From the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), November 06, 2009
Silver Spring, Maryland - TDI proudly announces the release of its new online video It's Our World! Sponsored by Hamilton Relay, this video blog (vlog) is another service by TDI to inform the public about shaping an accessible world. Many of our constituents will be able to learn timely topics on TDI's vlogs through sign language, captions and voice-over.
This vlog covers H.R. 3101, a bill now in Congress called "The Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009" and COAT's role. Introduced by Congressman Edward J. Markey from Massachusetts, H.R. 3101 extends access rules that we enjoy under legacy systems to today's Internet protocol technology. COAT is the acronym for the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology.
H.R. 3101 benefits all of our constituents in many ways. For example, captions are required on television programming, but the regulations stop short of mandating online compliance. When enacted, this new law will apply current television captioning regulations to programs shown as streaming videos online. Among many other provisions, this bill seeks funding for specialized telecommunications equipment such as text telephones with Braille displays, which costs five to eight thousand dollars, beyond the reach of many deaf-blind consumers today.
Along with a brief message from Hamilton Relay, the first vlog includes links where viewers find more information about the bill and who to contact for supporting H.R. 3101. To watch the vlog and learn more about this important bill, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwrFHpyC0dM. If your wireless device supports video, go to http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rwrFHpyC0dM (NOTE: your carrier may impose a fee for downloading the video). For current information about the bill, go to www.coataccess.org, and sign a petition.
CONTACT: Jim House jimhouse@tdi-online.org