subtitles and audio description

Rapture+watchers — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 16:00:24 GMT

Dear Sky and the Sub title dept.

I am beyond frustration and disgusted with the appalling service and lack of simple common sense that should be applied to your disabled customers who use Subtitles.

I have to say that your accessibility team are the best we have encountered, they are helpful and very quick to answer the phone, which is important when i live in pain everyday.

I have looked on your accessibility chat page and it worries me you don’t address serious problem with your customers and the accessibility issues.

But you need to address your blumming subtitles ! They are a nightmare and so frustrating and means most of the time i can’t watch tv!!!

1/ The subtitles needs to be at the top of the screen, where there is not much visual importance and doesn't interfere with the imagery on the TV programme.

When on the bottom of the screen it gets in the way of the major event in the programme and covers peoples mouths often, as the subtitles can land anywhere within the bottom half of the screen.

The other annoying hindrance is when we are watching the weather. The bloody s/t cover the region any where from Oxford to France!!!!

We live in the south of England, in Milford on Sea the nearest mainland to the Isle of Wight, so we can NEVER see the weather.

And the s/t’s would be better at the top of the tv screen.

( There is only a fraction of people who live in the outer Hebrides? Shetlands islands , and to be honest , its alway windy and piddling down there.)

2/ To add to the growing frustration the subtitles are painfully slow and just as i am trying to catch up with the news or programme, which is many seconds behind, the subtitles do not finish the conversation and cuts the narration, so it is impossible to keep informed .

3/ The subtitles NEED to be on a tick tape system rolling across the TOP of the screen, and they need to be a bit faster to keep up with the program and narration!

4/ Another increasingly annoying feature of Sky is, when i try to freeze the screen to read or catch up with the narration and the blumming ( trying not to swear) freeze bar covers the whole bottom of the screen, so the subtitles are covered and then i have to rewind the program back so far and hope i get the subtitles at the pivotal point so i can enjoy or be informed. NOT HAPPY

Vulnerable disabled customers like me, and also i am also visually impaired, struggle a lot with even your accessibility remote, why hasn’t it got a the voice recognition button?

I have struggled with your accessibilities and the absolute lack of common sense! i feel a smart remote should be sent to me free to try….

You still need to address your tv accessibility on screen and with your remotes!!!

Most of my sky viewing is from bed ,because I'm am in pain and achy. So the remote needs to be bigger and have clear space between buttons and a pattern, so i can feel and memorize the button function.

5/ Although i want to use the subtitles, they are useless and your design of the remote/tv function is Terrible. Now because it’s not designed for easy use, I try to take off the subtitle function and it never turns off and i have to repeat the same function on EVERY CHANNEL every day i switch it on and on EVERY channel, which could be multiple times a-day. I only switch it off because it is SO bad..

6/ The subtitles jump all over the lower 1/3 of the screen, and freezes.

7/ The audio description is utterly USELESS , it doesn't work half the time and has a huge delay…..

As a Disabled customer I do not expect to be side margined and not have to ability to access the world through my TV, but this needs to be addressed.

I will be sending this letter to my M.P Sir Desmond Swayne and to the other TV stations, as i feel this it despicable lack of thought and isolate the visually impaired. This surly could be adjusted for us..I have written to the RNIB, they too are lazy about this.

I want this letter to go to the highest technology /management team. I want to show you how bad this system is. I want to see the changes and make my life better in a small but important way and be excited at the relaxation i get from watching tv and the numerous genre of programme you offer. Not get frustrated that simple adjustment haven’t been thought thorough enough for the Disabled.

Please remember if you have physical and visual impairment like me, my world is mostly through your Tv and your programs.

Kind regards

Charlotte and Deborah

topic subtitles and audio description in Sky Accessibility

subtitles and audio description