Review of Apple TV Using Voiceover

Entertainment is a priority for everyone right? Well this fact shouldn't change just because you can't see what's entertaining you. Today we will be discussing the functionality of Apple TV with voiceover activated.

Don't worry seers... there is good stuff in here for you too, so do not... I repeat... Do NOT hit your back button!!

As many of you probably already know, Apple is an amazing company by normal standards. To the blind community, it is outstanding. It brings the wide world of technology into our hands without adding a lot of excess. This is huge!

Back in the day, in order for us to have technology, we would have to spend an outragious ammount of money and probably break our backs carrying the monstrosities. Now however, for the most part, we are only spending the outragious ammounts of money that a seer would pay and are carrying around devices that are the same size as them too.

Thank you Apple for helping us blindy's be followers!... Ok just kidding :)

But seriously, Apple has taken huge strides in making their products usable by the blind, and other disabled communities. This is truly much appreciated by most.

Getting to the point, today I am going to talk to you about the Apple TV. This for those of you who don't know, is a media streeming box that hooks up to your television.

This product is a tiny little box that packs a big punch. It does a lot and isn't terribly expensive in comparison to other Apple devices. It retails for right around a hundred dollars.

The only thing extra you will need to purchase besides the Apple TV device, is an HDMI cord and a converter if you are not running a High Definition TV.

One flaw right out of the box, once hooked up, in order to turn on voiceover, you will need a seer. This can be frustrating for someone (like me) who wants to play with the device right away and can't.

Once this pesky problem is taken care of, it's pretty much smooth sailing from here. You will need to of course sign in with your Apple sign in information. This will allow to to acess any content you have boughten from Itunes such as movies, music and TV shows. You will also be able to get your Itunes radeo stations here as well.

If you have a Netflix account, or Hoo Loo Plus (probably spelled wrong), you are in luck because those are available on here as well. You can also get content from other things such as Disney Channel, PBS, ESPN and much more. Just so you know however, in order to watch certain items you will need to have a cable or dish subscription.

Before you even ask I will provide the side note: Yes, Netflix and what not is usable by us blindy's. More on that to come in another post.

You can also utilize the wonderful world of You Tube from you amazing Apple TV.

Parental controls are also functional. However, might I offer a small tip mom and dad? Be sure to send the kids out of the room before entering your passcode... hello... it talks... they can hear it and see it. This may pose a problem for some of you. There are ways around this thought. The restriction section will also allow you to make it to where a passcode has to be entered to make a purchase. You can also choose ratings that you do or don't want your little ones watching. Don't worry, if needed, this can be bypassed with your passcode.

Furthermore, in the Main menu section of settings, you can tell your Apple TV what you want shown on your home screen. It will give you such options as "Show, HIde, or Ask" The first two are self explanatory. The ask option just means that if the item is clicked, it will ask the user to enter the passcode. For instance, if you don't want your child using You Tube without permsion, you would set that to "Ask" in the main menu section of settings.

All in all, the Apple TV is a great product. I would give it a four out of five rating. I honestly use it more now than my regular cable TV. There isn't anything on it that I can't do. The only improvement I would like to see is the inconvenient way to put it into sleep mode. This can be annoying at times. If you love movies, TV and music, you will love the Apple TV.

Stay tuned for a demonstration on the You Tube channel.

Thanks for reading guys and as always... Keep your head up... you can't see the ground anyway :)

Possible new feature for the blog

Hey, just wanted to drop a quick note. I am thinking of incorporating a new feature to playing the blank card. I wanted to give you guys a chance to weigh in on this idea.

As many of you know, the iPhone is a very accessible device for the blind and low vision clients. Many of you already have one whether it be an older version, or the latest 5C or 5S. I have recently purchased the 5c.

I have been talking with my boyfriend, and we thought that maybe it would be a good idea for blind people to review different iPhone applications. That is, how they work with voiceover. How accessible are they? Do blind people really have the ability to use them?

There are other websites, YouTube channels, podcasts and possibly other avenues that also explore this topic. I figured it was something that playing the blind card should tap into, as it is a very important topic

If there is ever an application that you would like to see reviewed on this blog, please feel free to shoot me an email. You can use the contact form that is on this page. You can also leave it in a comment under this post. Or, you can also leave your comments on the plane the blind card Facebook page.

Also, if you are a company or person producing an application that you feel would be a beneficial app for a blind user, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to interview you for the blog. 

Are you a blind user who would like to do your own review on the product for this blog? That is welcome here. If you are interested, send me a message. I will set up with you a time and date that you can do your own post for this site.

In one way or another, everyone has a voice on playing the blindside. So standup, shouted out, and let me know what you want! Thank you and I was always see you next time. Also as always, yet again the dictate feature has made an Ermer I am not from playing the blind side I am from playing the blind card! Thank you iPhone dictate feature. Review coming in for the post…