Let's face it, everyone likes to watch TV, but for the person with a visual impairment this can be a difficult task. For those with a central or peripheral scotoma it can be hard to see faces of the people on television, and easy to miss important action happening on the screen. 

Audio described television (which we talked about last week with regards to Netflix) can be one helpful tool for this problem. A narrator describes the action on the screen so even if you can't see it you can imagine what is happening through the narration. 

However there are other options out there. One device is magnifying television glasses designed to magnify at distance. Sit in your easy chair with these on and the television will appear twice as large, which may be just what you need to better see what's happening. 

If these are not enough, a spectacle mounted telescope can be prescribed which would allow you to magnify objects in the distance to an even greater extent - however bear in mind that as you magnify your field of view will become smaller, meaning you may not see the entire television screen at the same time and will have to move your head around as you are watching. 

Tom Perski from The Chicago Lighthouse, now 62 and having been legally blind since the age of 21, offers some advice from his own experience - "I have found the best way to watch television is to use a smaller television and sit closer to it" He says. "Many people think a larger television will help, but it is hard to see the whole screen. If you have a smaller television and sit right up, relative distance magnification makes it appear much larger"

Tom adds "If you have central vision loss it is more effective to use eccentric viewing (your peripheral vision) to look at things. I find it best to sit at an angle to the television in order to help with this".

So as you can say there are many possibilities. Call us today at 312-997-3649 to discuss what might work for your individual needs!

The Tunity app is a great new resource that is proving to be very popular, and even better it's free! But what is it, I hear you say? Tunity is an app that lets you stream audio from your favorite TV Channels through your phone. What's the point of this, I hear you say?! Imagine you are in a noisy sports bar and want to listen to the game they are showing on the TV - just start up the app and listen from your phone! Or imagine you are in the waiting room at the airport and want to listen to the TV's they always have playing but muted - start up the app and enjoy!

We think this is really good option for people with a visual impairment as it would allow them to listen to television channels in situations where they may not be able to see the television. Peter Tucic, my esteemed colleague, used the app at a bar over the weekend and said it worked great!

In order to start streaming the audio from the television simply point the phone at the television and take a picture of the screen. Once done, the audio will start playing through your phone. From the website (http://www.tunityapp.com/)

What is Tunity?

Tunity allows you to scan a muted Live TV and get the audio streamed directly to your phone.

What do I do?

Simply scan any Live TV for one second and the app will identify the channel and stream the synchronized audio.

Where can I use it?

It's perfect to use at a sports bar, gym, airport, waiting room, and even at home.

Does it work for every channel?

Currently the app supports 48 channels (Tap �Supported Channels� on the Settings page for an up-to-date list.)

The app is free on iOS and Android so why not give it a try!

The Connect 12 from Humanware is a fantastic new device combining the convenience of tablet technology with low vision features. Based on an Android tablet, the Connect 12 runs the Prodigi software meaning good quality near magnification, fast and accurate OCR and ease of use. An optional extra is a wireless distance camera which can be used to magnify the whiteboard, look out the window or whatever else you might want to see.

Once you have finished on the Prodigi side it is easy to exit to the Android side and use Android's built in accessibility to access the internet, send and receive emails, take pictures, read books and so much more. Fantastic for students or those wanting a really portable do-it-all device, check out the video below to see it in action!