure that its policies and practices are in line
with the expectations of
the DDA. Such plans can serve as a defence in cases where a DDA
complaint is lodged in relation to a matter that is to be dealt
with under the Action Plan.

To our knowledge none of the commercial television broadcasters
have developed and lodged DDA Action Plans. While the ABC has a
plan in place it is vague
on the issue of access to its programs and other content and
implementation of the plan receives low priority from the
corporation. We are not aware of
an Action Plan to cover the operation of SBS.

As detailed elsewhere in this report, television providers across
Australia

consistently broadcast material that is inaccessible to people
who are blind or vision impaired. While the extend of this
discrimination varies across the
range of programming and content types, all television
broadcasters have a vulnerability to action taken under the DDA.

Our view is that all television licensees and major content
producers should protect themselves against such action by
developing DDA Action Plans that
demonstrate a commitment to address issues of access for their
disabled audience. In the context of this project, we believe
that such Action Plans should
articulate a commitment to introduce comprehensive Audio
Enhancement services to compliment there programming and other
information provision over a realistic
time frame.

9.3.3 The Commonwealth Disability Strategy

Beyond these legislative imperatives, the Commonwealth set in
place, in November 1994, its Disability Strategy, as a ten year
plan to provide:

"direction for Commonwealth Government Agencies to work towards
the

goal of a progressive, fair and inclusive society in which all

citizens including people with a disability, have equal
opportunities

to access Government programs and services."
(Commonwealth Disability

Strategy First Progress Report: 1995).

While the Strategy does not have the weight of legislation, it
has been endorsed as an ongoing initiative by the Coalition
Government and its co-ordination
is undertaken by the Commonwealth Office of Disability with the
active support of the Minister for Family Services.

The Strategy consists of a series of action points that are to be
addressed in all

Government Departments and Agencies over a pre-determined time
line.

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the
Arts enjoys a position of substantial influence among both
national and commercial television
broadcasters. In our view the Department should include
strategies relating to access to the information and
entertainment content of television within
its Disability Strategy Planning.

By ensuring that the Commonwealth takes the lead in the provision
of non-

discriminatory content, and through a pro-active educative
campaign, the

Department could do much to minimise discriminatory practices and
to encourage the establishment of comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services.

9.3.4 Other Access initiatives

In reviewing these various imperatives we are aware of several
initiatives that the Commonwealth has taken to address issues of
information access for people
with disabilities:
For more than fifteen years the Commonwealth has provided support
for the licensing, operation and transmission of Radio for the
Print Handicapped Services.
RPH Services are provided by independent community based
organisations that have been awarded Community Broadcasting
Licences and receive Government funding
support to offset program production and transmission costs.
Importantly the Commonwealth has facilitated access to the print
information that forms the
core of RPH programming through inclusion in the Copyright Act of
a Statutory Licence arrangement which eliminates the need for the
RPH Services to seek
permission from Copyright owners prior to use of published
material.
Similarly, the Commonwealth has for many years facilitated the
inclusion of captioning on broadcast television, to meet the
needs of deaf and hearing impaired
viewers. This support is provided through ongoing funding support
to the Australian Caption Centre and Television Industry and, as
discussed elsewhere
in this report, a process is currently underway to facilitate the
development of captioning standards for introduction with the
move to DTTB.
Following the lodgement and determination of a complaint under
the Disability Discrimination Act, the Commonwealth facilitated
establishment of the National
Relay Service to provide a means of telephone based communication
between deaf and hearing impaired TTY (telephone typewriter)
users and other users of
the telephone network. While this service and the associated
provision of TTY machines is now funded directly by the
Telecommunications Industry, the Commonwealth
has provided legislative backing for the scheme and maintains a
monitoring role in its operation.
Over the last two years the Commonwealth has provided around $1.5
million per year through the AccessAbility Grants Program for
research to address the
information needs of people with disabilities.

In all of these examples and elsewhere, Australian Governments
have consistently demonstrated a commitment to address the
information needs of people with
disabilities, both through direct funding of innovative programs
and through the use of legislative and administrative processes
to facilitate change.

With Digital Television Broadcasting now on the way it is time to
add Audio

Enhancement to this fine list of policy achievements.

10. MAKING TODAY'S TELEVISION MORE ACCESSIBLE

The focus of this report and the research leading to it is
clearly on the need for

comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services and the opportunity for
their

implementation with the introduction to Australia of Digital
Television. Our

interaction with the Consumer Panel that has supported this work
has however

highlighted to us that there are issues of "good practice" that
if adopted by the

Television Production and Broadcast Industries would
substantially improve access to the medium for people who are
blind or vision impaired.

In particular, our review of the feedback provided by Consumer
Panel members as part of the Focus Group aspect of the
Deprivation Study has revealed several

matters of practice or policy that mitigate against access to the
information and

entertainment content of broadcast television by members of the
blind and vision impaired population.

While we fully appreciate that television is substantially a
visual medium and that in many regards enhanced access will only
come with the introduction
of a supportive mechanism (Audio Enhancement), we take this
opportunity to urge the Industry to give full consideration to
those policies and practices
that if amended would significantly reduce the discriminatory
nature of the medium.

In short, we believe that a comprehensive Industry Code should be
developed which would set parameters relating to access to the
information and entertainment
content of the medium.

Among the various comments made as part of the Focus Group
process we note the following themes, all of which come down to
matters of good practice rather
than the fundamental characteristics of the medium.

Sound Balance

In their review of sample material across various content types
the Consumer Group referred to issues relating to the balance
between the primary sound
(dialogue and the like) and ancillary sound, including music
beds, actuality sound, and audience response and laughter. We
note that this is also often
an issue for people with hearing impairments and believe that
program producers must give greater attention to the matter of
balance between the various
sound elements in order to make there product accessible to the
greatest possible proportion of the audience.

Talent Identification

The use of on-screen captioning as the only method of identifying
talent was widely criticised. The point was made that this
practice to often results from
artistic choice rather than from an objective assessment of
effective information

dissemination.

Foreign Language Interpretation

The practice used by many documentary and current affairs
producers of using on-screen captioning as the only method of
interpretation for foreign language
material was condemned by the group. In particular, the ABC was
criticised for its persistence with this practice despite
approaches over a sustained period
from both individual blind people and representative
organisations. Several particpants indicated that they had
personally taken up the matter with ABC
Management, had only received a token responses and were now
considering action under the Disability Discrimination Act.

We strongly urge all content producers and broadcasters to give
full consideration to the discriminatory nature of this practice
and to develop practices
which ensure that blind and vision impaired viewers have the
maximum opportunity to access this form of programming.

Sports Coverage

Group members also drew attention to the reliance that is placed
on visual

presentation of key information during sports coverage. It was
pointed out, for

example, that it is current practice to sustain a brief visual
summary of score

information throughout a telecast. As a result commentators often
make less

reference to the current score. Group members indicated their
belief that this

practice severely detracts from their access to the program and
urged that all

broadcasters ensure that score and other key information within
sports commentary is presented verbally on a frequent basis.

Sports Results

Even more frustration was expressed about the practice adopted by
some

commercial networks where progress and final scores are presented
in visual form only and are linked to a tag suggesting that those
who want to watch a
later replay should turn away. We agree with the view expressed
by several group members that this practice amounts to blatant
discrimination which seeks
to protect the viability of sports replays at the direct
detriment of people who are blind or vision impaired.

Commercial Content.

As part of its review of commercial content, the Consumer Group
discussed in

detail the use of vision only information in advertising and
promotional content. It was pointed out that often the story line
that underpins an advertisement
is reasonably accessible but the advertiser's key information,
such as product, contact and price details is provided in a
vision only form.

There is reference in Section 6,4 to an announcement run on
Melbourne Television in October 1998 which provided essential
information about the process
for reconnection of Melbourne's Gas Supply. All of the content
was verbalised except for the contact number to be used for
clarification or further information.
While we fully appreciate that this announcement would have been
put together at short notice to meet a short term public
information need, we assert that
it provides an ample demonstration of the need for the
implementation of some Information Access Standards. If such
Standards had been in place this material
would have been tested against these as a matter of course and
the small modification needed would have substantially advantaged
many people in the community.

Misleading Audio Content

The Consumer Panel also drew attention to commercial content that
uses

misleading audio content as an attention grabber. Among the
sample material

viewed for this project were two advertisements that included
audio content that was misleading and could have caused alarm
among blind and vision impaired
viewers. One announcement started with the words "Here is an
important announcement" followed by silence for much of the
balance of the advert. The audio
content in the other consisted of a sound effect similar to the
raster that is heard if a broadcaster's transmission is
interrupted.

Our view is that standards covering matters of information access
should include provisions precluding the use of audio that would
be misleading to a section
of the viewing audience.

Other Visual Information

The focus group summary included as Section 6.4 of this report
draws attention to several other situations where key information
is provided in a vision
only form.

Programming discussed includes:
Lottery Results that are supported by a generic announcement
rather than specific reference to the key information for that
draw;
the inclusion in News Bulletins of graphics based financial
details and the like;
and the listing of Program Guide information.

This last practice was given particular attention because of the
obligation on

television broadcasters to include program classification
information as part of

forward promotion. Clearly when the information is in a vision
only form this

obligation is not addressed for the blind viewer.

On-screen text and graphics.

In asserting that television producers should not place total
reliance on on-screen text and graphics, we are arguing for audio
delivery in parallel rather
than as a replacement to vision based delivery. In fact, all
members of our Consumer Group recognised the importance to the
general viewing audience of
on-screen information and were keen to stress that their needs
must not be addressed at the expense of others such as those with
hearing impairments.

Those Group members with some useable vision were however keen to
stress to Broadcasters and Producers the need for improvement in
the standard of on- screen
presentation.

The following issues were identified in particular:
the size and colour contrasts used for on-screen text and
graphics symbols;
the fonts used (the Tiresias Screenfont has been developed in
Europe which maximises access for people with vision impairment
and a range of other determinants.
the on-screen duration of slides and scroll speed of trailers.

Again we concur with the Consumer Group's view that these
parameters could be adequately addressed through a comprehensive
Information Access Standard or
Industry Code.

11. WHERE TO FROM HERE?

Through conduct of this research we have been able to demonstrate
that blind and vision impaired television viewers are deprived
access to much of the information
and entertainment content of Broadcast Television.

We have reported on techniques that are in development and
limited use overseas to augment television viewing for this
audience and we have developed and
tested Audio Enhancement techniques that offer a more cost
effective means of redressing this information deprivation.

We have argued that with the introduction to Australia of Digital
Television

there is a window of opportunity available that would allow Audio
Enhancement to be established as a parallel augmentation to
Closed Captioning for the
deaf.

We have explored something of the technology behind Digital
Terrestrial Television Broadcasting and reported on the
regulatory and broader Government policy
environment that exists at the time of migration to Digital
Television.

And we have reviewed the fundamental characteristics of this
technology which

would enable Audio Enhancement delivery and reception.

In this the final chapter of our project report we will detail
some Regulatory,

Industry and community initiatives that we believe should be put
in place to

facilitate the establishment of comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services.

11.1 INFORMATION ACCESS INDUSTRY CODE

As referenced in Section 6.4 and discussed more fully in Chapter
10 our study of information deprivation has revealed that in
parallel with the need for

comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services there are a number of
significant matters of current practice that need to be addressed
in order to maximise access
to television by blind and vision impaired viewers.

We are aware that the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission has

recently determined in the matter of Maguire V SOCOG that
information provision does constitute a Service for the purposes
of the Disability Discrimination
Act and we therefore remind television content producers and
broadcasters of their vulnerability to action under the DDA if
they fail to address the information
access requirements of their blind or vision impaired viewers.

We believe that this is a matter that would be best approached
through an Industry-wide initiative as it impacts on national and
commercial broadcasters
as well as those responsible for program and commercial
production.

For these reasons we urge the Australian Broadcasting Authority
to use its

influence, in co-operation with the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity

Commission, to facilitate the development of an industry-wide
Code addressing

issues of Information Access for at least the blind and vision
impaired audience.

RECOMMENDATION ONE:

That the Australian Broadcasting Authority, with support from the
Human

Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission establish a working
party,

including representation from National and Commercial
Broadcasters,

Production Organisations and Disability Advocacy Bodies to
develop an

Industry Code of Practice which would detail practices and
policies that

would maximise access to the information and entertainment
content of

Broadcast Television for people who are blind or vision impaired.

11.2 BCA AUDIO ENHANCEMENT INTEREST GROUP

Throughout the conduct of this project we have experienced strong
support and

interest from blind and vision impaired people across Australia.
Those who

participated in the Consumer Panel supporting the project have
indicated their

commitment to an ongoing voluntary involvement in promoting the
availability of Audio Enhancement Services. Many of those we have
spoken with in the context
of presentations to the Blind Citizens Australia Convention, and
in other forums, have also expressed their support for our work
and desire to become involved
in its furtherance.

We are also aware that in the lead up to permanent and
substantial Audio

Enhancement Services there are opportunities to access described
videos and

television programming from overseas sources. Both Descriptive
Video Services in the US and the Royal National Institute for the
Blind in the UK make their
home video products available on a commercial basis and the
opportunity should be taken to maximise the availability of this
product in Australia. Also,
in this era of Internet access and Satellite distribution of
television programming, there are opportunities to access much of
the broadcast described
programming currently available in the US and soon to be
available in the UK.

Blind Citizens Australia is a membership based organisation that
achieves much of its advocacy, policy development and peer
support success through the
direct efforts of its members. With these thoughts in mind we
believe that the

opportunity should be taken to retain and expand the focus on
Audio Enhancement through the formation of a Special Interest
Group within Blind Citizens
Australia.

RECOMMENDATION TWO:

That Blind Citizens Australia establish from among its members an
Audio

Enhancement Interest Group which would provide a focus for BCA's

continuing advocacy on television access issues and would work to

establish co-operative relationships with Audio Description/Video

Description Providers in Europe and North America from where
audio

enhanced videos and program materials might be sourced for
dissemination among blind and vision impaired people in
Australia.

11.3 DEMONSTRATION VIDEO

We believe that the Audio Enhancement Exemplars produced as part
of this project have provided an adequate demonstration of the
enhancement techniques that
we have developed, within the scope of this project. We are
however conscious that there is much work to be done in
explaining and promoting the concepts
of Audio Enhancement to the broadcasting industry, consumer
products manufacturers, regulators and the broader community.

This work is vital and urgent if we are to see the introduction
of Audio

Enhancement Services in tandem with the role-out of Digital
Television

Broadcasting. It is also extremely important that those
undertaking this advocacy are supported with professional quality
sample material, particularly
when talking to those who's core business is the production of
high quality television content.

We have learned much from the feedback we have received when
showing this

sample material, With benefit of this feedback we know that we
could now

produce much improved sample segments and we are conscious that
our initial

efforts were based on use of off-air recording on domestic video
equipment.

For all of these reasons we believe that urgent attention should
be given to the

production of a comprehensive demonstration tape which can be
used both to

promote the general concepts of Audio Enhancement and to
introduce industry and regulatory interests to the cost effective
production techniques we have
developed.

Our preferred option would be for the development of a
co-operative arrangement with one or more of the television
networks whereby a sampling of their
Australian made programming and some commercial content could be
assembled for this purpose. Failing this, we believe that funds
should be sought from
the Commonwealth or through a charitable Foundation sufficient to
enable this production to proceed on a purely commercial basis.

RECOMMENDATION THREE:

That Blind Citizens Australia, in association with the Vision
Australia

Foundation, seek funding and Broadcast Industry support for the
production of a demonstration video which would include
information on the need for and
benefits of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services as well as
detail of the various enhancement techniques developed as part of
this project. And that
BCA and Vision Australia Foundation use this video to engender
support from the Broadcasting Industry, consumer products
manufacturers, regulators and
the community for the establishment of permanent Audio
Enhancement Services across Australia.

11.4 DDA STANDARD ON ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

In Section 9.3 of this report we examined the obligations for
television broadcasters and content producers that attach to the
Disability Discrimination
Act. We also outlined the process currently underway whereby a
Standard is being developed relating to Access to Commonwealth
Government Information. We
pointed out here that the Commonwealth is a major contributor to
the Australian Television Industry as Licensee and funder of the
two national services
and as a major provider of advertising content on the commercial
networks.

Also, in Section 11.1 above we referred to the vulnerability that
television

broadcasters and content producers have under the DDA if they
don't address the information needs of their disabled audience.
It is important to note that
this obligation extends to the Commonwealth at least to the same
extent as it does to commercial organisations.

Current work in relation to the DDA Standard on Access to
Government Information is not specifically focussed on access to
information distributed via television.
We believe however, that in parallel with moves toward the
introduction of Audio Enhancement and the development of an
Industry Code on Information Access
the Department of Communications should be leading development
work toward the inclusion of television based information in the
DDA Standard currently
being drafted.

RECOMMENDATION FOUR:

That the Working Party responsible for the development of a DDA
Standard on Access to Commonwealth Government Information give
consideration to the inclusion
within this Standard of specific provisions relating to access to
Commonwealth information distributed via broadcast Television

11.5 DISABILITY ACTION PLANS

In Section 9.3 we also canvassed the notion of television content
producers and

broadcasters committing themselves to the development of DDA
Action Plans.

Such Action Plans represent a commitment to address matters of
potential

discrimination over a realistic time frame. We believe that as
major providers of information television broadcasters and
content producers should protect

themselves against DDA action by developing such Plans which
would then be

registered with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission.

In the context of this work, we particularly want to urge
television broadcasters to commit themselves to DDA Action Plans
that include a specific commitment
over a reasonable timeframe to the provision of comprehensive
Audio Enhancement as an adjunct to their service.

We recognise that there has been little exposure to the concept
of DDA Action

Plans across the Industry and urge the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity

Commission to provide a stimulus to this process through conduct
of a

comprehensive briefing process which would include information
about the

concepts of Audio Enhancement.

RECOMMENDATION FIVE:

That a Broadcast Industry Seminar be convened to inform
television production and broadcast organisations on the
Disability Discrimination Act Action Plan
process and its potential to encompass strategies toward the
implementation of Audio Enhancement Services.

11.6 DIGITAL TELEVISION CONSULTATIVE GROUP

As discussed in Chapter Eight of this report, Australia's move to
the introduction of Digital Television is closely following
similar implementation in
both the UK and USA. At this time Audio Enhancement Services have
not been established using the digital platform in either country
and much of the technical
fine tuning needed to provide for their transmission and ready
reception is still in progress.

We believe that Australia is well placed to monitor and learn
from overseas

experience in relation to Audio Enhancement, just as it is with
the broader issues around DTTB.

The Minister for Communications Information Technology and the
Arts has

established a Consultative Group to have oversight of the DTTB
implementation

process and we believe that a sub-committee of this body,
supplemented with

appropriate Audio Description expertise would be best placed to
resolve technical issues relating to the introduction of Audio
Enhancement in the broader
environment of a move to Digital Broadcasting.

RECOMMENDATION SIX:

That the Digital Television Consultative Group, established by
the Minister

for Communications Information Technology and the Arts, establish
a sub-committee to investigate matters pertaining to the
transmission and reception of
comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services as part of the DTTB
platform.

11.7 AUDIO ENHANCEMENT STANDARD

As indicated elsewhere in this report a review of Standards
relating to the provision of closed captioning services for
people who are deaf or hearing impaired
is a requirement of the Amending Legislation that mandates
digital television provision. The issues paper distributed with
the call for submissions earlier
this year explains that matters relating to the availability of
captioned programming have previously been dealt with under the
Codes of Practice in place
for the ABC and Commercial Broadcasters.

We have also referenced the fact that the Legislation providing
for Digital television delivery in the UK includes a provision
which establishes levels
of non-exempt programming that must carry closed captioning and
audio description. 10% of non-exempt programming must be
described by the tenth anniversary
of the introduction of digital broadcasting, while the quota for
closed captioning is 50% of non-exempt content.

One of the fundamentals of this project has been to identify and
test the viability of audio enhancement techniques that can be
cost effectively applied
across the range of television content. We have asserted that
processes such as Improvised Description and Audio Captioning can
be provided at a far lower
cost than Timed and Scripted Integration and feedback from our
Consumer Panel has indicated that the availability of such
description would be highly valued
by the target audience.

On the basis of these developments we strongly support the
proposal that a

Standard be developed which would mandate the increased provision
of Audio

Enhancement over a realistic time frame. We are however equally
strong in our view that in light of the cost effective techniques
that we have demonstrated
this Standard should be set at the same level of content as that
applied for captioning for deaf viewers.

We affirm the contention which underpinned our application for
funding of this

project, "That Audio Enhancement should be as widely available as
is closed

captioning for deaf and hearing impaired television viewers.

RECOMMENDATION SEVEN:

That a Standard be developed, under authority of the Broadcasting
Services Act, that will ensure the availability of Audio
Enhancement on Australian television,
at the same level as that mandated for closed captioning, within
five years of the introduction of Digital Television Services.

11.8 A PILOT AUDIO ENHANCEMENT SERVICE.

While we have written here of the "window of opportunity" that
presents for the

introduction of comprehensive Audio Enhancement Services in
parallel with the

introduction of Digital Television Broadcasting, we expect that a
concerted effort will be required over the next two to three
years if this time frame
is to be

achieved.

As discussed elsewhere in this report there is much to be done on
the technical

front to ensure that Audio Enhancement can be transmitted as a
standard

component of the digital television package and can be readily
received and

accessed by the users of popular brand digital televisions and
set top boxes.

In parallel with this technical development there is extensive
work to be done in

improving Audio Enhancement production techniques to a point
where they fully meet the needs of their primary users.

>From a commercial perspective there is also a lot to be done to
demonstrate the viability and commercial advantage that will
attach to the use of effective
Audio Enhancement.

All of this work needs to occur in a real life situation where
the needs and

expectations of the user group can be factored in.

For all of these reasons we conclude that the establishment and
operation over a realistic time frame of a model service is
essential.

Based on the community, government and industry support we have
received during the conduct of this project we believe that it
would be practical to establish
a pilot service in a major city location such as Melbourne where
it could offer Audio Enhancement of a range of Australian-made
television content across
the various Networks.

We would see such a service functioning as a community based
organisation with a small staff to lead the service and the
active involvement of a larger
number of suitably skilled and trained volunteers.

Delivery of the Audio Enhancement Services during this trial
period would need to be as a simulcast using a dedicated radio
channel. For preference, this
should operate on the open bands, as our Radio for the Print
Handicapped Services currently do, where its service would be
available to the broad population
of blind and vision impaired people. Alternatively, it may be
necessary, at least initially to offer this as a closed
subscription service using an off-band
frequency or SAP channel associated with a high powered FM
commercial or national service.

In either circumstance it would be important that the paid staff
include someone with specific responsibility (and matching
expertise) for ongoing audience
research.

Our initial rough estimates indicate that establishment of such a
service would cost between $150,000 and $250,000 depending on
transmission arrangements
and around $300,000 per year to operate.

We believe that funding for this initiative should be provided on
a joint basis from Government, the Broadcasting Industry and
wider community.

RECOMMENDATION EIGHT:

That an Audio Enhancement Pilot Service be established; to
operate over a minimum twelve period; to provide a focus for the
development of Audio Enhancement
techniques and production standards; and to work in close
co-operation with television broadcasters toward the integration
of comprehensive Audio Enhancement
Services into the Australian Broadcast Television System.

REFERENCES

AUSTRALIA

Broadcasting Services Act 1992; Commonwealth of Australia;
1993Disability Discrimination Act 1992; Commonwealth of
Australia; 1992Digital Terrestrial Television
Broadcasting in Australia (First Report);

Australian Broadcasting Authority; 1995

Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Australia (Final
Report);

Australian Broadcasting Authority; 1997

Explanatory Memorandum to Television Broadcasting Services
(Digital

Conversion) Act 1998; Commonwealth of Australia

Australian Broadcasting Planning Handbook for Digital Terrestrial
Television

Broadcasting; Australian Broadcasting Authority; Draft November
1998

Commercial Television Conversion Scheme 1999; Australian
Broadcasting

authority; April 1999

Commercial Television Conversion Scheme Explanatory Paper;
Australian

Broadcasting authority; March 1999

Digital Datacasting Test Transmissions, Draft Regulatory Policy;
Australian

Broadcasting Authority; May 1999

National Television Conversion Scheme 1998; Australian
Broadcasting Authority; Draft December 1998

Digital Broadcasting Questions and Answers; Department of
Communications

Information Technology and the Arts Website; 1998;

www.dca.gov.au/mediarel/98/digitalqa.html

Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting - Its Introduction
for Television

Broadcasting in Australia: Colin Knowles, Australian Broadcasting
Authority; Paper presented to 1996 Australian Broadcasting
Summit; IIR; 1996

Digital Broadcasting - the Wedge Widens; Giles Tanner Australian
Broadcasting

Authority; Paper presented to Communications Research Forum,
September 1998

Multi-channel Broadcasting and Program Diversity; Adrian Walker,
Communications Research Unit. Department of Communications and
the Arts; Paper presented
to Communications Research Forum, September 1998

The Potential for Spectrum Sharing; Prof Reg Coutts, Dr Derik
Rogers, Ms Nittaya Soonthonsiripong; Centre for
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University of Adelaide; Paper presented to Communications
Research Forum, September 1998

"ABA releases draft digital channel plans for TV services" Media
Release;

Australian Broadcasting Authority Website; May 1999

www.aba.gov.au/whats_new/newrel_99/35nr99.htm

"ABA releases draft regulatory policy for datacasting trial"
Media Release;

Australian Broadcasting Authority Website; May 1999

www.aba.gov.au/whats_new/newrel_99/41nr99.htm

"ABA welcomes comments by Digital Convergence Australia" Media
Release;

Australian Broadcasting Authority Website; March 1999

www.aba.gov.au/whats_new/newrel_99/18nr99.htm

"Big opportunities for Australian industry in digital
broadcasting" Media

Release; Minister for Communications; December 1998

"Digital Broadcasting a step closer" Media Release; Minister for

Communications; April 1998

Digital Television Consultative Group; Australian Broadcasting
Authority

Website;
www.aba.gov.au/what/digital/consult_aba.htm (
May 1999)

Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Specialist Group;
Australian

Broadcasting Authority Website;
www.aba.gov.au/what/digital/spec_aba.htm

(May 1999)

Reviews into the scope of datacasting services and enhanced
services,

Discussion of Options; Department of Communications Information
Technology and the Arts
www.dcita.gov.au
June 1999

Review of Captioning Standards Call for Submissions and Issues
Paper;

Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts;
December 1998

Review of Digital Television format Standards (High Definition
Television),

Discussion of Options; Department of Communications Information
Technology and the Arts Website;
www.dcita.gov.au

Review of Regulatory Arrangements for the allocation of
broadcasting spectrum

for the provision of datacasting services, Discussion Paper;

Australian Communications Authority and Department of
Communications

Information Technology and the Arts; DCITA Website
www.dcita.gov.au
June 1999

Television Fund Issues Paper and Media Release; Department of
Communications Information Technology and the Arts; July 1999

"Comms Companies band together for Digital TV push"; Selina
Mitchel Newswire;
www.newswire.com.au
March 1999

Listing of Audio Described Videos; Extract from Library Catalogue
Royal

Victorian Institute for the Blind; May 1999

Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice Federation of
Australian

Commercial Television Stations; 1993

Submission to Review of the Commercial Television Industry Code
of Practice;

National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia; October 1996

Review of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice (an

Information Package containing an overview of the Review, an
explanatory

document and a draft of the Code with advisory notes) Federation
of Australian

Commercial Television Stations; March 1999

EUROPE
The European AUDETEL Project Newsletter; Royal National Institute
for the Blind; January 1997AUDETEL Audio Described Television -
the Launch of National
Test Transmissions;

M K Lodge, N W Green, J P Nunn; Paper presented to the
International

Broadcasting Convention; September 1994

Digital Television and Radio: What's happening?; Royal National
Institute for

the Blind Website; 1998

www.rnib.org.uk/wedo/research/european/audetel/digtv.html

Audio Description on Television Coming to a television set near
you; RNIB Website;

1998
www.rnib.org.uk/wedo/research/european/audetel/welcome.html

BBC Digital frequently asked questions - Key Facts; BBC Online;
June 1999

www.bbc.co.uk/info/reception/digifaqs/facts.shtml

Facts about DVB-T; Martin Jacklin, Peter MacAvock, Andrew
Oliphant; DVB Project Office & BBC; 1999
www.dvb.org/dvb_articles/dvb_pcm110.htm

Receiver Opportunities of World DTTB Standards, a receiver
manufacturers

view; Cornelius M Huizer, Jan van der Meer; Philips Digital Video
Systems;

www.dvb.org/dvb_articles/dvb_receivers.htm

Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting an explanatory guide to the
provisions introduced by the Broadcasting Act 1996; Broadcasting
Policy Division, Department
of Heritage (United Kingdom)
www.culture.gov.uk

UNITED STATES
Welcome to Descriptive Video Services (various background
documents from the DVS Website)
www.wgbh.org/wgbh/access/dvs

Video Description in North America; Jacklyn Packer, American
Foundation for the Blind: New Technologies in the Education of
the Visually Handicapped; John
Libbey, Eurotext p 103 - 107; 1996

Who's Watching? A Profile of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Audience for

Television and Video; Jaclyn Packer, Korinne Kichner; American
Foundation for the Blind; 1997

Adding Audio Description to Television Science Programs,
Executive Summary;

from American Foundation for the Blind Website; May 1996

www.afb.org/afb/e_ex1.html

Project to Conduct Research on Described Video's Audience and
methods of

distribution (advance section of final report)
www.afb.org/afb/e_video2.html

DTV Access Project, National Centre on Accessible Media; various
documents

from the NCAM website;
www.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/ncam/dtv/

Narrative Television Network (various documents from website);

www.narrativetv.com

AudioVision Canada; Robert S Trimbee The National Broadcast
Reading Service (Canada) 1995

ATTACHMENT ONE

QUESTIONNAIRE

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS PROFILES

NAME:
.................................................................
...........................

ADDRESS:
.................................................................
.......................

PHONE: ..........................
EMAIL:.....................................................

AGE RANGE: 20 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 65 OVER 65

SIGHT LOSS: Totally Blind Min Vision Usable Sight

WHEN SIGHT LOSS OCCURRED
.........................................................

HOW OFTEN DO YOU WATCH TV?

Once a week or less

Some days each week

Most days each week

Every Day

HOW LONG FOR < One hour 1 to 3 hours 3 to 5 hours 5 hours >

WHO DO YOU USUALLY WATCH WITH?

On own

With blind partner, family member, friend

With sighted partner, family member, friend

With family group

DO YOU WATCH

Mostly ABC, ABC and Commercial, Mostly Commercial

SBS, SBS and Commercial, SBS and ABC, All Three

WHAT CONTENT TO YOU WATCH MOST?
........................................

.................................................................
.......................... ............

WHY
.................................................................
...........................

WHAT DO YOU WATCH LEAST
.........................................................

.................................................................
.......... ............................

WHY
.................................................................
...........................

OTHER COMMENTS
.................................................................
.......

.................................................................
.............. ........................

ATTACHMENT TWO

TELEVISION USAGE SURVEY

TO BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED BY EMAIL TO:
infoalt@ozemail.com.au.
Do you or those you live with own a television set? Yes/No

2. How often do you watch TV (average number of times per week)?

3. For how long do you usually watch (average duration of
viewing)?

4. A) Do you watch on your own or with others?

B) If with others are they sighted or blind people?

5. A) What types of programming do you prefer?

B) Why?

6. A) What types of programming do you watch least?

B) Why?
A) Have you ever watched Audio Described TV programs or videos?

YES/NO B) Please describe when and what they were. C) Did you
find the description assisted with your understanding of the
program content?

ATTACHMENT THREE
WORKSHOP ONE PROGRAM

DEPRIVATION OF BLIND TV VIEWERS

To be held at Blind Citizens Australia 87 High Street Prahran, on
Saturday and

Sunday, 29 and 30 August 1998.

SATURDAY

9.30 WELCOME AND ROLE CALL

INTRODUCTION - BILL JOLLEY

BACKGROUND COMMENTS - J SIMPSON

* About Audio Enhancement

* Explanation of Project

* Explanation of Workshop process

10.15 DRAMA AND SITUATION COMEDY

Seven sample segments.

"Describe what is occurring during this segment".

Focus Group discussion - 20 minutes

11.15 BREAK

11.30 ENTERTAINMENT

- including Variety, Game Shows and Skit Comedy.

Six sample segments.

"Describe what is occurring during this segment".

Focus Group discussion - 20 mins

12.30 LUNCH

1.15 DOCUMENTARY Four sample segments. "What is the Producer
trying to convey in this segment?" Focus Group discussion - 15
mins2.00 CURRENT AFFAIRS & INTERVIEW
Six sample segments.

Questions specific to each segment.

Focus Group discussion - 15 mins

2.45 BREAK

3.00 SPORT AND EVENTS

Sport

Four sample segments.

"Briefly describe the passage of play in this segment."

Questions varied for each segment.

Events

Two sample segments, run twice, with response time - 15 mins

"Describe the scene that is the subject of this segment".

Focus Group discussion - 20 mins

4.00 DAY ONE WRAP UP

- Discussion of outstanding issues

4.30 DAY ONE CLOSE

SUNDAY

9.30 DAY TWO INTRODUCTION

9.45 NEWS Five sample segments. "What is the substance of this
news report - who, what, where?"

Focus Group discussion - 20 mins

10.45 BREAK

11.00 INFORMATION SEGMENTS

- including lottery and sports results, whether, finance

Ten sample segments.

What is the key information being provided in this segment?

Questions specific to segments

Focus Group discussion - 15 mins

11.45 INFOTAINMENT

Four sample segments.

What is the key information being provided in this segment?

Focus Group discussion - 15 mins

12.30 OTHER TV CONTENT

Focus Group discussion - 30 mins

1.00 LUNCH

1.45 ADVERTISING

20 adverts run twice.

Questions specific to each advert.

Focus Group discussion - 30 mins

3.15 BREAK

3.30 GENERAL DISCUSSION

* Outstanding Issues

* Other matters

* Where to from here?

4.30 WORKSHOP CLOSE

ATTACHMENT FOUR
 DEPRIVATION OF BLIND TV VIEWERS

SUMMARY OF VIDEO MATERIAL USED

DRAMA AND SITUATION COMEDY

"Describe what is occurring during each segment?"

1. Home and Away Seven 9/6/98 1.15

Stroke Victim in Hospital (6 points)

Scene, patio outside hospital ward.

Male patient appears as Stroke or Head Injury victim or similar.

Girlfriend arrives and they talk.

Much of scene depicts one to one conversation.

2. All Saints Seven 9/6/98 0.50

Tea Room "accident" scene (8 points)

Scene, hospital staff-room.

Three staff on a break are talking and fooling around.

Female cleaner comes in and collects rubbish bag.

As female staff member is teasing male, cleaner swings rubbish
bag so

that it knocks hot drink over female.

Concern that female is burned.

One male challenges cleaner.

3. Blue Healers Seven 10/6/98 0.40

Tania found injured in house (11 points)

Scene, in house, girl lies on floor, appears injured.

Scene changes to outside as Police are knocking on door.

Male Police runs round back, female continues to knock.

Car rushes past male at speed and knocks him to ground.

Female runs to male, grabs for her gun as she approaches.

Scene changes to inside as both Police rush in, female checks and
calms

injured girl.

4. State Coroner Ten 24/8/98 0.50 Dermett injured in hit and run
(8 points) Scene, in office, obviously night.

Older man walks in as male and female are preparing to leave.

Female collects files and leaves, males follow talking.

As they cross road car approaches at speed and hits both males.

Older man knocked to ground, younger man bounced onto bonnet,
roof then ground.

Female rushes back from parked car to investigate.

5. Corelli ABC 14/8/98 2.20

Drug shoot-up in gaol cell (8 points)

Scene, prison at night.

Man in bare feet pacing in cell.

Door slot opens and small parcel drops through to floor.

Prisoner unwraps syringe and small vile.

Prepares syringe (shown in detail).

Sits, injects into hand then appears to collapse.

6. Water Rats Nine 7/7/98 3.10

Car chase - fatal accident (11 points)

Male and female Police Officers in city street, recognise
suspect.

Run to car and as suspect car takes off they pursue.

Pass apparent roadworks site then head into warehouse, dockside
area.

Car chase shown in detail including some near misses.

Car being pursued is cornered and in attempt to escape runs into
end of

long pipe or street light pole which is hanging off back of truck
or similar.

Impacts through windscreen, decapitates suspect, scene is
gruesome.

Drugs in back of car smattered with blood.

7. The Games ABC 24/8/98 3.05

Talkback radio scene (12 points)

Scene, in office, John is talking on mobile phone.

Cut to radio host in studio taking talkback call.

Scene cuts between office and studio throughout.

After finishing one call John picks up second mobile and dials.

Brian comes in and as he speaks John points to radio.

John speaks to radio show producer.

As the radio host takes his call he takes phone from ear -
apparently cut-off.

This happens several times.

Eventually he puts down second mobile and picks up phone handset
lying on desk and apologises to caller.

As he does, first mobile rings and he answers - scene fades.

ENTERTAINMENT

- including Variety, Game Shows and Skit Comedy.

"Describe what is occurring during segment?

1. Hey Hey its Saturday Nine 15/8/98 2.40

- Opening monologue (13 points)

On host set, we see Daryl at first but female co-host is
obviously off

camera. As Daryl talks newspaper clip is shown.

Illustration of thong with rockets attached is shown.

As woman in audience laughs loudly audience shots are shown.

Shots of co-host and Wilbur with band.

Cartoon of Mortien can with rocket motors is shown.

Daryl picks up cards from audience members shows two cards with

chewing gum stuck between. He stretches apart and pretends to eat
gum. Cartoon of new baby shown as crew member's baby is
mentioned.2. Midday with Kerrie
Anne Nine 17/8/98 1.20

- Interview with Tattoo'd Lady Julia Canusi (5 points)

Segment opens with head and shoulders shot of woman, all exposed
skin is covered with tattoos.

We then see two panel shot indicating that guest is at remote
location

- tagged Los Angeles.

Camera pans down, we see that arms and legs are also covered with

tattoos.3. IMT Nine 17/8/98 1.20 - "Who dares wins" skit (12
points) Scene, suburban street location. Characters presented as
Mike Whittney and Tania Zaetta
approach.

He has money in hand throughout.

They approach man in street who gives more attention to Tania's

apparent bust line than to Mike. Close-up shots of Tania's bust.
Scene shifts to outside of a meeting location with people in
background.

Man in street is interviewed briefly, then re-appears dressed as
Pauline Hanson. Shots of Mounted Police controlling large unruly
crowd. After further comment
man goes off screen apparently to walk through

hostile crowd.

Rubbish thrown back into shot - supposed crowd ripping clothes
from man.

As Mike talks, camera focuses on Tania who is exaggerating her
bust.

4. Totally full Frontal Ten 17/8/98 0.45

Libra Advert skit (8 points)

Scene, woman at wardrobe selecting clothes to pack.

TV is on in background showing weather report.

As report proceeds woman moves clothes and picks up small pack
apparently tampons.

As report continues she moves further clothes and picks up second
pack,

then holds up foil strip of condoms.

As weather man concludes she up-ends case onto bed.

5. Hot Street Seven 24/8/98 1.50

from Round three (10 points)

Game Show set, male and female teams of four down flanks with
host in

centre.

Host talks to female team and as he suggests players change
places they

execute little dance routine.

Host shows Captain card for choice of word. We see options on
screen.

She makes choice. Remainder of team are facing away from Captain
with headphone on.

As game begins Captain taps number two on shoulder, she turns and

removes headphones. Captain then gives verbal clue of word. When
number two guesses right she turns to number three and sequence
is repeated.

6. Wheel of Fortune Seven 24/8/98

end of Round One (7 points)

Game Show set. Host and three contestants stand at low barrier
overlooking large wheel mounted horizontally. Wheel has insert
panels with Dollar amounts
and other chances.

Game board is vertical with blanks for words spaced out. When
letter is

guessed its square is turned and light from behind to highlight
letters as they become known.

Contestants spin wheel, and if they choose letter that is in
phrase they getcredited Dollar amount they spun up. As game
progresses Board is filled with
correct letters as guessed.

DOCUMENTARY

"What is the Producer trying to convey in this segment?"

1. Our World Nine 16/8/98

Burke and Wills Story - Crocodile sequence (4 points)

Scene starts with host to camera in remote locations. He is
showing old

picture of young girl.

Aerial and wide shots of mangrove country are shown then crocs in
water.

Cuts to small town and then to re-creation of large croc in town
park

then more wide shots of rivers and mangroves.

2. The Pitch ABC 18/8/98

"Mr Derwent campaign" segment (8 points)

Scene,Ad Agency artwork preparation area.

Staff are preparing flip cards of animation character for
presentation to client.

We see some detail of character, and people working.

Scene changes to conference room and discussion between Ad Agency
rep and client, others are present.

Again we see detail of animation as they are shown and discussed.

3. Healthy Wealthy and Wise Ten 17/8/98

Absailing sequence Buccan Story (7 points)

Scene opens with group of young students preparing to undertake
absailing.

We then see various people attempting absailing exercise.

Some are confident others are most reticent.

Scene then changes to TeePee Village location.

After wide shots we see tourist group involved in sing-song
around campfire with woman playing guitar.

4. Doco before BTN segment on Spinafex ABC ? (6 points)

Host speaks to camera from Spinafex location.

He places large thermometer under spinafex clump to check
temperature.

We then see close ups of small animals in spinafex.

Then go to animation of construct of spinafex leaf as it is
described.

CURRENT AFFAIRS AND INTERVIEW

1. Australian Biography SBS 16/8/98 1.30

Elizabeth Durack Interview - from start (1 point)

"Who is being interviewed?"

Scene, woman in home office type location talking to camera.

As music comes up frame freezes and super appears bottom left,

"Elizabeth Durack" bottom right, "born 1915, Artist".

As she resumes talking photo is shown of young girl with other
children.

2. 60 Minutes Nine 16/8/98 2.40

Tax Sell Story - audience reaction segment (9 points)

"What is being portrayed in this segment?"

Scene, studio audience viewing large TV monitors. Host Paul
Lineham sits

at desk on platform with computer/TV monitor alongside.

As process is explained we see audience members with hand held
devices

with large knob to turn.

We see clips from the Prime Minister's and Mr Beasley's
addresses. These

are interspersed with shots of audience using meter devices and
bar graph showing reaction to aspects of address.

Lineham reviews audience response and we cut in and out of this
footage.

3. Australia's Most Wanted Seven 24/8/98 1.10

Paul Burt Story (8 points)

"What is your understanding of the crime being described and
re-enacted?"

Scene, suburban street location host to camera.

Then re-enactment of victim leaving home and being shot. This is

interspersed with interview and repeat showing of hand firing
gun.

4. A Current Affair Nine 19/8/98 1.10

RSPCA Story - from start ( 8 points)

"Describe the action and scene here."

Starts with host to camera.

Then film of TV crew in shed or similar, farmer demands they
leave and

strikes out at camera and crew members.

Then cut to film of previous story. Women being interviewed then
graphic

shots of poultry in very poor condition with injuries, some dead
and filth in poultry cages.

5. Uncensored ABC 26/8/98 0.25

Norman Mailer Interview (5 points)

- reference to Feminist Movement

"Beyond the verbal interview what is the Producer portraying
here?"

Face to face interview, Morman Mailor and Jana Wendt.

Focus is on Jana's reaction (facial expressions) to Norman's
provocative

statements.

6. Foreign Correspondent ABC 18/8/98 2.30

Pakistan India conflict (8 points)

- captioned interview with locals.

"What is the situation for the film crew here?"

"What do you understand of the foreign language content?"

Scene, mountain road, Pakistan side of Pakistan/India border.

Reporter is interviewing Military Officer then they stop locals
in truck and

question them. Captioned foreign language material is used
without

verbalisation.

At end we see film crew and others moving out because of threat
of

Military action.

SPORT
1. AFL Football Seven 17/5/98 1.40 Adelaide V Richmond - from 3/4
time (8 points)

"Describe the play in this segment?"

Start of last quarter, Adelaide kicking to left, Richmond to
right.

Adelaide, 9 11 65 Richmond 7 4 46.

Ball worked forward a few meters by Richmond then second bounce.

Adelaide given free inside Richmond 50 metre circle.

Kick taken then Umpire recalls and gives kick back outside fifty
metre

circle.

Adelaide kick, mark and kick.

Jarman marks at 50 metre circle and kicks a point.

2. Women's National SBS 16/8/98 1.35

Hockey Championships - Qld V WA (8 points)

"Describe the play in this segment?"

Segment starts with WA team list on screen as comments are made.

Caption, "first semi-final".

Qld players hit off, play is in WA half near centre and then
moves toward

goal. One attempt at goal during segment.

3. Wide World of Sports Nine 15/8/98 1.35

Dark and Stormy Thundercats Surf Series - Round 6 (8 points)

"Describe the sport covered and highlights of the action taking
place?"

Segment starts with slide of race line-up.

Wide shot of beach and line-up with caption of commentators
names.

On board shots from two boats - as race starts a crew can't get
motor

started and big wave swamps them.

After some time cut to wider shots of race, some further shots of
stranded

boat then shots of boats as they finish first lap.

4. Wide World of Sports Nine 15/8/98 2.10

Ten-Pin Bowling, competition unknown. (8 points)

"Describe the play that occurs in this segment?"

Segment opens with shots of audience clapping.

First Bowler, male, first bowl down left, one pin.

Second bowl down right, 2 or 3 pins.

Second Bowler, female, one pin right side.

Second bowl in left gutter.

Third Bowler, Kara, 7 pins.

EVENTS

1. Melbourne City Christmas Concert Seven 21/12/97 2.00

- Santa Clause segment (10 points)

"Describe the scene that is the subject of this segment?"

Scene, large outdoor stage in city location with large crowd in
attendance.

Host and "Inn Keeper" character refer to Santa's attendance.
Santa

appears on top of Office Building in sight of crowd. After some
dialogue

Santa is to be encouraged down the chimney on count from crowd.
After

three attempts Santa arrives on set via large fire place and is
welcomed by host and "Inn Keeper". Scene ends with Santa handing
out presents.

2. 1997 Grand Final Opening Seven 27/9/98 3.00

- use from start "Welcome to the G" (10 points)

"Describe the scene that is the subject of this segment?"

Scene Opens with Bruce McAvaniey to Camera. He intros Opening.

Heraldic Trumpeters are on top of Scoreboard then as song starts
we see

large choir assembled on the arena in formation around large
central

platform. As song continues we see groups of young people in
formations around large circular banners that they hold flat so
that aerial shot shows these
as disks around perimeter of arena.

NEWS

"What is the substance of this news report - who, what, where?"

1. TEN News Ten 17/8/98 1.35

Steve Fossett Balloon Rescue Story (14 points)

Opens with RAAF Hurcules taking off.

Scenes of Balloon take-off.

Scenes of Mission Control - Allan Blount Mission Controller to
camera.

File footage Steve Fossett at Press Conference.

Map of world showing balloon progress then close up of Coral Sea
area

with indications of heavy storm shown.

Brian Hill, Maratime Rescue Centre Canberra, to camera.

Joe Ritchie, Rescue Controller, St Louis, to camera.

RAAF Hurcules in flight.

Still slide showing "Voice of Flying Officer Mathew Devlin".

Shot of Navy vessel at sea and then crew member using binoculars.

Still, map of Coral Sea area with super of phone and "Laurie
Ripper,

Skipper Atlanta".

Film of Balloon launch.

2. TEN News Sport Story Ten 17/8/98 1.55

Pat Rafter wins ATP Championships Ohio (8 points)

Story opens with Presenter to Camera.

Banner "Another Title"

Slide of scores headed "A.P.T. Championship"

video starts with court-side scoreboard then players entering
court.

Aerial shot then into segments of play.

After match-point Sampras shown reluctantly shaking hands then

protesting to Umpire.

Rafter, to camera interview.

Rafter holds trophy high then seen signing autographs.

3. Nightline Nine 17/8/98 2.15

Wollongong Floods (late breaking story) (10 points)

After Opening Titles Waley to Camera.

Map of NSW Coastal area showing relationship between Wollongong
and Sydney, then zoom in on more immediate flood area map.

Night scene of road with traffic bank-up due to floods.

Then Police Officer addressing waiting motorists using megaphone.

Shots of waiting motorists then to camera comments from a couple.

Shots of cars travelling through heavy floods, shots of cars
stuck in mud.

Shots of houses threatened by flood waters, then man with child

wading though waist deep water using rope for support.

File footage of previous mud-slide.

Second aspect of story - shots of ambulance with lights flashing
then of

rescue crews and fast running river.

4. Seven Nightly News Seven 14/7/98 1.30

Head-on crashes "Tragic Toll" (8 points)

Presenter to camera - Banner "Tragic Toll".

Map of South Gippsland, Philip Island area.

Aerial shot then ground level shots of bad head-on accident

on country road.

Various shots of rescue attempts and then stretcher loading into

ambulance.

Sergeant Gary Ricardo to camera comment.

Second aspect of story, vision of night time head-on smash
captioned

"amateur vision".

Various grabs of damaged vehicles.

Graham Petrie, Ambulance Officer, to camera comment.

Shots of Queen's Road then overhead lane indicators.

5. ABC News ABC 14/8/98 2.05

Health insurance Story (8 points)

Presenter to camera, Banner "Private Incentive".

Footage of advert encouraging Private Health Cover - theme is
patients

in hospital beds on supposed freeway.

The stats of Health Cover memberships - 97/98 comparison.

Russell Schneider, Health insurance Assoc to camera.

John Howard in radio studio.

Michael Lee Opposition Spokesman, at Press Conference then to
camera

comment.

Reporter, outside location, to camera piece.

Back to footage from ad.

INFORMATION SEGMENTS

"What is the key information being provided in this segment?"

"Does this presentation provide you with meaningful and
comprehensive

information?"

1. Keno Draw Nine 16/8/98 1.10

(1 point)

Jackpot $1,021,000.

Numbers 16, 48, 32, 28, 9, 72, 22, 61, 55, 54,

26, 78, 71, 62, 38, 20. 23, 18, 70, 77.

2. Tatts two Results Seven 14/7/98 1.00

(shown within Home and Away) (1 point)

Numbers 43 & 36, Dividends shown.

3. Ozlotto Draw 230 Seven 14/7/98 2.30

(1 point)

Prize Pool $3,203,407.

Numbers 9, 38, 28, 26, 2, 43 supps 15, 18.

4. On ABC Tonight ABC 15/8/98 0.40

(shown 6.59 pm (1 point)

Segment starts with preview of Hamish McBeth.

Then slide listing programs with starting times, classification
and if

program is Captioned.

Bottom of screen contains URL.

Voice over does not give all times etc.

5. TEN News Finance Ten 17/8/98 0.40

(4 points)

Segment starts out of Ad break, music backing, no voice over.

Comprises series of background slides with info supered

- All Ords, closing figure, today's movement and ten day trend

shown as graph;

- Four leading stocks, closing prices with today's movement;

- Australian Dollar movement for day;

- Gold Price.

6. Seven News Finance Seven 14/7/98 0.25 (3 points)

Segment follows "Coming Up" and leads to Ad Break, music, no
voice over.

- closing figure, today's movement and 15 day trend shown as bar
graph;

- Gold price and movement indicator;

- Australian Dollar figure and movement indicator.

7. Weather Ten News Ten 17/8/98 2.45

(6 points)

Presenter works to camera with chroma-keyed charts and maps
behind.

Presenter summarises and highlights information of today's
weather from

displays but does not cover extent of info provided on screen.

Starts with Melbourne situation, then Victoria and then
Australian major

cities. Generalises with trends "this massive front coming our
way" but no

indication of direction intensity or movement as indicated on
map.

Again forecast is summarised verbally and fuller info on screen.
There is

very little verbal info given that is not shown on screen.

8. Weather Nine News Nine 19/8/98 2.15

(6 points)

Presenter works to camera and refers to chroma-keyed maps and
charts

that appear to be behind him.

Works through today's conditions Australia wide with reference to

barometric chart, rainfall etc.

Then to today's temperatures and conditions across Victoria and
then

for Melbourne.

Then tomorrow's forecast - Australia wide.

Again presenter summarises and highlights visual information.

9. Weather Seven News Seven 14/7/98 2.20

(6 points)

Starts with Presenter in front of chroma-keyed view of Melbourne
skyline.

Vision is speed-up to show trend over time period.

Stats appear as supers over skyline panorama.

Starts with Melbourne situation. Some verbal references that are
not

covered on screen.

Cloud sequences etc are shown as an animation as if flying at
high speed at cloud level across Australia.

Visual information is summarised but greater use of examples that
are not

shown on screen. Use of extended, seven day outlook.

10. Weather ABC ABC 14/8/98 2.20 "Before viewing segment pick a
location in Victoria and then view the forecast from that
perspective." (4 points) Presenter
works to camera with Chroma-keyed maps etc behind.

Starts with today's situation across Victoria. Presenter makes
specific

reference to some locations and highlights trends elsewhere.

More specific than others in verbalising general forecast across
State and

then moves out of shot with specific reference "these are
temperatures

across State tomorrow".

Quite good at providing specific verbalisation of Melbourne
situation.

INFOTAINMENT

"What is the key information being provided in this segment?"

"How much value to you is this segment?"

1. Better Homes and Gardens Seven 9/6/98

One Room two looks segment (6 points)

Opens with Presenter on lounge, putting curtains onto rod, then
hangs

rod. Room look One: Starts with room empty except 2 lounges,
dining table and 2 pictures. Walls are pale blue. Hangs venetian
blind. Roles out large mat.
Places bright coloured cushions on lounge.

Fits covers to timber dining chair backs.

Places occasional tables.

Places ornaments onto shelving unit and around room.

Ends with to camera from lounge.

Room look Two:

Starts on lounge, to camera. Walls now strong gold colour -
segment

fades.

2. Our House Nine 10/6/98

Real Estate Round-up (4 points)

Consists of high speed sequence of property photos and
billboards.

At end we are prompted to rewind and use pause button on video to

view. No verbalisation of central information.3. Money Nine
10/6/98 Paul's Tips (4 points)

Segment set in outdoor city location, host to camera.

Information is presented as overlay slides over file footage. Key

information is not verbalised but is referred to in Paul's
general comments.

4. Gardening Australia ABC 14/8/98

Planters Pallette - Renior's Garden (4 points)

Starts with wide shots of large Queensland style home in tropical
garden

setting.

Host, to camera piece while walking through garden.

Segment consists of shots of various garden features. Then Host
with

garden owner walk though setting talking about features.

SELECTED ADVERTS

Adverts selected from an original selection of 50.

1. White Pages (1 point)

"What product or service is being advertised?"

Lipstick message on mirror for girl in night dress.

4. Big M (1 point)

"What product is being promoted?"

Young people in city street situations using Big M containers in
mock

sporting situations.

5. Kawasaki (1 point)

"What brand name is being promoted?"

Desert location, couple dressing in tight jeans and leathers then
with

Kawasaki bike.

6. Bridgestone Tyres (2 points)

"What are the contact and price details included?"

Presenter (Dipper) standing in high stack of tyres and key info
is printed on sides of tyres.

7. Uncle Toby's (1 point)

"What product and brand?"

Ad based on swimmer training and then eating cereal breakfast.

11. Intro Line(Boy) (2 points)

"What is Intro Line and where can it be contacted?"

Subject is shown firstly as dog breeder with many dogs then using
Infoline

service for social contact.

17. Sound and Vision (2 points)

"What is range of products advertised?"

"what incentive to buy is being offered?"

Add comprises scrolling text of products, incentive to purchase
(up to 33%

off) and store locations. Has no audio after "The following is a
special

announcement".

18. MS Society (1 point)

"How do you respond to this advert?"

Scene, young and older woman talking - obviously close
relationship. As

young woman stands to leave we realise she is MS sufferer. Ad
does not

include verbal reference to phone number which is shown.

23. CSR Sugar (2 points)

"What Company is being promoted?"

"What is their slogan?"

Two men in boat fishing, negotiation over one's need to acquire
sugar

sachet.

26. RACV (2 points)

"What is the storyline in this advert?"

Dispute between neighbours in their gardens when one cuts down
branch

and throws it over others fence.

Interspersed with series of tags to RACV Insurance products.

29. Mars Bars (1 point) "What product is being promoted?" Black
and white shots of kids in sporting situations - skate boarding,
basketball, surfing etc.
Mars Bar is shown in colour as contrast to

drabness of scene.

30. Impulse (2 points)

"Name the product and explain the story line?"

Aftermath of traffic accident, man and woman exchange address
details -

he is captured by her fragrance and she reacts positively.

31. ABC Shop (2 points)

"What retail outlet is being promoted and what particular sales
campaign?"

Ad is based on series of finger drawings on frosted window panes,

interspersed with text info. Ends with ID to ABC Shop.

33. Living Ford (suspension) (2 points)

Name the Company and the slogan (tag) that runs across this and
other

adds?"

Man on beach is building elaborate sand castles - tag indicates
he is a clay model sculptor with Ford.

Tag "Ford Live it"

36. Jeans for Genes Day (2 points)

"Name two of the retail outlets supporting this promotion?"

Much of ad time given over to slide detailing Event Sponsors -
they are not named verbally.

37. Jack Daniels (1 point)

"What product is being promoted?"

Scene, nightlife in large city with musicians playing, practising
etc.

This is interspersed with some shots of people drinking what is
apparently

whisky. Tag indicates Jack Daniels.

40. NAJEE "What is being advertised?" (1 point) Add consists of
series of fast changing text slides which change in time

with apparent explosions.

46. Workcover Safety (1 point)

"What is the message of this advert?"

Set in staff locker room, man is packing-up personal effects
after

workplace accident.

47. Millennium Bug (1 point)

"What course of action are you be encouraged to take through this

advert?"

Ad is completely silent series of black and white text slides
urging that it is

time to step on the Millennium Bug.

50. Just Jeans (2 points)

What product (brand name) is being promoted and what specific
sales

campaign?"

Girl, apparently naked approaches bar - tag urges us that Just
Jeans Sale

ends Saturday.

ATTACHMENT FIVE

DEPRIVATION OF BLIND TV VIEWERS

ASSESSMENT OF COMPREHENSION LEVELS

Table with 6 columns and 12 rows

SUMMARY

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Group Score

Comprehension Level

Group Score

Comprehension Level

DRAMA

64

28.2

44%

16

25%

ENTERTAINMENT

55

19.4

35%

10.2

18.5%

DOCUMENTARY

25

6.8

27%

6.2

24.5%

CURRENT AFFAIRS

39

14.6

37.5%

12.7

32.5%

SPORT/EVENTS

52

10

19%

10.9

21%

NEWS

48

16

33%

18.7

39%

INFORMATION

33

12.6

38%

11.5

35%

INFOTAINMENT

18

5.0

28%

3.6

20%

ADVERTISEMENTS

30

20

66%

43

14%

TOTAL

364

138.6

36.4%

94.1

25.8%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 10 rows

DRAMA

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Home and Away

6

3.2

53%

2.85

47.5%

All Saints

8

3.2

40%

2.57

32%

Blue Heelers

11

4.4

40%

2.71

24.5%

State Coroner

8

4

50%

2.57

32%

Correlli

8

3.4

42.5%

0.71

8.8%

Water Rats

11

4

36%

1.57

14.2%

The Games

12

6.2

52%

3.0

25%

TOTAL

64

28.2

44%

16

25%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 9 rows

ENTERTAINMENT

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

HEY HEY IT'S SATURDAY

13

3.2

24.5%

2.4

18.5%

MIDDAY - Tattoo Lady

5

2.4

48%

1.3

25.5%

IMT-

Who Dares Wins

12

2.6

21.5%

1.3

10.5%

TOTALLY FULL FRONTAL

8

3.6

45%

0.7

9%

HOT STREET

10

4.0

40%

1.4

14%

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

7

3.6

51.5%

3.0

4.3%

TOTAL

55

19.4

35%

10.2

18.5%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 7 rows

DOCUMENTARY

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

OUR WORLD

4

1.8

45%

2.2

54%

THE PITCH

8

1.8

22.5%

1.1

14%

HEALTHY WEALTHY & WISE

7

1.6

22%

1.3

18%

SPINAFEX DOCO

6

1.5

26.5%

1.6

26%

TOTAL

25

6.8

27%

6.2

24.5%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 9 rows

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY

1

0.6

60%

0

0%

60 MINUTES - Tax Sell Story

9

4.0

44.5%

4.2

46%

AUSTRALIA'S MOST WANTED

8

1.6

20%

1.6

19.5%

A CURRENT AFFAIR

8

4.8

60%

3.6

44.5%

UNCENSORED

5

1.0

20%

0.6

11.5%

FOREIGN CORRESPON-DENT

8

2.6

32.5%

2.9

35.5%

TOTAL

39

14.6

37.5%

12.7

32.5%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 10 rows

SPORT

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

AFL - Adelaide Vs Richmond

8

2.8

35%

1.6

19.5%

WOMEN'S NAT. HOCKEY

8

1.4

17.5%

1.4

18%

THUNDERCATS SURF SERIES

8

0.6

7.5%

1.4

18%

TEN PIN BOWLING

8

1.0

12.5%

2.2

27%

EVENTS

MELBOURNE XMAS CONCERT

10

1.4

14%

3.1

31.5%

1997 AFL FINAL OPENING

10

2.8

28%

1.2

11.5%

TOTAL

52

10

19%

10.9

21%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 8 rows

NEWS

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

TEN NEWS Balloon Rescue

14

5.8

41.5%

5.0

36%

TEN SPORT

Pat Rafter

8

2.4

30%

2.9

36%

NIGHTLIFE Floods

10

3.0

30%

4.3

43%

SEVEN NEWS

Road Deaths

8

2.6

32.5%

3.3

41%

ABC- Health Insurance

8

2.0

25%

3.3

41%

TOTAL

48

16

33%

18.7

39%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 12 rows

INFORMATION

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

KENO

1

0.6

60%

1

100%

TATTS TWO

1

0.4

40%

0

0

OZ LOTTO

1

0.8

80%

1

100%

ON ABC TONIGHT

1

0.8

80%

0.6

57

TEN FINANCE

4

0.8

20%

0

0

TEN WEATHER

6

2.2

36.5%

3.2

53%

NINE WEATHER

6

2.4

40%

3.0

50%

SEVEN WEATHER

6

2.4

40%

2.3

38%

ABC WEATHER

4

1.6

40%

0.43

11%

TOTAL

33

12.6

38%

11.5

35%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 7 rows

INFOTAINMENT

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

6

1.8

30%

1.3

21.5

OUR HOUSE

4

0.2

5

0

0

MONEY

4

2.0

50%

1.4

36%

GARDENING AUSTRALIA

4

1.0

25%

0.7

18%

TOTAL

18

5.0

28%

3.6

20%
table end

Table with 6 columns and 23 rows

ADVERTISEMENTS

Low Vision Support Group

Blind Support Group

Potential Points

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

Segment Score

Comprehension Level

WHITE PAGES

1

0.6

60%

0.4

43%

BIG M

1

0.8

80%

0.3

28%

KAWASAKI

1

0.6

60%

0.1

14%

BRIDGESTONE TYRES

2

1.6

80%

0.4

21.5%

UNCLE TOBYS

1

1.0

100%

0

0

INTRO LINE

2

1.6

80%

0.9

42.5%

SOUND AND VISION

2

1.4

70%

0.6

29%

MS SOCIETY

1

0.2

20%

0

0

CSR SUGAR

2

1.6

80%

0.4

22%

RACV

2

1.0

50%

0

0

MARS BARS

1

0.6

60%

0

0

IMPULSE

2

0.8

80%

0

0

ABC SHOP

2

1.2

60%

0

0

LIVING FORD

2

1.6

80%

0

0

JEANS FOR GENES DAY

2

1.4

70%

0

0

JACK DANIELS

1

0.6

60%

0.3

28%

NAJEE

1

0.4

40%

0

0

WORKCOVER

1

1

100%

0.9

85%

MILLENNIUM BUG

1

0.4

70%

0

0

JUST JEANS

2

1.4

70%

0

0

TOTAL

30

20

66%

43

14%
table end

ATTACHMENT SIX

DIGITAL TV ACCESS - CONSUMER WORKSHOP TWO AGENDA

9.30 Welcome and Introductions

Project Progress Report

- Outcomes from Workshop One

- Report to Office of Disability

- Preparation of AE Examples

9.45 Overseas Developments

- Material available in US

- DVS Promo Tape

- Auditel Promo Tape

10.00 SESSION ONE - PRE-SCRIPTED DESCRIPTION

- Before and After sample from US Promo Tape

- US Movie Sample - Field of Dreams

- UK Movie Sample - Four Weddings and a Funeral

Focus Group Discussion

11.00 MORNING TEA

11.15 SESSION TWO - SIMULCAST DESCRIPTION

- Man from Snowy River

- Better Homes and Gardens - House Facelift segment

- Russel Gilbert Show - three short Comedy Skits

- Foreign Correspondent

- South African Truth and Reconciliation Segment

Focus Group Discussion

12.30 LUNCH

1.15 SESSION THREE - AUDIO CAPTIONING

- Game Show - Wheel of Fortune

- Seven Nightly News Bulletin

- Australian Biography - Elizabeth Durack Story

- AFL Football Scores etc 17 May Adelaide v Richmond

2.30 STRECH BREAK

2.35 SESSION FOUR - LIVE EVENT DESCRIPTION

- Opening AFL Grand Final 1998

- Opening Federal Parliament 1998

- US Open Tennis Final (before and after example)

Focus Group Discussion

3.30 AFTERNOON TEA3.45 SESSION FIVE - ADVERTS A) Audio Captioned
Ads 6 Bridgestone Tyres 11 Introline (Boy) 17 Sound and Vision
Stores

18 MS Society

40 Najee

47 Milenium Bug

52 Gas reconnect Ad

54 ANZ Save $600

Focus Group Discussion

B) Audio Described Ads

1 White Pages

5 Kawasaki

23 CSR

26 RACV

33 Living Ford Suspension

46 Workcover Safety

53 Sandboy Chips

55 Family Circle

Focus Group Discussion

4.45 Workshop Summary and final comments

5.00 WORKSHOP CLOSE

ATTACHMENT SEVEN

DIGITAL TV ACCESS PROJECT - WORKSHOP 3

RUNNING SHEET

1. Wheel of Fortune (Seven) 21.30

(run full show)

- Group to select section for demonstration.

2. National Nine News 16.00 aprox

- news stories

- world news

- sport

- weather

(run from first Ad break)

- Group to select segments for demo in comparison

with Seven News

3. Seven Nightly News 23.00

- news stories

- world news

- sport

- weather

(run in full)

- Group to select segments for demo in comparison

with Nine News

4. Great Outdoors - Inside 4WD Story 3.00

5. Neighbours (Ten)

- Opening segment - The Idol 8.30

- Group comments on techniques sought

- run twice

1) with isolated sound

2) sound on sound

6. Foreign Correspondent - BIAC Story 23.00

- group comments on techniques sought

7. Water Rats - simulcast 3RPH 23/2/99

- run to first ad.

- discussion about simulcast techniques.

DESCRIBED ADVERTS

1. White Pages

2. Kawasaki

3. CSR

4. RACV

5. Workcover Safety

----------
End of Document




