Talking set-top box released in Australia
“No-one will be left behind in the switch to digital-only television”, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said last week. His comments came following the announcement of the first Australian release of ‘talking set-top boxes’ to help the elderly and those who are vision impaired.
“No-one will be left behind in the switch to digital-only television”, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said last week.
His comments came following the announcement of the first Australian release of ‘talking set-top boxes’ to help the elderly and those who are vision impaired.
Text-to-speech technology is used in talking set-top boxes which are designed to help those who are vision-impaired navigate electronic program guides, onscreen menus and settings of their televisions. There is also the capability of changing the style of the speech and a ‘key learn’ mode for the remote.
Developed in other countries, this type of technology is now available in the Australian market after being recently trialled as part of the Household Assistance Scheme rollout in regional Victoria.
This Scheme provides free help for maximum rate pensioners to switch to digital TV, with about 50,000 eligible households across the nation already fitted under the scheme.
“For the first time in Australia, vision-impaired people will be able to enjoy significantly enhanced benefits of digital television,” Senator Conroy said.
“Australia is striding forward in the global migration to digital TV, with 82% of households across the nation already converted to digital TV,” he added.
