Re: 48-Hour Call for Consensus (CfC): TV Remote Control API Comments (Reissued)

+1 to the response Janina, and thanks.

JF

On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 12:35 PM, Janina Sajka <janina@rednote.net> wrote:

> Colleagues:
>
> This is a Call for Consensus (CfC) to the Accessible Platform
> Architectures (APA) Working Group on our review of the TV Remote Control
> API specification as detailed below.
>
> I have endeavored to incorporate such API related comments as we've
> recieved on an earlier draft comment beginning at:
>
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-apa/2017Feb/0019.html
>
> In addition this review reflects our discussion on this topic and this
> specification at our 8 March regular teleconference minuted at:
>
> http://www.w3.org/2017/03/08-apa-minutes.html
>
> <Begin Revised Draft Comment>
>
> The Accessible Platform Architectures (APA) Working Group makes the
> following comments on the draft TV Control API specification at:
>
> https://www.w3.org/tr/tvcontrol-api/
>
> We appreciate that an API for TV remote control could be utilized for
> enabling accessible alternative Web applications to provide radio and TV
> services to users with disabilities who may find it difficult or
> impossible to operate any user interface supplied with a particular
> browser or hardware device. This is an inherent accessibility strength
> for any API that provides for sufficient feature support. Regretably, we
> believe the current TV Remote Control API as currently defined lacks
> required accessibility feature support.
>
> *       alternative media support
>
> We would draw your attention to the multiple alternative media formats
> that are used by persons with disabilities as set forth in our W3C Note
> publication: "Media Accessibility User Requirements (MAUR)" available
> at:
>
> http://www.w3.org/TR/media-accessibility-reqs
>
> Please note that this document was developed in order to inform the
> development of the HTML 5.0 specification itself. As a result of this
> note, HTML provides sufficient feature support to support accessibility
> in HTML's video and audio elements.
>
> Our reading of the Tv Control API draft finds no way for users to learn
> of the presence of any MAUR identified alternative media with any
> particular TV content, nor any means to request display of alternative
> content. This is a fundamental accessibility requirement on TV Controls
> and we believe it must be factored into this specification.
>
> *       Alternative Media on Second Screen Devices
>
> APA's predecessor Working Group, Protocols and Formats WG also provided
> use cases and requirements to the Second Screen Working Group on how
> alternative media might be directed to second screen devices. We believe
> support for directing alternative video, audio, and/or text to secondary
> devices, as described in the MAUR,  is also a fundamental accessibility
> requirement on TV Controls and should be supported in this API.
>
> *       Legal Requirements
>
> The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. has explicit
> legally mandated regulations setting forth some strict requirements on
> how certain alternative media are to be exposed to consumers. These
> regulations also require accessible program guides.
>
> We believe that developers should be flagged most especially on the
> requirement that
> captioning must be enableable by top level controls. These FCC
> requirements implement provisions of a U.S. law known as the
> "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act" as
> explained by the FCC at:
>
> https://www.fcc.gov/general/twenty-first-century-communications-and-video-
> accessibility-act-0#block-menu-block-4
>
> The FCC's regulations pertinent to this specification were published in
> December 2016 in the document: "Accessibility Requirements for
> Television and Set-Top Box Controls, Menus, and Program Guides"
> available at:
>
> PDF:            https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-
> 1416A1.pdf
> MS-Word: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1416A1.docx
>
> Also relevant is the document "Display of Captioning on Equipment Used
> to View Video Programming" available at:
>
> https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/closed-captioning-
> display-requirements-equipment#block-menu-block-4
>
> Additionally, we would request that your API reference the MAUR in your
> appendices in order to assist developers in meeting both their moral and
> legal requirements in support of accessibility.
>
> <End Draft Comment>
>
> *       ACTION TO TAKE
>
> This CfC is now open for objection, comment, as well as statements of
> support via email. Silence will be interpreted as support, though
> messages of support are certainly welcome.
>
> If you object to this proposed action, or have comments concerning this
> proposal, please respond by replying on list to this message no later
> than 23:59 (Midnight) Boston Time, Tuesday 21 March.
>
> Janina
>
>
> --
>
> Janina Sajka,   Phone:  +1.443.300.2200
>                         sip:janina@asterisk.rednote.net
>                 Email:  janina@rednote.net
>
> Linux Foundation Fellow
> Executive Chair, Accessibility Workgroup:       http://a11y.org
>
> The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
> Chair, Accessible Platform Architectures        http://www.w3.org/wai/apa
>
>
>


-- 
John Foliot
Principal Accessibility Strategist
Deque Systems Inc.
john.foliot@deque.com

Advancing the mission of digital accessibility and inclusion