Accessible on demand
and video streaming services
Below will be a list of online video streaming
services that serve New Zealand. It will note also if a screen
reader can be used with it, and on which platform. This may be
through a website or a mobile app (on either the Android or Apple
mobile phones) using a screen reader.
Disclaimer
These are the providers that we have found
accessible - unless things have changed with a screen
reader. We are hoping to add more streaming providers to
this list when we (or someone else who has tested it) find that
they are accessible with a screen reader. The following
information is subject to change.
For the services that have audio description, the AD will need to
be enabled on that platform within the player. (For example, in
Netflix you have to go to the player and enable it under the audio
settings).
The following
services can be used with a Google smart speaker and
Chromecast
In the following example it will tell you how to
add a service to your Google home app.
The TVNZ on demand service will be used as an example
A visually impaired person will then be able to play the show,
pause it, rewind or fast forwards the show with their voice.
*Disney plus (a paid service)
*Netflix (a paid service)
*TVNZ on demand (free)
*Vicki (a paid service)
*More to be added as I am told.
To do this you would have signed up for a service and written down
your details, for example username and password.
You should already have a Google smart speaker set up, along with
your Chromecast.
You will need to download the Google home app to your
phone/device. Then, when you go into the Google home app, you will
be asked to link your TVNZ on demand account to your Google home.
You will need to double tap on the link and put in your account
details you used (for example the email and password for the TVNZ
on demand account).
It should then link to your Google home speaker. If it does not
show when you go into the Google home app, have a look under the
settings, services, then video section and see if it is there. It
should show under this section. You can then double tap on it and
enter in your details as mentioned above for the Google speaker to
see it, as well as the Google home app.
After your TVNZ on demand username and password have been
verified, it will link your account with your Google home app.
*Commands to play the show or movie
Please note that not all shows from TVNZ on demand will play from
TV1, TV2 and Duke.
To play a show from TVNZ on demand, say to your smart speaker
"play Coronation street from TVNZ on demand on (the name of your
chromecast that you specify). For example: living room Chromecast
etcetera.
After a while, it will learn that you want to watch a show from
that platform. You might need to experiment to see what works for
you.
This is basically the same idea for adding Netflix and Disney Plus
to your Google home app, except that you will be putting in the
details for that specific service.
When the Disney plus or Netflix account is linked, the commands
will be slightly different. For example, play the name of the show
from either Disney plus or Netflix on (whichever chrome cast you
specify). For example: "Play Stranger Things from Netflix on
Office TV".
Netflix
The website address is http://www.netflix.com
The website is very usable with a screen reader. The Android app
is very usable with TalkBack.
It has a lot of audio described content.
Netflix is a paid subscription.
Disney Plus
The website address is http://www.disneyplus.com
The website is very usable with a screen reader. The Android app
is very usable with the TalkBack screen reader.
This is also usable on an iPhone, iPad and an Apple TV.
It also has audio described content.
Disney Plus is a paid subscription.
Amazon prime video
The website address is https://www.primevideo.com/?ref_=dvm_pds_amz_NZ_kc_s_g|c_231819500067_m_T2F1tPD7-dc_s__
The website is very usable with a screen reader. The Android app
is also very usable with the TalkBack screen reader.
Amazon prime video / TV is also accessible on Apple's IOS / iPad
OS and Apple TV platforms.
It also has audio described content.
Amazon prime video is a paid subscription.
Apple TV plus
The website address is https://www.apple.com/nz/apple-tv-plus/
Apple TV plus is great for
accessibility and content. It can be viewed on any Apple device - be it a Mac
OS computer or IOS or iPad OS device. When watching
movies, if Voiceover is enabled on your IOs device, and if the
movie has audio description, it will start playing automatically
(if the AD setting is enabled under accessibility/settings).
It also has audio description.
Apple TV plus is a paid subscription.
You tube
The website address is https://www.youtube.com/
The you tube website is very usable with a screen reader.
The Android app is very usable with the TalkBack screen reader on
an Android phone. It can also be used on smart TV's.
There is some audio described content, but you will need to search
for it.
You tube is free.
TubiTV
You can watch the offerings from Tubi by going to
their website at https://tubitv.com/home
On the website, most single letter navigation keys can be used,
however you will use H for headings and K for links. Graphics are
not spoken out. There are some labelled buttons and a few that are
not. Some movies will play automatically (depending on the browser
that you are using). Some movies will need to be activated by
pressing Enter on the heading of the movie. If not, arrow up once
and press Enter. (This is a play button which is not spoken out).
When the player does appear, some parts will let you interact with
it (like screen resolution). The player is not fully accessible.
They also have apps for either your Android or Apple phone. It is
very usable with either the Talkback screen reader or the
Voiceover screen reader on those devices. The app for the TV is
also very usable with a screen reader. On a Samsung TV there might
not be some sections spoken out (as in the movie/shows section)
but it can be accessed via the Genre section. This seems to be the
same for the app version.
Samsung TV plus
If you own a Samsung smart TV the following menu
might have appeared on the section where it lists some of your
other streaming apps. This is after you have pressed the smart hub
key. Arrow to the left or right on the menus to find it.
It is called TV plus and has 29 channels which are streamed off
the internet.
The menu should appear from Samsung TV's from 2016 onwards.
A list of the channels can be found here at https://www.samsung.com/nz/tvs/smart-tv/samsung-tv-plus/all-channels/
It seems very accessible with the inbuilt screen reader on the
Samsung TV.
TVNZ on demand
The website address is https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows
On the TVNZ website, the TVNZ on demand section is not usable with
a screen reader at present. After you sign into the on demand
section where your shows, movies etc are listed - the screen
reader will only read out new season, movie etc instead of the
name of the show/movie. It used to be read out correctly before.
If you decide to say... pick a new season show or movie - not
knowing what it is - the page after it is fully accessible. It
looks as though no alt text was used for the movie/show graphics
where they are listed.
Until it is fixed by TVNZ on demand, you can use the Google
browser and enable get image descriptions from Google menu and
choose always. You can get to this menu by using the applications
key. NVDA will then speak out the name of the shows on the main
page; then you can go in and watch that show. The page where the
shows are aired weekly, is totally accessible - so you can watch
your shows. Please note when get image descriptions is turned off
in the browser that part of the website where the shows is on the
main page is not read out correctly. It will not work in other
browsers either in that section and will only read new season,
movie etc.
The Android app is not usable
with TalkBack as only some parts are spoken out.
* Please
note
At present, if you want to use the TVNZ on demand app with
Talkback on your Android phone, when you go into the main page
(and some others) you will hear the title of the section then
list 1 of 25, 2 of 25 new season or movie as you go down the
list. In each section (if the graphics were labelled correctly
with alt text) Talkback would say the name of the show. Since
there is no alt text for the graphic for the show/movies, you
will need to go into every page the link points to. This page
is accessible and is read out by the screen reader including
the name of the show, what it is about etcetera but not the
sections where the main show/movies are in each section.
If you do a search for a show or movie, you will need to flick
left a couple of times to see what the results are.
Please note: If you are running Android 11 on your mobile
phone, and the latest version of the Android Accessibility
Suite known as Talkback, when you go into the section where
the shows are, saying 1 of 25, Talkback will OCR then speak
out what each graphic is for that show. If it does not do it,
then it is a matter of waiting for an update.
You can also use TVNZ on demand with your Google speaker and a
Chromecast.
The TVNZ App
works well on Apple TV. The bug you mentioned where the
programmes won’t read out titles is like that on iPhone, but
fine on the Apple TV.
There is no audio description.
TVNZ on demand is free.
Three now
The website address is https://www.threenow.co.nz/login
The website is usable with a screen reader. The Android app is
very usable with the TalkBack screen reader. Please note, for some
reason, the shows are not spoken out until you go to do a search
on the app. It will give you a list of channels and categories;
then after you pick one, it will give you some options (which are
all spoken out as in show, movies etc). If you choose the
categories section, all the shows will be spoken out as you go
down the list. The channels and settings sections are also spoken
out.
The TV3 app is very usable on the phone (IOS and Apple TV).
Voiceover works great with it.
There is no audio described content.
Three now is free.
Māori Television On Demand
The website address is https://www.maoritelevision.com/on-demand/featured
The website is usable with a screen reader.
After signing up for a new account, (at the bottom of the form)
you will need to check the box to say you are not a robot. You
will then need to pass a captcha. It will need to be verified
before you can register a new account.
There is no audio described content.
Māori Television On Demand is free.
Choice on demand
The website address is https://www.choicetv.co.nz/#!/
The website is usable with a screen reader.
Apart from a little extra information being read out (which should
be hidden so it is not spoken out by a screen reader) it is very
usable.
This relates to code that should be hidden.
There is no audio described content.
Choice on demand is free.
HGTV On Demand
The website address is https://www.hgtv.co.nz/#!/signup
The website is usable with a screen reader.
Some buttons are labelled correctly. Even though you can jump down
by buttons, you will only hear the word "button", so jump down by
links then the show will say its name with "link"..."button". At
times you will hear code spoken out which should be hidden.
There is no audio description.
HGTV on demand is free.
Shine TV
The
webpage address is www.shinetv.co.nz
There is an on demand service on
their website. It has been tested out previously on an
iPhone using safari with no issues. It doesn’t have any
AD.
The Shine TV app works well
with the TalkBack screen reader on an Android phone.
Neon
The website address is https://www.neontv.co.nz/
Neon (formerly the Lightbox App) is fully accessible on Apple TV
and iPhone. It has no AD and doesn’t look like it has any
rewind/fast forward for anyone even when voice over isn’t
on. Play/Pause work well. It is a paid subscription
and includes some Prime TV Channel content.
This has not been tested
with a desktop screen reader.