a more silent world

So I just downloaded the xfinity iPad app, and I am able to watch shows right there on the iPad.  Great, right?  WRONG! xfinity has joined the ranks of companies who apparently don't care about accessibility for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people who rely on subtitles to watch TV and movies.  It used to be if you wanted captions, you have to miss it at the movie theater and wait for it on DVD.  Now companies who rent comprehensive selections of movies (e.g. Netflix) will charge you for a DVD and not provide captions online.  I can't wait until xfinity decides to go all online and we can be totally screwed. Hey, FCC, are you asleep at the wheel?  Or maybe you buy into their nonsense that somehow technology isn't advanced enough to be able to provide captions on streaming Internet video?

One of my fellow classmates in my 4th year ASL class is involved with the theatre program at the high school he teaches. He makes sure that they do a matinee with interpreters each year, with a dedicated ASL seating section right up front by the interpreters! Next weekend is Beauty and the Beast. I took my daughter last year to Wizard of Oz and it was great! Two interpreters were used, and it made everything very easy to understand from my point-of-view. Any D/HoH can relate to how inaccessible theatre normally is, so this was a really cool experience.