‘Fire TV makes entertainment more accessible’
Late last week, Amazon published a piece on its website in which it touts a few of accessibility benefits of its Fire TV operating system for people with disabilities. The platform’s assistive technologies, the company said, “represent more than just technology: they’re about creating moments where everyone can enjoy entertainment their way,” adding Fire TV “adapts to your needs rather than the other way around.”
“Picture this: It’s movie night, and everyone’s gathered around the TV. One person is trying to solve the mystery before the detective, another is straining to catch every word of dialogue, and someone else needs their hearing aids to enjoy the show. We’ve all been there—wanting to share entertainment moments together but having different needs to experience these moments best,” Amazon wrote in the introduction. “During a time of year when friends and family are gathering more often, Amazon Fire TV is highlighting how Fire TV is built for how you watch. This initiative celebrates the unique ways we all enjoy entertainment and highlights innovative features that make watching your favorite TV shows and movies more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.”
The meat on the bones of Amazon’s post highlights three features in particular: Dialogue Boost, Dual Audio, and Text Banner. I’ve covered all of these technologies in one way or another several times over the years, and have interviewed Amazon executives such as Peter Korn many times as well. In fact, one of my earliest stories for my old Forbes column was an ode to Fire TV hardware in the Fire TV Cube. My praise holds up today; whatever one thinks of Fire TV’s ad-littered user interface and general design, it’s entirely credible for a disabled person who, for example, has motor and visual disabilities, to choose a Fire TV Cube as their set-top box precisely for Fire TV’s accessibility attributes—especially the Cube’s ability to control one’s home theater. To wit, it isn’t trivial that the Cube can switch between HDMI inputs on a TV and even switch on a game console or Blu-ray player. Given the smorgasbord of remotes and whatnot, that someone can ask Alexa to, say, “Turn on my PlayStation 5” is worth its weight in gold in terms of accessibility for its hands-free operation. Again, to choose Fire TV (and the Cube) as one’s preferred TV platform because of accessibility is perfectly valid; it’s plausible that accessibility is of greater importance than the subjectively “messiness” of the Fire TV’s UI and its barrage of advertisements.
You can learn more about Fire TV accessibility (and more) on Amazon’s website.
