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TACtv frequently asked questions

  1. What is the history of TACtv and its creation?
  2. Why is The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. (NBRS) so excited about TACtv?
  3. When did TACtv begin broadcasting and what is special about TACtv programs?
  4. Who can receive TACtv?
  5. What is descriptive video and why is TACtv a welcome innovation for people who are blind, vision-impaired or print- restricted?
  6. Do I need special equipment to access TACtv?
  7. What changes are coming in television transmission?
  8. Why is TACtv necessary?
  9. What types of programs will TACtv broadcast and where can I find the TACtv channel guide and broadcast schedule?
  10. What happened on Wednesday December 3rd, 2008?
  11. As an NBRS Board Director, what kind of a role will you be playing in The Accessible Channel once it is launched?

 

1. What is the history of TACtv and its creation?

  • On Tuesday, 24 July 2007 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved and supported an application from The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. (NBRS) for a license to set up a unique English–language TV service – The Accessible Channel (TACtv). By regulation, TACtv will be part of the basic digital package of TV programming offered by all Class 1 & 2 cable systems and satellite direct-to-home services.
  • The CRTC long has identified the need to improve access to TV for those with perceptual disabilities, noting that TV is "a key tool in social integration… [allowing] Canadians to participate in a shared culture and shared social values."
  • But with TACtv, the need for elaborate set-up procedures has been eliminated and, for the first time in Canada, described programming will be available in one place and at all hours.
  • The potential market is large. The 2006 Statistics Canada Census data put the number of blind Canadians at almost 900,000, considered a conservative figure. It is generally accepted by service agencies that many more people need assistance accessing traditional media.
  • Another eye – opening statistic can be found in a 2004 report by the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO). It found that 2.1-million Canadians aged 43−75 are experiencing blindness and irreversible vision loss as a result of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) alone. This is equal to the number of Canadians with diabetes (2 million) and 20 times the number suffering from Parkinson´s disease.
  • According to the study, 78,000 Canadians are diagnosed with Age– related Macular Degeneration (AMD) each year, and that number will triple during the next quarter century, making AMD the leading cause of blindness.
  • The Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO) study further reports that, by age 75, one in four Canadians will experience vision loss, defined as being no longer able to drive, read, watch TV and movies or see the faces of loved ones.
  • NBRS serves more than 5 million Canadians. TACtv will reach 6.6 million homes.

 

2. Why is The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. (NBRS) so excited about TACtv?

  • For The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. (NBRS), The Accessible Channel, also known as TACtv, furthers our promise of making media accessible. That´s why the licensing approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is such a major breakthrough for Canadians who are vision impaired or blind and hard of hearing or deaf. And why it´s one more significant leap forward for NBRS, a registered charity with a mission to Make Media Accessible.

 

3. When did TACtv begin broadcasting and what is special about TACtv programs?

  • TACtv began broadcasting on January 19th on Cogeco; its programming is broadcasting in open description and with closed captioning. When viewers tune into TACtv, the only sound track they will hear is the described sound track.
  • Today you can enjoy TACtv on Bell TV, Rogers, Cogeco Ontario, Cogeco Quebec, Shaw, Star Choice, and SaskTel provided you have a basic digital package.
  • Many others soon will make their channel selections and will begin to carry TACtv. We will keep you informed. Here is where you will find TACtv depending on your service provider:
    • Bell Aliant – Channel 888
    • Bell TV – Channel 48
    • Cogeco Ontario – Channel 555
    • Cogeco Quebec – Channel 66
    • Eastlink – Channel 888
    • MTS – Channel 888
    • Rogers – Channel 888
    • SaskTel – Channel 554
    • Shaw – Channel 888
    • Shaw Direct – Channel 888
    • Shaw Hamilton  – Channel 368
    • Source – Channel 111
    • Telus TV – Channel 55
    • Videotron – Channel 27
    • Videotron HD – Channel 627

4. Who can receive TACtv?

  • The service is a mandated signal, so all Class 1 & 2 cable systems and direct-to-home satellite services must include TACtv in their basic digital service, the package of services a subscriber must take when signing up for the least–expensive program package. Finally – and this is very exciting – the viewer who cannot see the screen, or cannot see it well, will not require additional special equipment to access TACtv.

 

5. What is descriptive video and why is TACtv a welcome innovation for people who are blind, vision–impaired or print– restricted?

  • Descriptive video is a process in which a narrator describes key visual elements of a movie, documentary or TV show that are not apparent if one relies on the original sound track alone. That narration is added to the sound track.
  • For vision–restricted and blind Canadians, it´s the equivalent of closed captioning, which long has been available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  • "Description, as opposed to no description, is like the difference between the experience a sighted person would inherit watching an NHL game on TV versus listening to a play–by–play sportscaster call the game on local radio," says one advocate for sight impaired consumers. "The radio broadcaster provides a much more vivid ´visual´ picture of the on-ice action, as one is aware of painting a picture."

 

6. Do I need special equipment to access TACtv?

  • Provided that you have a basic digital package, when you tune into TACtv, you´ll always hear the described sound track. It means you´ll have a chance to send us your comments on the quality of the description and we´ll work hard to see it improved when necessary.
  • Currently there are two ways to receive a television picture – Analog service and Digital service
  • Analog
    • Signals can be received with an arial antenna or with basic cable. No other boxes, equipment or hardware are necessary to watch TV
    • The number of channels you receive are limited
    • Offered by cable companies only
  • Digital
    • Signals need to be received through a special receiver box purchased from the cable, satellite or other television providers.
    • Viewers are required to subscribe and pay additional monthly fees for digital service to be received through the digital box
    • Channels available are in great quantity. Along with the basic channels provided with the digital service (such as TACtv) the viewer can select additional channels and channel packages
    • Offered by cable, satellite and other television providers
  • Today, cable, satellite and other television providers, (Broadcast Distribution Undertakings or BDU´s) have been asked by the CRTC to ensure that all video description provided by those companies on channels other than TACtv, can be received through both their analog and digital delivery systems.
  • It is much easier for the cable, satellite and other television providers to pass video description through their digital systems. However, the CRTC has said that if any cable or satellite service can´t, or chooses not to, for any reason, provide video description on their analog channels, then relief from this requirement is "subject to the BDU providing complimentary set–top boxes to its subscribers who are blind or who have a visual impairment, in order to enable those subscribers to access video description programming on a digital basis" (CRTC Decision 2007–101 Paragraph 29)
  • It is very important to note a couple of items.
    • The above ruling is not specifically or directly connected to TACtv or the license of the TACtv television service in any way.
    • The above does not mean that all viewers who are blind or who are vision impaired will receive free digital boxes. To be clear, any free digital boxes will only be provided IF the cable, satellite or other television providers available in your market cannot deliver your current analog channels with video description – those received free over the air (OTA) via an antenna or with basic cable
    • If a viewer is entitled to a free digital box as per the above provisions, the viewer is still responsible for subscribing and paying for the monthly digital service to receive the basic digital channels.

 

7. What changes are coming in television transmission?

  • The Future of Television Transmission
    • The broadcast world is moving away from using analog to deliver its television signals. This means all viewers will require a cable or satellite box to receive their television signals or to have a new TV with a digital tuner inside. Once the move to the ´digital only´ world comes about, it will no longer be possible to receive television with just an antenna.
    • The Netherlands was the first to move to total digital transmission in 2006, followed by Finland in 2007. In North America, the US was to move to total digital on Feb 17, 2009. President Barak Obama has agreed to delay the end of analog service to June 12 to give Americans more time to better prepare. Many viewers have seen the ads on US television stations making American viewers aware of this. The US move to digital in June of 2009 will impact about 2 million Canadians who still use rabbit ears or roof antennas to watch American stations´ – per Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (Toronto Star Friday February 6, 2009)
    • Canada will move to total digital service on August 31, 2011. At that time, Canadians will no longer be able to watch TV with simply an antenna. At that time, all Canadians will require a cable or satellite box or a television equipped with a digital tuner and to watch their favourite programs.
  • If you have any questions, we encourage you to call your Television Service Provider who will help answer your questions, including those related to availability of digital boxes and all relevant costs for boxes and service.

 

8. Why is TACtv necessary?

  • To explain the need for a TV channel that will serve people who are blind or vision–restricted, Geoff Eden tells the story of watching Fatal Attraction years ago. His wife had been gamely trying to describe the action in the gripping thriller when suddenly, at an especially tense moment when Glenn Close appears to drown in a bathtub, Eden´s wife fell silent.

    "What´s going on," asked Eden, who is blind.

    "Wait a minute, wait a minute…" his wife replied breathlessly.

    Finally, after Eden had listened in frustration to dramatic music and sound effects until the scene ended, his wife told him what had happened.

    "Naturally she found it difficult to watch the movie and at the same time describe to me what was going on," explains Eden, who lives at Welland, Ontario. "Not everyone´s wife or son or daughter or friends can think quickly and are good at describing a show. And why should we have to rely on them?"

 

9. What types of programs will TACtv broadcast and where can I find the TACtv channel guide and broadcast schedule?

  • TACtv will broadcast programming in all genres – including information, documentaries, drama and entertainment for everyone. We will set our programming from broadcasters, such as CTVglobemedia, Canwest, CBC, Rogers Citytv, CTS, Channel Zero, National Film Board, American and British movie and television distributors and from independent producers.
  • TACtv also will acquire programming from U.S. studios and other broadcast groups to fill out the 24–hour schedule, 60‰ of which, as a condition of license, must be Canadian. As well, though TACtv is an English–language service, it will broadcast a small amount of French-language programming, up to four hours a week, once it´s up and rolling.
  • Programming on TACtv is broadcast in described form. Much more programming will be available for the first time and TACtv will arrange for it to be described.
  • It´s possible today to see some first-run movies in described format, via headphones, in a small number of theatres. And certain programs on existing analog cable or satellite services are described. But, for example, on basic cable, people who want to access description must change the audio settings of their TV sets to S.A.P. (Secondary Audio Programming), a process that can be difficult, if not impossible, for people with vision impairments since it usually works via a series of on–screen menu prompts.
  • Our program schedule is posted on the tactv.ca website. You may visit the website for frequent updates. We´ll be broadcasting that information on both VoicePrint and TACtv and it will be included in TV Guide lineups. As well, our marketing people are at work putting in place arrangements to relay TACtv program information on websites operated by scores of websites operated by organizations of and for people with disabilities. And, of course, it will be on our website, voiceprintcanada.com.

 

10. What happened on Wednesday December 3rd, 2008?

  • On December 3rd, 2008, TACtv announced its official launch date at a "soft launch" hosted by NBRS at the Palais Royale, Toronto. The main objective was to raise awareness that TACtv would begin broadcasting in January.
  • The awareness launch coincided with United Nations´ International Day of Disabled Persons.
  • A press conference was held at 4:30 pm followed by a reception at 5:00 pm. TACtv went live with a described version of the National Anthem at 6:00 pm. More than 300 people were on hand including consumers and supporters.
  • The awareness launch gave us time to work with cable and satellite program distributors to adjust their schedules to include TACtv.

 

11. As an NBRS Board Director, what kind of a role will you be playing in The Accessible Channel once it is launched?

  • Continue to keep the promise to make media accessible and break down the barriers.

  • Almost 20 years ago, NBRS launched VoicePrint, the award-winning, internationally recognized, round-the-clock reading service that all cable and satellite program distributors also must relay. And almost 15 years ago we launched AudioVision Canada, Canada´s pioneer in video description and the pre-eminent Canadian supplier of description services to broadcasters, producers and consumers.

    And now TACtv: one more way we can Make Media Accessible and, by doing so in innovative ways, we enhance the lives of Canadians living with disabilities and do our small part in making Canada a more inclusive country.

  • If you´re blind or vision-restricted and you´re in the workplace, people are talking about last night´s episode of whatever popular program. We refer to it as ´water-cooler talk.´ If you aren´t able to watch it, or have missed the visual gags they´re talking about, you feel out of the loop. With TACtv, people will know that just because they’re blind or vision–restricted, they´re not excluded from programming that everyone else has access to.

  • As Rob Sleath, President of Access for Sight Impaired Consumers (ASIC) points out: "It was not my loss of vision that made me disabled, but rather the environment around me. Change the environment and you minimize the disability, to a mere inconvenience at times."

    Recent technological advances now make producing described programming easier, and TACtv will provide a cost–effective way of reaching the largest possible audience of vision-restricted and blind Canadians. Cable companies and satellite providers will be required to add The Accessible Channel to their basic digital package at a cost of twenty cents a month per subscriber. That´s just $2.40 annually.

  • "The importance of TACtv to the vision-restricted community cannot be overestimated," says Betty Nobel, a former NBRS Board Director who now serves on the TACtv Board and is blind. "People with vision loss often feel like second-class citizens", Nobel continues. "Because although we are always told that we have the same rights as all citizens, this is not true in real terms. We do not, as an example, have full access to television programming." For instance, she adds, "with The Accessible Channel blind viewers will no longer, be wondering what is happening during the tense music on CSI or when the bullets are flying and you don’t know who has been hurt."

The Accessible Channel will ease those frustrations and, as a result, will be a destination channel for increasing numbers of blind and vision-restricted viewers plus their sighted friends, families and companions.

TACtv will work with broadcasters and producers to see the potential need for the consumer so that more and more current programming will be made available.

Nobel states, "Our goal is to have first-run programming described as it´s done, by producers, and carried by broadcasters and cable companies. So, if tonight is the premiere episode of the new season of CSI, both sighted people and blind people can watch it at the same time?"

Thank you to the staff at NBRS, VoicePrint and the countless toil of our volunteers, supporters, CRTC, networks, MPs and Cabinet that supported the application to the CRTC.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding TACtv, send us a note, email or voicemail and we will do what we can to respond to you as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions relating to availability of digital boxes and all relevant costs for boxes and service, we encourage you to call your Television Service Provider who will help answer your questions.