AT&T has released an app for U-verse TV designed for
people with vision and hearing impairment and other disabilities that lets
subscribers control the TV with their voice or hand gestures.
The U-verse Easy Remote App, currently available for iPhone
and iPad devices, lets subscribers change the channel by saying the show title
or channel number. It also recognizes other spoken commands, such as channel
up, channel down, fast forward, rewind, replay, pause, play and record.
AT&T claimed U-verse is the first major TV service to
let customers use voice commands to control their TVs. Microsoft's Xbox 360
game console, with the Kinect attachment, also provides voice- and
gesture-activated commands.
Other features of the Easy Remote app include: multiple
screen-color, button and font-size choices; gesture commands; support for
iPhone's VoiceOver text-to-speech app to read aloud TV show and channel
information in the programming guide; and one-touch access to closed
captioning.
"We're always looking for ways to improve the U-verse TV
experience, and we knew this was an area where we could take a big step forward
and use our IPTV platform to deliver a better and more accessible TV watching
experience for seniors and customers with hearing and vision impairments," said
Maria Dillard, vice president of U-verse and video products in AT&T Home
Solutions.
