Problem with audio descripton on Hulu app
Hi, I had stopped my Hulu subscription but recently started it again (to watch new seasons of "The Bear" and "Only Murders in the Building"). However, there is an annoying problem with support for a...
Forum Discussion
(Some more tilting at windmills...)
Here is an email I just sent to MAX/HBO accessibility support regarding how audio description works on the Roku app. Compared to other apps on the Roku (Netflix, Prime Video, PBS, etc) it works very poorly. I hope Roku would work with the channel they provide to improve this behavior.
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I know how to turn on audio description and can do that either using the Max app itself on my Roku or using the "star" button to get to where I can set it under "Accessibility and Languages" on the Roku.. All good.
BUT, once AD is enabled the first time, I would like having the app always play audio description when an AD track is present in the move or series.. This is how Netflix, Prime video, PBS, etc work. That means if I go to the next episode in a series, AD will be there. Or, if I start a different movie/series that has AD it will be there. Right now, I have to re-enable AD for each episode of a series or each new show I watch that has it.
Many people who are blind/low vision benefit greatly from AD but have a difficult time getting it set up initially. Often they have to have a sighted person do that. I hope Max will consider making the option to use AD "sticky" (much like other settings in the app). This will be a great help to many.
I hope this is clear.
Bob Warren
Hi, rbwksf.
Greetings from the Roku Community.
First, we would like to address your concern regarding playback issues while closed captions (CC) are enabled in the Hulu app. We have coordinated with our team to replicate and investigate the problem on your Roku Ultra (4800X). Unfortunately, our team has not been able to determine the cause of this issue, as it only occurs in Hulu.
We want to clarify that enabling CC in your Roku settings does not guarantee that it will also enable CC within a specific standalone app, including the Hulu app, as those apps have their own features managed directly from within.
This is also related to your second concern regarding the inconsistent closed captioning (CC) in the Max app. We highly recommend that you coordinate directly with the channel provider, as this issue lies within their app. They manage and maintain their app on the Roku streaming platform independently, and Roku does not have direct access to their system operations.
We strongly recommend maintaining communication with their Support team for further assistance.
We hope this helps clear everything up.
Best regards,
Carly
Hi,
Thanks for the reply but I did not write about closed captions but rather audio description (and not the audio guide either).
The bottom line (for me) is that roku should be willing to advocate for getting issues with channels fixed, whether or not they (Roku) has access to the code as opposed to putting that burden on your users.
Given that, the only conclusion I can draw is that roku really does not care much about (or even really understands) the needs of the blind/low vision community.
Bob Warren
