It arrived yesterday and mum and I spent most of the day playing around on it. We have a training session booked in for September but we couldn’t just not use it till then, We’ve got the internet up and running on it, I know how to create, save and find word documents, I’m getting to grips with the differences in computer Braille, numbers and punctuation I will need to work on. I’ve set the speech up to echo letter and words to help me track down typos, and it’s set to 6 dot UK grade 1. it will grow with me as I learn more grade 2 contractions, I’m finding lots of useful videos tutorials on Youtube.

I thought I would carry on with my tech videos on my Youtube. I did a series of 4 on the BlackBerry screen reader functions, and today. I’ve filmed a quick 4 minute video on how to create, save and find a word document on the BrailleNote Apex BT 32. I’ll include it in the bottom of this post. It will serve as a reminder for me and be a fun journey to look back on, I also hope that for those other VI people out there that this will be a quick guide for the things you want to know now and not have to trawl though CD manuals or wait for a training session, if this device is something you are interested in.

Visually-impaired movie-goers in the Windsor area have something to celebrate, thanks to Cineplex.

If you’ve been following my blog over the past year, you’ll know about my ongoing dialogue with Cineplex — Canada’s largest theatre chain — about narration services for the blind. It began less than smoothly before I clarified a couple of things and got a response about my complaints. Most recently, I received a progress report on how things were coming along.

With that in mind, you can imagine my surprise upon “seeing” that SilverCity Windsor was offering Descriptive Video Service (DVS) when looking up showtimes for The Expendables 2 this past Friday.

As mentioned in my last entry on April 3, Cineplex was testing out a new system that was compatible with digital projection (called Fidelio) at one of its locations. At the time they had no estimate as to when the new system would be installed in other theatres. The company creating this technology was also being overwhelmed with unit requests by all exhibitors.

Long story short, it didn’t look like visually-impaired movie-goers would be getting film narration back anytime soon.

Flash forward to this past Friday and my shock regarding DVS’ return. After finding this out, my fiancee and I got our tickets on Sunday for one of the showtimes with the service. Before going to the theatre, she also noticed that (according to Cineplex’s website at least) The Bourne Legacy was available in DVS as well. When we got to SilverCity itself however, Brave was the only movie it was listed for, which seemed odd.

Slightly confused now, my fiancee asked if the headsets were available for The Expendables 2: The person selling tickets didn’t know and had to call someone else. After some discussion over the phone, we were directed to Guest Services and told they had DVS for The Expendables 2, with roughly four employees discussing the matter afterwards. Not long after this, they went to a back room and we waited a bit for their return.

Once they came out, a female employee informed us that they couldn’t get the headset to work. Apparently the new system had just been installed two days before (sounds like I was the first one to use/ask for it!) and they were still trying to figure everything out. While disappointed, we were given two free passes, told that they would keep trying to get it working and bring it out to us if they did. She confirmed it should be working for sure the next time we came back.

Since there wasn’t much time left before our show started, we hurried to grab some seats. We’d only been sitting a short time before the same female employee came in with the headset, stating that they thought they had it working. As luck would have it, the new DVS kept going throughout the entire show.

Now for those of you who’ve used DVS at Cineplex in the past, some changes have been made:

- The headset itself is no longer wireless. The band that goes over your head is thinner but its size is adjusted the same way as the previous headsets. I personally found that the new earphones come away from the ears a bit as well, meaning more audio leaks out.

- The non-wireless design is due to an additional battery pack that the headphones are attached to. The small rectangular object is light, fits in your hand and has a clip on the back (I just hung it off the cup holder.) Hopefully this allows it to run longer without going dead.

- The biggest change to the headset is that controls are no longer on the headset itself. Instead, they are all located on the battery pack. There is an on/off switch and the sliding volume control has been replaced with small up and down buttons. Those with neuropathy may find this a bit tricky, as did I. Although the buttons are slightly raised, they’re still pretty small and sometimes hard to feel as a result. It does make things a bit more difficult when trying to quickly turn up the volume during a loud action scene too.

- I have to gush a bit about the narration itself though. I couldn’t believe how crystal clear the voice sounded in the headphones. Whatever technology they’re now using for the system, all static is completely gone… and I mean completely. Those of you who have used DVS in the past will know how much of an annoyance the static or distorted audio was. Well, that’s not a factor at all anymore.

- One final thought on the narration however: Maybe it’s the movie itself (it was The Expendables 2, after all) but the volume didn’t seem as loud as it used to be. I had it on max volume for the entire movie and was having a hard time hearing dialogue clearly during action scenes — I had to push and cup the earphones closer to my ears using my hands to understand anything. Like I said, it could’ve been the movie itself being overly loud, I don’t know. It could also be due to the audio leaking out, as I described earlier. Either way, if they can tweak the overall volume on their end so the headset’s max volume is louder, it’d be perfect.

After the show, the female employee who had been so helpful approached us again to see how everything went. I mentioned the volume issues but made sure to stress that it worked perfectly otherwise. We got to keep our free passes and left the theatre feeling very satisfied — so kudos on your great customer service Cineplex!

One final thing I want to mention: Make sure you look up showtimes online when checking whether or not a theatre has DVS for the movie you want. I have no clue which theatres have the fidelio system installed so far, but Cineplex.com had the most up-to-date info about what was being offered. If we’d looked at the showtimes in the theatre itself or not checked on the Cineplex website first, we never would’ve known to ask for DVS when it came to our movie. The staff doesn’t always know which films have it either unfortunately, so it never hurts to check — especially since it looks like they’ll be offering DVS for more than one movie at a time now.

Hope my blog posts helped some of you out! I’ll comment on any improvements in the future.

RIM BlackBerry 9360 Black and Apple iPhone 4S White

First impressions of the RIM BlackBerry 9360 with Screen Reader.
First off a big Thank You to BlackBerry and Three.co.uk for loaning me a BlackBerry 9360 device for a month, so that I could test out the screen reader thoroughly on a day to day basis, using all the apps and tasks I would normally use and do, to see how useful and beneficial it would be for a blind or visually impaired person to use, and to see if it’s a valid, doable option and alternative to the Apple iPhone with VoiceOver.

The BlackBerry 9360 came with everything I needed to set up, a country specific plug, with usb charging lead, battery pack, earbuds and the device itself. The screen reader had already been downloaded and setup so it was ready to use straight out of the box, which I really appreciated, No CDs were provided, just paper manuals.

The device itself was a joy to use, it was light and felt good in my hands, the physical keyboard was a welcome addition and the overall experience using the keyboard with the screen reader was great and lots of fun, freedom! The screen reader works seamlessly and effortlessly with the BlackBerry OS. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to text, tweet and mail with one hand if I wanted to, which hasn’t been a doable option on my current iPhone 4S, it’s just too bulky, heavy and I need two hands to use it, one to hold the phone steady, the other to do all the tapping for the on screen keyboard keys.

The screen reader is brilliant going through emails, texts, and using the Facebook and Twitter Apps. There’s no scrolling around endlessly trying to find the one button you need to compose a new mail, text, tweet or listen to a friends status, they are all there at the top, every button is announced and easy to find and memorize. Unlike the annoying ‘Button, button, button’ you get on the iPhone’s VoiceOver on some apps which is unhelpful to say the least.

Typing out emails, texts, tweets and status’ is  so much faster and nicer using the BlackBerry keyboard and screen reader, every letter, if you go slow enough, and word is announced so mistakes are easy to track and correct. And when you receive a text or an email, the screen reader reads everything so you know who it’s from, when it was sent, the subject and the message, scrolling through read and unread messages is really easy and fast too. Such a change from the nightmare on the iPhone which is extremely time consuming when you have to trace your finger over the on screen keypad to hear the letter and then double tap the letter you want and listen to the next and even slower when you have to go back and make sure it’s deleted in the right place and hasn’t, for no apparently reason, moved to the beginning… ugh.

App Compatibility, FacePalm Moments.
I love my Apps so I knew stepping away from the Apple App store might be difficult,

Although the BlackBerry screen reader is brilliant for anything to do with the actual phone, it isn’t very compatible with the Apps that are available as it doesn’t read the descriptions or tell you if they are free, or paid or what their star ratings are, this is more of a critisimn for the App creators rather than BlackBerry itself.

I was however, extremely pleased to see that FourSquare was in the BlackBerry App store and the screen reader works with it for the most part. It doesn’t read the locations out as a list, instead I have to click on them one by one and then it reads out the location, not perfect, once a location has been selected it does announce all the buttons and reads your message back to you before you send it and check in.
I currently do not have the funds to test out the BlindSquare App to see if this is compatible with the BlackBerry screen reader. I do not have it on my iPhone for comparison either.

AudioBoo App. There is currently no AudiBoo App for the BlackBerry which is very sad because I loved making little AudioBoo’s of where I was, my dog playing in the garden, things like that. Hopefully it will come to the BlackBerry App store, at the moment I think it’s only on iPhone and Android phones. I’m also hoping the MET Office App will be available and compatible soon.

Audible App. At first look into the BlackBerry App store, Audible doesn’t seem to be there, however if you go to the Audible.co.uk website from the device there suddenly is one and they give you a direct link to download it, nice, although the Curve 9360 model is not mentioned on the list it reads out to you, I had to download the Curve 9330  version which installed successfully, however, the screen reader does not seem to work with the BlackBerry Audible App. It does not announce book titles in a list or the play/delete buttons. It felt like going back to the iPod Shuffle days when I had to memorize the books in the order and would have to relearn it every time I added a new book. Listening to Audiobooks on my phone is an essential part of using the phone for me so it would be great to hear that this is fixed and made fully compatible with the BlackBerry screen reader.

Endomundo App, Another App I use on my iPhone to track my walks, miles, calories… There is an Endomundo App both free and paid for in the BlackBerry App store but again, not compatible with the BlackBerry screen reader, no locations, buttons or even an acknowledgment of the App even being opened are announced, Disappointing.

Music and Audiobooks
I was told that you could not use a BlackBerry Smartphone with an Apple Mac computer, this is in fact a myth, you can. However, you will need to download the BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac first there is a US and UK option. Then it’s as simple as plugging your iPhone into your Mac computer and syncing it with iTunes, but not quite.  Once you have BDS installed and open on you computer, plug in your BlackBerry using the provided usb cable, a box will come up with your library and you can check or uncheck the songs (MP3s/MP4s) you want onto your device, then click sync which is on the top right hand side, when it’s safe to eject your BlackBerry. Go to Media, Music, on your Smartphone, wait about a minute or get a sighted person to check for the green status bar to complete then your new music should be on there ready to play. My loaned BlackBerry came with a 4GB micro memory card, I’m told it can take up to a 32GB card.

Audiobooks from Audible seem to be a different matter. I have not found a way of getting my Audible Books onto the BlackBerry device using this way, it says the books are protected and cannot be transferred. Which means my only option is to use the Audible App which does not work with the screen reader to play the books through. It’s not ideal, but at least I have a way to listen to them on the BlackBerry. It just means clicking through every book and listening for the title to be announced, and if you’re like me and you listen to a lot of series, that all start with the same intro music, it can feel like a real time zapper trying to find the one you want.

BlackBerry Curve 9360
As for the BlackBerry Device itself, the keyboard is easy to use, but I do have a couple of problems. The Lock/Unlock button has moved from being the Menu Square + A, as it was on my previous BlackBerry 8520, to a designated button at the top of the phone which is not tactile and hard to find. Also I assumed the volume rocker keys would affect the screen reader volume but they don’t, you have to go into screen reader options to set volume, verbosity etc..

To be perfectly honest I cannot see the screen at all so I cannot comment on brightness, aesthetics etc, and just in passing the paper manuals provided are completely inaccessible to me in fact my mum, even with her glasses, struggled!  I’m aware that some stores in the UK provide a walk out working service, but those buying over the internet might struggle to set it up without sighted assistance.

Just for interest
I have made a recording using both the Apple VoiceOver and BlackBerry Screen Reader testing out creating a note, there is quite a difference between the time it takes on both devices, due to the iPhone being an on screen keyboard requiring double tapping to select each letter.  Apple VoiceOver is first, followed by BlackBerry Screen Reader. You will need to turn your speaker volume up.

VoiceOver/Screen Reader. Apple/BlackBerry Comparison
I went over to the Apple iPhone 4S mostly because of Siri. I use the VoiceOver on both my Mac Mini and iPad so I’m used to it even though I don’t particularly like it, but having trialled RIMs Screen Reader I know which one I prefer and I’m thankful to have a choice. Siri is great on the iPhone, if you want to do short things like send a text, ask the time, and do short tasks. But it’s not very helpful when you want to do a ‘War and Peace’ type email, it very often gets words completely wrong, which I am unable to correct afterward and it’s just not made for essays.
I also find the double tapping time consuming when I want to update a status, comment generally anything when I need to type. Also VoiceOver messes up the touch screen gestures on the iPhone, swiping to move up and down is hard work and very hit and miss. You can use a bluetooth braille device with the iPhone if you have an extra £1000 buried deep in the sofa for eg.. The BraillePen12.

I have really taken to the BlackBerry screen reader and Curve 9360 and I will definitely consider it when I next upgrade my mobile phone. BlackBerry have done am amazing job on their screen reader, it’s smooth and works effortlessly with the BlackBerry OS. It’s easy to listen too and it’s made using a Smartphone a pleasure to use again instead of a source of frustration. I’d highly recommend it to any blind or visually impaired person as an affordable alternative.

In Closing.
Again I’d just like to say thank you to BlackBerry and Three UK for letting me have this opportunity to test out RIM’s new screen reader on their Curve Models and loaning me a BlackBerry 9360 so that I could test it out at home without any cost and see if it’s really a phone that’s going to work for me the way I want it to.  I hope my review has been helpful and informative. I’ve enjoyed this opportunity and sharing my experience.

For more information on RIM BlackBerry Screen Reader and what BlackBerry devices you can get it on, check out Blackberry, or RNIB’s review.
The RIM BlackBerry Screen Reader is currently available on the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370. The makers are also looking to make the software work on up and coming models like the BlackBerry Curve 9320.

Thank you for listening.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself however.

Anyway, if you recall, last year’s post was about the lack of movies available with descriptive video at theatres in my area. I e-mailed Cineplex (our main theatre chain in Canada) about the situation — they were gracious enough to reply and offered an explanation as to just what the heck was going on. With that being settled, I moved on and proceeded to neglect this blog for a year.

Now, with summer blockbuster season fast approaching, I started getting curious again. Figuring that any progress made would be posted on the internet, I used my sleuthing skills (i.e. doing random google searches) to obtain some new information.

Unfortunately, none of it was very detailed and the most I found was two-three pages about the subject. The articles broaching the matter didn’t even get very specific actually. They just contained vague mentions of the developping descriptive video technology and its name: Fidelio.

Now try searching Fidelio on google, even with “Cineplex movie theatre” in the little box as well. See how many pages don’t relate to the actual topic of Fidelio’s descriptive video services?

As you can imagine, this did not satisfy my curiosity.

Since I’d previously had success in e-mailing guest services at Cineplex, I figured I might as well drop them a line. Although it took them awhile to get back to me, (not unlike last time) I got a response today.

Since there isn’t a lot of info on the internet and the response was quite specific, I wanted to share the information with those who may be looking for the same answers I was. Once again, I’d like to thank Cineplex for getting back to me.

So without further adieu, here’s the latest:

“Dear Marc

Thank you for contacting Cineplex Entertainment regarding the new Fidelio system. We apologise for the delay in responding.

We are in the process of upgrading our locations with Digital Projection. The SilverCity Windsor recently converted all their auditoriums to Digital projection.

With our 35mm auditoriums, the system that was available was the Descriptive Video System (DVS). However, with the conversion into Digital Projection the system is not compatible.

We have begun testing the new Fidelio system at one of our locations, that is compatible with our digital projection. However, at this time, there is no confirmed date as to when the new system will be available to other locations. Currently Fidelio is overwhelmed as all exhibitors have requested units from them.

Previously with the DVS system, we were only able to offer our guests 1 or 2 films. Once the new system is in place, our guests will have the option of possibly 4 or 5 other films.

Please understand that even with the new descriptive video system, if a film’s owner or distributor does not provide us with the file containing the scripted film, we are not able to offer the descriptive video. Legally, this can only be done by a film’s owner or distributor. Scripting a film cannot be done by exhibitors, such as Cineplex, as we do not own the intellectual property rights to the films that we play. This means that even if our theatres are equipped with the necessary technology to offer descriptive video to our guests, if the film itself has not been offered for release using the new system, we will be unable to offer that particular film to our guests. Cineplex continues to encourage film owners and distributors to provide us with the file containing the script of their films in time for theatrical release.

Please continue to visit http://www.cineplex.com for the latest news and updates.

We hope to see an increase of films offering descriptive video in the future at the SilverCity Windsor location.

Regards,

Arvictor.Canaria
Guest Services | Cineplex Entertainment”

So while the timeline for Fidelio is unknown, the technology certainly sounds promising! Hopefully it expands into theatres sooner rather than later.

• A visual acuity from 3/60 to 6/60 with a full field
• Up to 6/24 with moderate restriction of visual field, opacities in the media or aphakia
• 6/18 or better with a gross field defect (e.g. hemianopia) or a marked constriction of the field (e.g. glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa)

• A best corrected visual acuity below 3/60 or 1/18
• A best corrected visual acuity better than 3/60 but below 6/60 with a very restricted visual field

Now with several years of being with someone who has a disability under my belt, I know a lot more. Those parking spots are there because people with disabilities need more room too. People can suck it in and slide between cars when someone parks to close; wheelchairs with people just don’t. It’s a similar problem that applies to narrow aisles.

However, my new perspective has also shown what I don’t know more clearly. I don’t know much about those parking spaces or accessibility rules in Windsor. Are there standard sizes? Can they be shared? What are the fines for using them without a permit? Who do you contact if you see a violation? Is it okay to pile snow or debris on those spaces?

So many questions and so few answers to be found online meant I had to contact someone for information. After some searching, I came across the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee and sent an email to the name listed for general inquiries. Here is part of that email:

“1. What is the standard size for accessible parking spots in Windsor? Is there a standard like Toronto and other cities or is any size acceptable as long as it is marked accessible?

2. Are businesses allowed to limit access to these spaces when they are clearing snow or debris or when they are loading/unloading? (In the winter, there were many businesses that used accessible spaces as areas to pile snow to clear the rest of their parking lot. Is this acceptable during snow emergencies or if a certain amount has fallen? Throughout the year, some vehicles use the space as quick access to deliver product to businesses or pick it up. Is this allowed in Windsor if the vehicle is only there for a certain amount of time or if there are other accessible spaces still available?)

3. Is there a law that says only one vehicle may occupy an accessible space? There have been several occasions when a car has been seen parked in-between two other cars in two accessible spaces. The middle car is essentially parked in two spaces. Is this acceptable/legal to do in Windsor? If there is no standard size, is the entire appropriately marked area considered accessible so the middle car is okay to park there?

I ask these questions because I see things done (as mentioned in questions 2 and 3), but don’t know if this is something that should be brought to a business’ attention and/or it’s an illegal offense. The motivation to stand up for the needs of those with disabilities is there, but stalls when it’s unclear if something is technically okay. Yes, the snow pile creates a problem, but if not illegal, it’s a non-disabled person’s complaint that can easily be ignored by a business. The middle car is probably an issue for the other drivers when they return to their cars, but if it’s allowed to be there, it’s an issue we all have to accept for now.

There is a lot available online about parking permits, but I couldn’t find anything straightforward and binding about the parking spots in which to use those permits. If there is a site/page that lays out this information, I would appreciate its address. Also, it would be helpful for any site with information on exactly what constitutes “abuse” of a permit and with what methods that is dealt.

Thank you for any help you provide.”

She replied promptly, but said that she couldn’t answer my questions so she was forwarding them to the city’s Accessibility and Diversity Officer. This is where the flow of information has stalled. After waiting over two weeks, I emailed the A&D Officer for a follow-up. I explained the situation, simply asked for a progress update (did she have to forward it to others and was waiting for their reply?), and copied/pasted the questions for her just in case. Having received no reply in over a week, I sent another email. This one is essentially a resend of the previous email with a note asking for confirmation that she’s received it. I wrote that if no response is given within a week, I will contact her another way. I will post the progress made on this blog.

While waiting for some answers from Windsor’s Accessibility people, I did come across some documents about accessibility rules. They don’t necessarily answer all my questions, but I will post the links here if others are interested.

From the city of Windsor website:

Accessibility Plan for Windsor (2006): http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=6977
The Accessibility Standards for Windsor approved by city council (2006): http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=6765
(bylaw mentioned in the Accessibility Standards http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=11820 )
Accessible parking: http://www.citywindsor.ca/000326.asp
Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee page:http://www.citywindsor.ca/002428.asp

Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (addressing accessibility and 2012 goals): http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/

An article on the Accessibility Laws in Ontario coming into effect January 2012:http://www.financialpost.com/executive/Ontario+business+faces+accessibility+laws/4310844/story.html

Highway Traffic Act (specifically Accessible Parking): http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2005/elaws_src_regs_r05612_e.htm

Article about Parking Permit Abuse from 2007: http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/26165–able-bodied-drivers-apparently-using-disabled-parking-permits

Those reading the account of my ongoing saga know I’ve been a bit harsh with the movie theatre chain. Yesterday however, a reply from one of their people found its way to my e-mail inbox. While still a bit confused on a couple of points (addressed below the e-mail) I thought their reply was incredibly informative and interesting. It’s made me understand how adaptive technology works in the movie theatre industry a lot better.

So without further adieu, here’s their reply:

“Dear Marc

Thank you for contacting Cineplex Entertainment. We apologise for the delayed response and your experience with SilverCity Windsor.

Cineplex’s goal is to provide exceptional guest service. We are pleased to offer RWC/DVS system, but this technology is approximately twenty years old and, at the present time, is the only technology that exists for commercial theatre use and is only compatible with 35mm film presentations and has not been adapted to work with digital movie presentations.

Since Thor was being offered in Digital 3D, the RWC/DVS system was not available (compatible).

Senior members of our company have spent a great deal of time and energy working with numerous communities, as well as various third party technology providers, to try and find a way to provide RWC/DVS with digital movie presentations.

Currently we are in the stages of replacing existing 35mm projectors with new digital projectors.

Unfortunately, during this transitional period into digital projection, we were left with a time frame where Captioning and Descriptive Video systems were not available.

However, recently, we have found a company that was able to provide us with a system to use captioning known as the Closed Caption Viewing System (CCVS). This was a big step forward for Cineplex and our guests. Sadly, the company was not able to incorporate the DVS portion to the system.

We are aware of this issue and the same company that developed the CCVS, is now working to have the Descriptive Video System compatible with Digital Projection. However, please understand that even with DVS or another emerging technology, if a film’s owner or distributor does not provide the script for the video to a particular film, we are not able to provide any description.

Legally, script writing can only be done by a film’s owner or distributor. The Description cannot be done by exhibitors, such as Cineplex, as we do not own the intellectual property rights to the films that we play. This means that even if our theatres are equipped with the necessary technology to offer DVS to our guests, if the film itself has not been offered for release using DVS, we will be unable to offer that particular film to our guests using the service.

The surcharge applied to 3D films is for the ability to play the technology. Currently there are no discounts for persons with disabilities. However, our company participates in the Access 2 Entertainment Card Program, which is administered by Easter Seals Canada. The card enables persons with a disability who require a support person when visiting a Cineplex theatre, a free admission for their support person attending the movie with them. The cardholder pays regular admission.

For more information on the Access 2 Entertainment Card Program, please visit http://www.access2.ca.

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

Regards,

(Guest Services dude’s name withheld)
Guest Services | Cineplex Entertainment”

This certainly sheds some new light on the subject!

The only thing I don’t quite understand is that there was obviously a non-digital film version of the movie available since DVS was offered in Missassauga. As other movies are still being offered with DVS at SilverCity Windsor, they obviously still have the projectors to show the non-digital films. Unless it was an error on the internet, why wouldn’t a non-digital version of Thor have been sent out to Cineplex theatres with DVS capabilities?

Also, I must say that, while I appreciate the effort they’re putting into finding a solution to the digital DVS problem, shouldn’t they have started working on this a bit sooner? Forget 3D, digital has been coming for a long time and their equipment is 20-years-old — surely they had to have known for awhile that it’d need to be replaced and that new systems would need to be created. It just seems strange to me that they’d be so behind on this.

Still, having no knowledge business or practicality-wise of what it takes to put this stuff into place, I’ll give Cineplex the benefit of the doubt on this one. Essentially though, in theatres anyway, innovation is the enemy of the disabled — at least digital innovation.

As movies continue leaning more towards shooting digitally and studios continue pushing for 3D, I’m a bit worried that narration for action films will be nothing more than a distant memory this year. Hopefully the smart people they pay to be innovative can figure something out soon.

It turns out I made a couple of mistakes in my letter and, in fairness to Cineplex, will point them out here. I mistakenly thought that they did not provide any 2D showings of Thor in the city and that simply isn’t true. The theatre providing Rear Window Captioning (RWC) for the hearing-impaired was actually playing the movie in 2D. So despite still not having descriptive video (DVS) for the blind, they did have a cheaper option than 3D for those of us who can’t see.

I believe that’s the only thing I screwed up in the letter — there were no movies with narration being offered last week. I still don’t understand why, considering the narration for Thor did exist — as evidenced by it being offered at a Cineplex-owned cinema in Missassauga.

As far as an update goes, there isn’t much of one to share really.

Despite advertizing such stellar customer service on their website, I still haven’t heard a peep from Cineplex. Now before you say “well what do you expect? It’s not like they have time to answer every complaint they get,” I’d like to say that I’d agree… if they didn’t have a specific option in their customer feedback form to check-off if you want to receive a reply. Granted, it’s only been a week but so much for a timely response.

Also, if they don’t intend on returning a reply, they shouldn’t have an option to let people request one. I’m sorry but you can’t boast about your customer service and then turn around and ignore the people you claim to service so well. I’d like to know if their stellar customer service is self-proclaimed or if the people who said this were bribed somehow. It’s just from everything I can tell, Cineplex’s customer service is anything but stellar… or even good for that matter.

Adding insult to injury again, the theatre has DVS headsets for a movie this weekend. Want to know which one?

Bridesmaids

…

Yes, that’s right — Bridesmaids!

So it can’t be provided for a blockbuster movie with many complex action scenes, where it would be more beneficial, but it’s available for a chick flick comedy that barely needs it? Let’s ignore the fact that it’s a chick flick even — don’t you think a comedy movie would be easier for a friend to describe than a fast-paced action movie they’re viewing for the first time? To me, those films are where the DVS priorities should be directed.

Thanks a lot Cineplex, if nothing else, you drove me to catch Thor at Lakeshore Cinemas.

Honestly, it was a better experience anyway: Their new seating is superior, their beverage variety was more impressive and they don’t treat their customers like crap.

Still waiting for that response though so I can post Cineplex’s side of the story. I’d like to be proven wrong.

The story is detailed in the following letter, my apologies for kind of making this blog a place to complain about businesses. I clicked the thing on Cineplex.com’s form that asks for a reply so I’ll either update this post or write another one with any updates I get (info, responses, etc…)

Here’s what I wrote to them:

“Dear Cineplex,

I’m a visually-impaired moviegoer who uses descriptive video (DVS) and was looking very forward to “seeing” Thor, which opens this weekend. In the past, the theatre hasn’t announced whether or not they would have DVS for an opening movie until a couple of days before. I waited patiently to get this information and was surprised on Tuesday night when I looked at your website and heard that you would be offering rear window captioning (RWC) for the hearing-impaired but couldn’t find any mention of showings using DVS narration headsets.

I had also been waiting for showtimes so I could make plans with a group of friends as well. Luckily my fiancee was with me so I asked her to call the theatre which would have it (SilverCity Windsor). Since it was a Tuesday, they were understandably busy and she left a message. We waited for a call back but didn’t get one and figured it was no big deal.

I kept checking on your website to see if any information about DVS was available and when pulling up all showtimes for each movie on Saturday, I found there were no shows using the descriptive video. This confused me but I figured you were just waiting until later to release the information.

Finally I had my fiancee call the theatre again today but unfortunately they would not return her call (this is after we received absolutely no follow-up from our call on Tuesday). Finally, she left a message saying that we needed to know so a large group of us could buy tickets for a movie and she’d be calling back every 30 minutes until she heard something — miraculously, they got right back to her this time.

Long story short, she was informed that they only received the equipment for RWC and nothing for DVS at the theatre. I was obviously very disappointed but pretty frustrated as well: Not only had I waited to get narration services (something you advertize the ability to provide and do not have at any movie, starting this Friday) but it was really a waste of time: I could’ve organized plans/purchased tickets with my friends last week.

Now, as it stands, it doesn’t look like my friends will be going because it took me too long to get tickets. To be honest, I don’t see a point in going to any Cineplex theatre in the area to catch Thor even since they’re the most expensive and don’t actually offer me any benefit now.

Adding insult to injury, the film is only available in 3D at SilverCity and Cineplex here so I would have to pay a higher ticket price because of visual-effects that I can’t actually see — how exactly is that fair? While I have benefited a great deal from your DVS service in the past and am grately appreciative that you provide it, I’d be even more appreciative if you could at least provide those of us who can’t see with a cheaper alternative at the very least.

I also did some research on the internet and found that one of the Galaxy Cinemas in Missassauga, I believe, does offer DVS for Thor — it appears to be on a 2D screen however. With that being the case, I must ask: Do or can you only provide DVS services for movies that are not on a 3D screen? I am simply curious because there are many films I want to catch this summer and about 90% of them are coming out in 3D. Does this mean I can kiss my hopes of getting narration for them goodbye? If that’s the case, I’ll be extremely disappointed. I understand you’re in a business to make money but a move like that would definitely give the impression that you are more concerned with profit than taking care of the needs of customers — I’m sure that’s not the case or what you want at all. With two theatres in town (SilverCity Windsor and Cineplex at Devonshire Mall), surely allowing one screen to play in 2D (especially if it’s the only way to provide DVS) for an opening film can’t hurt your bottom line enough to risk alienating a section of moviegoers you’ve already made such a strong commitment towards helping.

In addition to my previous questions, I just have one more (my apologies for the novel here.) Is there any way for those who are blind to get a discount on 3D ticket prices aside from having an Access to Entertainment card? I can’t use the 3D glasses so don’t understand why I should have to pay extra for them when attending a 3D movie. The free ticket with the card, as I understand it, is for the person guiding me, so why should the other ticket be a full-priced 3D ticket if it’s supposed to be for me?

I’m looking forward to your reply, answers and a resolution: I don’t think anyone benefits from a situation like this not being fixed somehow. Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,
Marc Xxxxxxxxx”

In Ontario, those with a physical disability can apply for an accessible parking permit. It’s really no different than anywhere else in the world but to some drivers, it’s like a foreign language they’ve yet to learn.

To provide some context for the rest of this note, I’m going to quote some stuff from the provincial government’s website. I recommend you read it too for educational purposes but also understand that it’s a bit dry and boring. If you’d rather skip the legalese, just jump directly to the “My Interpretations” heading: Who says I’m not looking out for you?

Anyway, As detailed on the government’s website, the following criteria must be met to obtain accessible parking permits:

“To qualify for an APP, the individual must be certified by an APP program recognized health practitioner as having one or more of the following conditions:

-Cannot walk without assistance of another person or a brace, cane, crutch, a lower limb prosthetic device or similar assistive device or who requires the assistance of a wheelchair.
-Suffers from lung disease to such an extent that forced expiratory volume in one second is less than one litre.
-Portable oxygen is a medical necessity.
-Cardiovascular disease impairment classified as Class III or Class IV to standards accepted by the American Heart Association or Class III or IV according to the Canadian Cardiovascular Standard.
-Severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, musculoskeletal or orthopaedic condition.
-Visual acuity is 20/200 or poorer in the better eye with or without corrective lenses or whose greatest diameter of the field of vision in both eyes is 20 degrees or less.
-Condition(s) or functional impairment that severely limits his or her mobility.”

Being blind, I qualify for such a permit. Health practitioners who can certify an application for them include licensed physicians, chiropractors, registered nurse practitioners (extended class), physiotherapists or occupational therapists, chiropodists and podiatrists. There are also several types of permits (with different colours so even simpletons can figure it out) that apply to a plethora of disabilities. For your viewing pleasure and so you can also taste the rainbow, here they are:

Permanent Permits

A permanent permit (blue) is valid for five years. All existing DPPPss are valid until their current expiry date. At that time, the applicant must meet the conditions of the new program criteria.

Everyone under the DPPPs program must be re-certified by a recognized health practitioner once under the new criteria. If their health practitioner indicated that the applicant has a permanent disability, the ministry will not require any future re-certifications under the APP program. If certified as having a condition that may improve (subject-to-change), re-certification will be required every five years as a condition of renewal.

[...]

Temporary Permits

Temporary permits (red) are issued when the disability is expected to last more than two months to a maximum of 12 months but is not considered a permanent disability. This permit is not renewable.

Traveller Permits

A Traveller permit (purple) is valid for up to one year and is issued and renewable upon request. These permits are displayed on the dashboard or sun visor of a vehicle at any Ontario airport. The regular permit travels with the permit holder. Only people who currently hold a valid permit can apply for a Traveller permit.

Company Permits

A Company permit (green) is valid up to five years and is issued to companies/non-profit organizations for use in vehicles they own/lease for the purpose of transporting people with physical disabilities who meet the ministry’s eligibility criteria.
For companies who rely on volunteer drivers who operate a vehicle not owned or leased by the company, these drivers may access designated accessible parking spaces provided either the driver or passenger has their APP permit with them.

Man, now I’m hungry for some Skittles.

Anyway, I know that all this government “mumbo jumbo” is boring as sin but humour me one last time, will you? In addition to the previous information, I’d be a sad sac if I didn’t bother mentioning the penalties incurred by misusing accessible parking permits or spots designated for those using them:

“Misuse of the permit will result in fines ranging from $300 to $5,000 and revoked APP privileges. The Minister of Transportation may cancel or refuse to issue a replacement permit if it is misused. Misuse or abuse of a permit should be reported to the police. For information on local bylaws concerning accessible parking privileges, please contact your municipality.”

My Interpretations

Now that we’ve established the proper context for the following, allow me to decode what some of this means in layman’s terms to the best of my abilities. Hopefully all that fancy government talk didn’t scare you off (if you read it) because this part is pretty important.

First of all, let’s be honest here: The probability of anyone incurring penalties for abusing the system is extremely low. If it weren’t, people wouldn’t abuse the system as much as they do. The whole idea of taking advantage of these parking spaces is to make things easier. Do you think lazy people parking illegally would do it if it made things harder?

With that being said, here are a few things I’ve experienced that the government and parking enforcement/police probably frown upon but they’re also not exclusive to that:

1) Parking in accessible spots without a permit can earn you a $5,000 fine. I’m pretty sure using the space between two cars parked in accessible parking is somehow worse… and will earn you a special place in hell. I’ve experienced this twice (in the same week!) and it amazes me that people can be so stupid. Let’s throw out the probability of being fined for this, at what point does common sense come into play? Luckily, I’m only blind — what’s someone in a wheelchair supposed to do if they come out of a restaurant, only to find that someone is parked so close to their vehicle that their mirrors are almost touching? Do people not think of these things or do they just not care?

(My fiancee left a nice big note on one of the cars’ windshields, using a Goodfellows newspaper, to let them — and everyone walking by — know what they’d done. That was pretty awesome, by the way.)

2) My next example isn’t illegal yet but is definitely a jerk move. While this winter was particularly brutal, surely there has to be a better place than accessible parking spaces for plows to dump snow! I went to several businesses this past winter and the driver was unable to park in their accessible parking spaces because of huge mounds of snow. While not manditory yet, there was a proposal under the Accessibility For Ontariens Act submitted on July 14, 2009, that would make it manditory for all businesses providing goods and services to have accessible parking spots — hopefully it includes a stipulation stating that these areas can not be obstructed in any way.

3) If you own a permit, I’m going to guess that it isn’t yours when you park your vehicle, take a bicycle out from the back and proceed to ride around a college’s huge parking lot for exercise. Obviously you don’t fit the criteria for receiving a permit and if you did somehow, there’s either something corrupt with your application or flawed in the application process.

4) A little bit of common courtesy would be nice. As I already wrote, it’s not manditory yet for businesses to provide accessible parking, even though most do. If your business is courteous enough to provide these spaces, some forethought into not blocking them would be appreciated. Case in point: As the weather gets nicer there isn’t snow blocking access to accessible parking. With flowers blooming however, those with disabilities now have garden centres to contend with at large box stores.

While my experience didn’t involve the garden centre taking away accessible parking, they had it set up so that cars picking up goods to put in their trunks did. I’m not saying they should eliminate these centres altogether but a little bit of consideration for how it will affect your parking area in the grand scheme of things would be nice.

In Conclusion

To make a long story short, helping out those with accessibility issues is quite simple, if you ask me. I understand people are in a hurry and need to get places but three simple things would help a lot:

1) Be smart.
2) Be considerate.
3) Don’t be a jerk.

I know, I know… it’s rocket science to some but if people could just stop for two seconds and remember those three things, 90 per-cent of our problems would be eliminated. Surely accessible parking isn’t the only problem this applies to either.

Hopefully this note was educational and will motivate you to think a bit harder next time you consider doing something stupid and inconsiderate.

Sincerely,
Person With The Accessible Parking Permit You Screwed Over