The FCC announced Dec. 7 the appointment of 45 members of its new Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee (VPEAAC).
The committee, required by an act of Congress, will hold its first meeting Jan. 13 at commission headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The aim of the new committee is to develop recommendations regarding treatment of closed captioning of Internet programming that previously was captioned for television.
VPEAAC also will develop recommendations regarding:
• compatibility between video programming delivered via Internet protocol and devices capable of receiving and displaying it to provide for captioning, video description and emergency information;
• video description and emergency information on TV programming delivered via IP or DTV;
• accessible user interfaces on video devices; and
• accessible program guides.
The committee also is responsible for submitting recommendations for provision of closed captions for Internet-delivered video programming and the ability of video devices to pass through the captions in Internet video programming within six months of its first meeting. Recommendations on the other issues will be due April 8, 2012.
Four working groups will be created during the committee’s first meeting, and each will be given a specific task. They include the Internet protocol-based closed captioning working group; the group responsible for pass through of closed captioning and video description; the emergency information working group; and the group on accessibility issues related to interfaces, menus and apparatus functions.
Of the 45 members, 11 represent interests of persons with disabilities; six represent interests of closed captioning and video description providers; 10 represent device manufacturers; four represent Internet and software companies; two represent broadcasters; and 12 represent video programming distributors and providers.
The FCC also published a list of committee members.
