Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 16, 1993 TAG: 9302160221
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
VISUALLY IMPAIRED FAVOR IDEA OF DESCRIPTIVE VIDEO SERVICE
Settle down to your favorite television show and close your eyes.You'll hear the announcer's voice, the theme music and the characters' voices. But if it's a drama or sitcom you may not be able to figure out what's going on.
Robert Hoel, who lost his sight about two years ago, is fed up listening to the television and not knowing what's happening.
His wife, Shirley, attempts to explain each scene to him, but as she explains one, another comes and goes, and then neither of them knows what's happened.
Descriptive Video Service could help them.
This service provides narration between dialogue that describes what the characters are doing, their facial expressions and the settings.
Some people who lose their sight become angry and reclusive. Television is one way to help them feel less isolated from the rest of the world, said the Hoels.
Robert Hoel saw an article about DVS in Parade magazine almost two years ago and sent away for information.
"I asked around [Roanoke], but no one seemed to know about it," said Hoel, whose problem was diagnosed as chronic detachment of the retina.
That set him on the road to contacting as many organizations serving the blind and visually impaired as he could to stir up demand, he said. He recently spoke at a luncheon for the Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs), a group organized by Roanoke County's Parks and Recreation Department.
Hoel's audience of about 35 appeared to like the idea.
He played a cassette tape that had two versions of one scene from PBS's "Mystery!" series.
In the first version, the audience listened to the voice of detective Hercule Poirot, some rustling of leaves, music and birds singing. The second version included a narrator, and the audience learned that Poirot is spying from some bushes on a woman hiding a club in an attache case. The narrator explains that the woman, "looking hauntingly behind her shoulder," hurls the case into a lily pond and "the case bobs upright then sinks."
The VIPs exclaimed an "ahhh," upon discovering what Poirot was doing.
Group member Betty Ann Surbaugh, who is blind, said she would like the service on the regular networks in addition to public television. One of her favorite shows is "Designing Women." Surbaugh said she would like to hear what the characters are wearing and "the movements they're making."
The New York Times reported last year that the three major networks were exploring the technology to make the service available.
In the meantime, Descriptive Video is available only through Public Television stations. The 1992-93 DVS Guide says 68 stations in 23 states - including North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia - carry it.
But the cost of a transmitter is roughly $60,000. Blue Ridge Public Television applied for a federal grant to buy the equipment after Hoel contacted the station, station manager Larry Dyer said.
Although the station knew about the service no one had requested it before, Dyer said. If approved, the grant would be awarded in July and the equipment could be in place by the fall or early 1994. If Blue Ridge doesn't get the grant, it'll ask area organizations to help with funding, Dyer said.
"We haven't asked locally until we get word on the grant first," he said.
Some participants at the VIP luncheon said they would be willing to put their money together to help fund the project. Once installed, the service would be free to anyone who wanted it. All that's required is a stereo TV with a secondary audio program (SAP) button, Hoel said. An adaptor that converts a regular TV set to SAP capability can be purchased for around $45.
Hoel contacted Lions Club District Gov. Michael Ferguson for help with funding, and Hoel was asked to speak at the organization's quarterly board meeting this month. Ferguson said that if Hoel "can show us it would be used by a number of people" that the organization would probably "get behind it."
Stephen Aukward, regional manager of the Roanoke Department of the Visually Handicapped, said more than 8,000 in the greater Roanoke area could benefit.
Television may be a visual medium, but it provides much information and entertainment that could be enjoyed by people who are blind or visually impaired.
Aukward, who gradually lost his sight over 25 years, said he would have especially enjoyed narration for the blind in the PBS Civil War series. Although he enjoyed the music and had a sense of what was going on, "it would've been nice to have had a pictorial description," of the pictures and scenes that sighted people took for granted.
"Having had vision I value the non-verbal communication," such as a scowl or a gesture, he said.
Because of state funding cuts, Aukward doubted he could assist with funding for the project. But he credits Hoel for taking the initiative to campaign for the service at a grass roots level.
Developed three years ago by WGBH in Boston, DVS is available for such PBS series as "American Playhouse," "Masterpiece Theatre," and "Mystery!" and others. Funding came from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, a Government organization that distributes money for public broadcasting equipment.
In addition to the television service, WGBH provides DVS Home Video that offers descriptive narration on popular movies such as "Ghost," "Pretty Woman," "The Hunt for Red October and a number of Walt Disney movies including "101 Dalmatians." All that's needed for the videos is a VCR.
Videos can be purchased from WGBH by calling (800) 736-3099. But the Blue Ridge Council of the Blind donated $1,000 to get the video cassettes and is negotiating with the library to distribute them, council president Debbie Helms said.