[gui-talk] would like some help after disconnecting from cable tv

Wed Jul 2 12:07:33 UTC 2014

Agreed, I have not found easy live local TV access options over internet. audio described or not.  You need your cable TV's lowest local channels only plan and a digital TV for this access, or get an antenna that actually works.  I found that with the silly bundling offered by all available providers in my area that the local channel option was not much more money than just Internet alone.  I have moved phone to internet as well.  So basically I have one TV that can get live news in the house for now, no set top boxes, etc.  its not the best option, but until I get another flat screen digital TV in the other rooms that's it for now.

I do find the concept of actual free over the air TV being so challenging for many a real sad state of affairs and would consider the FCC to have failed end users somewhere in allowing such poor performance to be made the normal state of affairs for so many.  The truth is you have to have internet these days almost like having electricity and water, but that live TV channels are not required to be available for internet subscribers at no cost, yet over the air free reception is spotty in many locations.

I think this will change in some way in the near term as so many are finding the cable costs too high.  On the other hand the costs for internet users are catching up with us too--Verizon and net neutrality are working on destroying the apparent free lunch so many thought would be the solution.

Just as cable had required channels so many avoid, we might end up with required internet content we don't want also--but required as part of the "free" local access. 

Sigh.

Someone said that one of the best rehabilitations for a disability was money--and it seems apt for this situation.

I have to admit, while I like audio described content when it is absolutely required, I don't have much reason to need it most of the time, especially when news is on.  I might be missing some scrolling extra text, but frankly there is only a certain rate of audio input folks can accept and having multiple streams of speech for something like news seems kind of crazy to me.  Shows where action is all action without sufficient audio cues to know what happened need description, but I find a lot of audio descriptions redundant if one just pays attention to the actual sound.  I know this is harass, but I just don't feel I'm missing much most of the time.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gerald Levy [mailto:bwaylimited at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 7:58 AM
To: Hoffman, Allen; Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] would like some help after disconnecting from cable tv

The problem with all of these options is that they still will not allow you 
to listen live to the over-the-air broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBD, Fox and 
your local TV stations.  What good is access to thousands of movies from 
Netflicks or Apple TV if they aren't audio described?  And now that the 
Supreme Court has ruled that Aereo is illegal, that option is no longer 
available, either.

Gerald

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hoffman, Allen via gui-talk" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "Rob Kaiser" <rcubfank at sbcglobal.net>; "Discussion of the Graphical User 
Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>; 
<beth.wright at mindspring.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 7:45 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] would like some help after disconnecting from cable 
tv

>I cut the cord so to speak, reducing cable TV to absolute only over air and 
>required channels, and returned boxes.
> I use verizon FIOS and in this configuration if you don't have a digital 
> TV you won't be able to get any signal, even local channels as it doesn't 
> put out analog signals from the cable.
> However, couchtuner.eu, and other sources of online entertainment are out 
> there on the internet if you have bandwidth to stream video.
> Also, use IheartRadio or TuneInRadio if you have IPhone for great 
> selection of radio stations--I use for sports a lot.
> I would like to get XMBC open source media software to be accessible as it 
> has many plug-ins that give you access to many movies and such.
>
> I'm still looking for live local news channel streaming for the locations 
> in my house where I only have old analog TV(s), since I can't get the 
> signal from the cable.
>
> As far as antenna's go, digital signals are more prone to loss it 
> seems,but a indoor antenna and a digital receiver, either TV or other, and 
> possibly a signal booster is about the limit for what you can do--other 
> than put up a honking large outdoor antenna if you have space and get an 
> installer to go up on the roof or other location.
>
> Apple TV is really accessible but most of the items there require payment.
> You can browse Netflix and hulu from the AppleTV and that gives you a lot 
> of movies and TV shows.
>
> I also use a GBox, basically an Android phone in a set top box.  It isn't 
> accessible so make kids run it.  Google is releasing something nearly 
> identical now and if they didn't put some flaky front end over Android 
> then maybe TalkBack will work fine on it--GBox TalkBack works but doesn't 
> work in the add on front end stuff so makes it inaccessible 
> unfortunately..
>
> A windows computer can domost of this stuff, a Mac can do it too.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gui-talk [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rob 
> Kaiser via gui-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 6:09 AM
> To: beth.wright at mindspring.com; Discussion of the Graphical User 
> Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] would like some help after disconnecting from 
> cable tv
>
> Unfortunately, I don't believe they have made any radio/tv/s that do what 
> you need. I also believe that unless you are near a large city, antenas 
> don't really work. I hear a lot of adds for antennas on TV every day, but 
> I feel they are all too good to be true. Where do you live?
>
> You ccan contact me off list if you like; rcubfank at sbcglobal.net I am in 
> Victorville, CA. It is 80 miles or so from Los Angeles. I use Charter 
> because it is the only cable system available up here in the high desert.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: beth.wright--- via gui-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 3:00 AM
> To: gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [gui-talk] would like some help after disconnecting from cable tv
>
> Hi, listers.  After experiencing astronomical increases in my monthly 
> cable bill, I decided I'd had enough and disconnected the service. I was 
> told by a friend that, if I got an indoor antenna for my TV, I wouldn't 
> have any problems getting my local channels over the air. Unfortunately, 
> the antenna doesn't work at my location, the signal is extremely weak, and 
> I can get only a couple of channels. Has anyone else on the list been 
> successful in cutting the cord and getting good tv reception or is this 
> just not possible in some some locations? If that's the case, are there 
> any receivers you can bufor that will broadcast the sound from the TV 
> stations? I know that, before everything was converted to digital, 
> some -panies made radios with TV sound bands. In fact, I have one, but, of 
> course, it doesn't work since the signals from the local TV channels are 
> now digital. Thanks in advance for any help.  Beth Wright
>
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