The new Samsung TVs address accessibility for the disabled community

As a professional reviewer, I have seen my fair share of technology product launches. But I can honestly say that Samsung’s First Look 2021 was the first time a launch presentation brought tears to my eyes.

I am also a member of the community with disabilities, and at last week’s Samsung First Look event, I witnessed an encouraging example of high technology that encompasses all levels of ability and in a big way. The new Samsung QLED and Neo QLED TVs have extensive accessibility features that make it possible to use the remote control, find content and fully experience what is on the screen for many people. The initiative, called “Screens for All”, offers new settings that specifically benefit the visually and hearing impaired. But, as with wheelchair ramps, subtitles and automatic steering, the progress that benefits the community with disabilities often benefits us all. everyone faces a disability in the end.)

So what are the accessibility features?

In a video released last week, Samsung introduced a number of features specifically for the visually impaired, the blind, the hearing impaired and the deaf. (Go to 11:10 in the video for more on this topic.) And while it may not meet everyone’s special needs, it’s a promising start.

• Sign language avatar: An on-screen avatar can even guide you through the functions of the TV.
• Subtitle and position: Subtitles often run at the bottom of the screen, and many programs also tend to run text, such as buffers or weather updates. Two lines of text on top of each other make it very difficult to read, but positioning the subtitle allows you to move closed captions anywhere on the screen, which makes the most sense for the current program. Subtitles can also be set to be completed automatically.
• Sign language recognition: Sign language users will be able to interact with their TV using sign language, just as others have been able to use voice control.
• Voice guidance: For the visually impaired, the Voice Guide identifies both the current channel and the volume level.
• SeeColors: Far more advanced than a simple RGB adjustment, SeeColors performs a series of color blindness-oriented visibility tests to ensure that the colors on the screen align best with what the observer can see.
• High contrast: With a redesigned chipset, Samsung’s high contrast setting makes all menus easier to see without affecting the video itself.
• Learn the remote control: A special program on the latest Samsung TVs will allow users with reduced vision to find out what the remote buttons do and where they are. A push of a button and the TV announces what the button is.
• Display the Screen menu: As with the Learn Remote Control function, the Learn Menu screen describes what the menus look like and what the different selections do.
• Grayscale: To clarify text and images, the entire screen can be converted to black and white.
• Color inversion: Another way to increase visibility for some users is to invert the colors on the screen.
• Multi-output audio: Being hard to hear no longer means that others in the house have to endure the TV. Multi-Output Audio allows sound to be directed to both the soundbar and a Bluetooth headset, for example, at different volume levels.
• Zoom in: As the name suggests, this feature enlarges the text on the screen for easier reading.
• Audio description: Standard subtitling is not enough. The audio description goes as far as describing the scenes and gestures of the hand, so that the listener gets the whole picture.
• Zoom sign language: Sign language users will be happy to know that another great accessibility feature is sign language zoom. This feature allows users to increase the sign language of the window by up to 200% more for easier interpretation of signs and gestures.
• Remote button repeat: For those with limited motor function, push and hold functions, such as lowering the volume and scrolling through the channels, can move too fast. This option slows down to make it easier to stop at the right place.

Prioritizing accessibility

Credit: Samsung

The World Health Organization estimates that globally there are more than 466 million people suffering from “hearing impairment” and more than 2.2 billion people with some form of visual impairment. As the largest TV manufacturer in the world, with a market share of around 20%, Samsung is uniquely positioned to have an effective impact on the community with disabilities.

Many of Samsung’s features were already available on previous models, and some, such as the ability to customize closed captions, are common to many brands. Some, however – specifically, automatic subtitling, sign language recognition and voice guidance – are more recent and have been developed directly with the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Deaf.

“At Samsung, we seek to provide them with the same level of viewing experience as all of our consumers,” said JH Han, president of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics.

The First Look 2021 video includes some really exciting moments when people with a variety of disabilities interact with the new features. The segment closes with the engineer Samsung Byungho Kim, legally blind since 1995, who was a force for design including within the company on a variety of products, including screen readers, an e-learning platform, washing machines and mobile devices.

“My life changed after I became blind,” Kim said in 2018. “I started thinking more about how I could help others like me. I thought about ways to develop lessons and volunteer programs and how to allow people with disabilities to use our products. easier. This unity made me a better person. “

Slow but steady progress for accessibility

Credit: Samsung

The new accessibility settings will be available for all QLED and Neo QLED 2021 models – premium models from the 2021 range that could prove to be within the reach of many customers.

However, the spotlight that Samsung has chosen to put on accessibility during a global press event feels like a big step forward. And with major companies like Samsung and Microsoft standardizing affordable design, there is hope that improved accessibility will become cheaper and more available in the next few years.

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