Deaf Expo ’98 to Show Differences in Caption TVs

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — Eleven manufacturers and six captioning agencies have committed to providing technical, hardware and financial support to the ‘Caption TV Orientation Project’ which will be launched during Deaf Expo ’98 in November. This exhibit will demonstrate and provide detailed information on captioning features of TV sets currently on the market.

This project addresses concerns raised constantly by Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers about the difficulty in comparing captioning features and end user controls between different brands of TV sets. Comparison sheets disseminated on TV sets in the marketplace currently do not cover captioning.

A federal law, ‘The Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990’ requires all new TV sets 13 inches and larger manufactured after July 1993 to have built-in closed caption capabilities but this law and subsequent documentation from the Federal Communications Commission, a federal agency who regulates TVs, only provides minimum specifications.

When a Deaf or Hard of Hearing consumer walks into a store to purchase a TV, they are faced with numerous TV sets and little or no information on captioning and user control capabilities. TV salespeople generally know very little about these capabilities and communication is also another obstacle the consumer faces. Deaf Expo ’98, a major annual project of EF Training Center, Inc. (EFTC) in North Hollywood, CA has taken on the task of organizing this ‘Caption TV Orientation Project’ with endorsement by Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. (TDI) of Silver Spring, MD.

The goal of this project is to provide information on the capabilities, features and options that a captioned TV set provides; enable Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers, family members, and representatives of public facilities to make educated purchasing decisions; open a dialogue with TV manufacturers regarding captioned TV sets and consumer considerations, and provide additional information on captioned TV for dissemination to the general public.

This project will be coordinated by David Rosenbaum, EFTC president with Scott Myers, an electronics expert, on the panel along with a group of Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers affiliated with the Deaf Expo™ coalition of organizations and businesses serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing market.

As of August 13, commitments have been received from Hitachi America

Inc., JVC Company of America, Panasonic, Philips Consumer Electronics, Quasar, Samsung Electronics America, Sanyo-Fisher, Sharp Electronics Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc., Toshiba America and Zenith Electronics Corporation. The project also has received financial support from Caption Colorado, Media Captioning Services, National Captioning Institute, RapidText, RealTime Captioning Inc. and VITAC.

Information on the results of the ‘Caption TV Orientation Project’ including a list of all features identified by the panel and potential obstacles will be made available following Deaf Expo ’98 on the Internet at www.DEAFEXPO.org and this information can also be mailed free of charge upon request to anyone in the United States.

Deaf Expo ’98, the country’s number one consumer trade show targeted at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing market, is scheduled for November 13-15, 1998 at the Ontario Convention Center, a 50-minute drive east of Los Angeles.

This sixth annual show is sponsored by Bank of America, General Motors Corporation, Ultratec, Inc. and Sprint Services who has been designated as the official Relay Service of Deaf Expo ’98.

Along with a comprehensive array of exhibits covering Education, Finance, Giftware, Health, Human Resources, Publications, Recreation, Religion and Technology, additional program activities this year include a ‘Deafinitely Fashion Show’, a Deaf World History Display and Performances, a Book Signing by Author Penny Warner, a TTY Museum, a Deaf Art Contest, Seminars & Workshops, a Technology Forum, an ASL Ranch display and ChildCare programs.