Dicapta logo with the tagline - Accessible Communication Developers.

FCC Proposes to Expand Video Description Rules

Audio description symbols: black letters AD over white blackground
 

On March 31st, the Federal Communications Commission released proposed changes to video description rules “…to expand the availability of -- and consumer access to -- video described programming.”

New Deadline Approaching for Captioning of Archival Internet Video Programing

Video on YuTube. The control bar has a button with the letters
 

As a part of the incremental enforcement of captioning of internet video programming, a new deadline arrives on March 30, 2016.  Distributors of video programming that they have uploaded to the Internet and is later shown on TV with captions, will have 15 days, after the date the programming is first shown on TV with captions, to add captions to it.

Homage to Norman

Myrna, her daugther Deloris, her husband Juan and her son Norman in front of a cream covered cake.
 

By María Victoria Diaz

I had the luck of seeing up close the strength of love and family.  It is the kind of love that you don’t see much and makes us ask ourselves if it is an invention of poets or of Disney’s magic.

Widening of Closed Captioned In-Flight Entertainment Coming Soon

Airplane, Woman with glasses looks forward to the back of a seat in front of her
 

It’s always good to find a variety of movies and TV programs available when you’re flying.  However, for deaf and hard of hearing people it must be very frustrating not to be able to access closed captioning, especially when they know that some of the movies and TV programs on the flight have already been captioned.

Recent Updates on Accessibility of Emergency Information on Television

Red triangle on white background. From the triangle comes out the word
 

Last November, the Federal Communications Commission – FCC - announced that beginning on November 30, 2015, “video programming distributors (VPDs) must ensure that their televised emergency information is conveyed aurally through the use of a secondary audio stream, when such information is conveyed visually during programming other than newscasts.”

2015 kept us busy!

A woman holds a sparkling candle
 

We continued working on new ideas and projects to bring accessible communications to people with hearing and vision disabilities.  We had the privilege to work with long-established partners and enlarge our network with other organizations that share our passion for accessibility. The year ended with the great news of new resources to continue working on our project “Captions and Video Description: Educational Tools for Hispanic Children with Disabilities.”   This was a fruitful year!