2021-04-07 14:26:43

hi everyone, I am looking at upgrading from a Sharp Roku tv I have from 2017. what OS does have better accessibility for apps and settings for the system? Witch tvs get the most updates during it's life? What OS is easier to navagate around? I might have more questions if I have more come up in my head while I am at the training center today.

2021-04-07 16:47:02

Can't tell you anything about Samsung, but I have a fire tv and it's very accessible. I didn't have any problems with it so far, except that the netflix app only started talking after I logged in, so I needed help for this.

We are pleased, that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lay on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Assume the party submission position or you will miss the party.

2021-04-07 17:40:49

The problem with amazon fire is, basically, that your TV needs to provide you with a way to switch to HDMI output accessibly. If it doesn't, you're gonna have a hell of a time getting anywhere with it. Generally, I'd recommend a Samsung smart TV to use for standard cable channels, + an amazon fire TV stick for everything else.

2021-04-07 19:29:59

I might look into getting a firestick and keep my current tv as the screen still works. Does anyone know how to set up the stick with the screen reader? and does anyone know if youtube and spotify is on the fire stick?

2021-04-07 20:37:03

i'm just wondering how good samsung tv's are for the blind

i am a system, i have headmates, and that is my life, and my discord is rings2006wilson#8609

2021-04-07 21:35:53

Both YouTube and Spotify can be installed. The problem with the basic setup is, as Haily mentioned, that you probably won't know how to switch to the HDMI-interface on your TV. You might actually need sighted help for that. As soon as your TV is showing the fire stick, you can press the back-button and the menu-button on your fire TV remote for a few seconds and the screenreader should switch on.

I don't need my TV for anything else than outputting the fire, so I'm fine without a talking TV. But I could switch to the fire easily, because it's just four button presses you can easily remember anyway.

We are pleased, that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lay on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Assume the party submission position or you will miss the party.

2021-04-07 23:21:45 (edited by Boo15mario 2021-04-07 23:22:40)

@6 do you know how the layout of the fire stick remote is like? or do you know of places I can learn more about the layout of the OS and accessibility and settings I can change for the screen reader?

2021-04-08 01:10:15

I think I am going to get this one.

https://www.amazon.com/fire-tv-stick-wi … 4&th=1

Do you all think this is going to be a good option?

2021-04-08 05:17:03 (edited by Chris 2021-04-08 05:27:56)

Ass far as I know, Amazon is still supporting all their Fire TV devices with software updates. If you want a TV with Fire OS built-in, check them out instead of a Stick or Fire TV. Not only do you get all the same features, but VoiceView works with the channel guide and allows you to independently switch inputs.

Check this for the VoiceView manual for Fire TV. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/cust … _en-US.pdf

If you still want a Fire TV but don't want to connect it to a TV, try using an HDMI audio extractor such as this one.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KB … &psc=1
It has an HDMI input you plug the Fire TV into and RCA out and HDMI out on the other side. This lets you connect the Fire TV to a display while directing the audio to other equipment using RCA cables. In my case, I simply used it to send the Fire TV audio to a speaker without connecting it to an actual TV or monitor. It works great!

In terms of the Fire TV experience, I loved using mine for a while. I eventually stopped using mine and gave it to my dad because I don't watch a lot of TV. Netflix and Prime Video are accessible, although Netflix uses their own self-voicing system rather than hooking natively into VoiceView for some reason. I'm not entirely sure why they do this. The only reason I can think of is that they program their app in a cross-platform framework because the experience on Roku is exactly the same. I didn't use YouTube because at the time I was testing, YouTube wasn't officially available. How accessible is it? Is it just a web interface or is it a proper app that's very accessible? I also liked that I could sideload Android apps using ADB over the network. This is obviously more advanced, but I loaded Pontes Game Zone and was able to play using a combination of standard remote commands and VoiceView's review mode to read static text. My understanding is that this should work well as long as the apps are accessible and don't heavily rely on touch gestures. Now I wonder if I could listen to BARD books on a Fire TV? That would be badass!

I just did some digging and it appears you can install the Google play Store on Fire TV devices. Not all apps will work, but I don't see why something like BARD Mobile wouldn't.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2021-04-08 07:47:11

Hi.
I'll highly recommend a Samsung smart tv, and the accessible streaming box you like best. That will give yu the best options. Samsungs smart tv is 100% accessible, even the first time you set it up. Many of the apps are not accessible though. Therefore you'll need a streaming device with a screenreader: Apple tv, Chromecast with Google Tv, Firestick or whatever you like.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2021-04-08 10:33:16

@7 As soon as you start the screenreader for the first time, you'll get a tutorial which explains the remote, but that's only after you started it, so I try to explain:
At the very top left is the on/off button, which doesn't turn on the stick, but your TV. Then, if you go down a bit, there is another small round button in the center. That's the Alexa button. Hold this button and speak, then release it. Below that is a big round button for navigation. You can press the outer ring up, down, left or right, or the center to select something. Below that are two horizontal rows with three round buttons each.
Top row, from left to right: back, home, menu
bottom row, from left to right: rewind, play/pause, fast forward
Below the two rows is a long vertical button for the volume. Pressing it at the top raises it, at the bottom lowers it. Below that is another smaller button to mute your TV and unmute it again.
That's the whole remote.

We are pleased, that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lay on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Assume the party submission position or you will miss the party.

2021-04-08 13:25:57

@11 good to know. I just ordered an amazon fire stick second gen as I don't want to wait a few weeks for the new one to be released. it will be getting here to my place in a few days.

2021-04-08 17:13:06

Now I'm confused. I have a third generation stick. It was released last october, I think.

We are pleased, that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lay on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Assume the party submission position or you will miss the party.

2021-04-09 03:33:29

acording to Amazon the 2020 release of the fire stick is the 2nd gen and the 2021 one is the 3rd gen.

2021-04-09 04:05:28

I thought the second generation stick was released in 2016 or 17? That's odd. Is the third generation the one with the extra buttons on the remote for volume and turning the TV on or off? The stick I had didn't have volume controls or an on/off button, and I got it in November of 2018.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2021-04-09 10:29:10

That's really strange. But it doesn't really matter. We both should have the 2020 stick then.

We are pleased, that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Place the device on the ground, then lay on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party. Assume the party submission position or you will miss the party.

2021-04-10 04:46:32

I will be making an update post on here once I get my fire stick set up tomorrow