TV technology must be accessible to all
By Alessandra Necamp
Published on Thursday, April 12, 2007
To the Editor:
Students may be annoyed or even angry that to watch TV could cost so much money next year ("TV watchers to face $300 box fee," April 6). On another note, it should also be known that despite requests starting in September of 2006, these set-top boxes are not accessible to people with disabilities. This "technology of tomorrow" has ironically been used as an excuse for the inability of the set-top boxes to support closed captioning, which is used especially by students who have a hearing loss or may be deaf.
Instead of focusing on the ability of the set-top boxes to support high-definition TV, basic technology needs to be included so that everyone at Dartmouth can use these boxes. Until the set-top boxes are completely accessible, this technology which the "campus has made a very large investment in" should not be available to anyone, no matter the cost. DarTV will have to be good enough for everyone, as some suggested it should be good enough for those with disabilities.