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/ 06.09.2010 12:00AM
Brits Develop Talking Program Guide
BRISTOL, U.K.: A consortium of public and private concerns in
Great Britain has developed text-to-speech technology for digital TV set-top
boxes. Ocean Blue Software, in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of
Blind People, STMicroelectronics and TW Electronics created the product to target the growing population of sight-impaired folks.
Talking TV provides speech-based TV programming guides, set-up menus and
program narratives. Ocean Blue says menu layouts and items “are clearly
described by voice.”
“Advanced features include the ability to change the verbosity of the speech,
filtering by programs that contain subtitles and/or audio description, and the
choice of the font size and contrasting color scheme; allowing the system to be
customized to suit the user’s impairment, experience and digital TV awareness,”
the company said.
Talking TV is compatible with the U.K.’s popular Freeview over-the-air
service. Korean electronics manufacturer Arion Technology is incorporating the
software into set-tops that are expected to become available in August.
Ocean Blue has a video demonstration of
Talking
TV. (Be forewarned of the cloying
narration.)
-- Deborah D. McAdams
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Tuesday 12:00AM
Google Completes Motorola Mobility Acquisition
It’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and I’m confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.