Good job jpinsticks!
I hope the 1 button access closed captioning remote control is available to all users at no cost. It wouldn't be fair if they charged extra for the remote to users who are deaf, hard of hearing, or use closed captioning.
Since it's 2012 I finally sent an email to the local news media this morning (http://www.abc6onyourside.com/)
to try and gather support for the U-verse closed caption problems.
Below is part of the email sent with some info removed to conform to the forum guidelines.
My name is S. xxxxx and I have had AT&T U-verse TV service for over 3 years. Since U-verse's release in 2006-2007 there have been major obstacles in accessing closed captions where it takes 23 clicks of the remote control for turning the CC's on, and another 23 clicks for turning them off. 45 clicks of the remote for enabling/disabling closed captions is ridiculous. This causes a severe hardship for the deaf and/or hard of hearing who depend on closed captions for their TV video communications.
I have tried about everything to have AT&T U-verse fix this closed captioning access problem to no avail. This has included dealing with the upper management of AT&T, filing a written complaint with the FCC, and even sending President O. an email where I received a response.
Below is a rather long thread I started on the U-verse Forums in Sept, 2010. The thread includes a letter of formal complaint on closed caption access to R.S., AT&T Chairman & CEO, and more detailed information on the subjects mentioned above. The positive response from President O. is towards the end.
http://forums.att.com/t5/Features-and-How-To/Closed-Caption-Access-Formal-Complaint/td-p/2236519
Recently U-verse sent out a nationwide software/firmware upgrade (TV2 client version: 2.1.2295.10) to the set top boxes and DVR's. I was very disappointed to find there were no improvement made for easier access to closed captions through U-verse TV service.
I was even more disappointed to find this upgrade disrupts the current closed captioning on U-verse HD TV channels causing them to freeze and/or shut off completely. This problem was brought to the forum's attention by someone from Irving, CA. It was also noticed by U-verse users from Houston, Texas. This is a nationwide closed captioning problem with AT&T U-verse.
Since I'm in the Columbus, Ohio, AT&T U-verse market I've been checking various local/national HD channels and have noticed the exact same thing. And I've found without a doubt the closed captions freeze/shut down the most on the U-verse HD channel 1006 (WSYX ABC6).
I watch "ABC 6 On Your Side" all the time and have been very impressed with your results in finding solutions to difficult problems. Is there anything you can do to help resolve these AT&T U-verse closed captioning problems? This includes the closed captioning freezing and/or shutting off along with developing an easier access to the closed captions rather than 45 clicks of the remote for turning them on/off.
Below is the AT&T/U-verse contact information:
AT&T Inc. Corporate Offices/Headquarters
(removed name/title, address and phone number)
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can be contacted by phone or email.
Thank you,
S. xxxxx
(phone # & email address removed)
Hopefully I will receive a response from "ABC6 On Your Side" and they are very good in bringing these type of problems to the public's attention.
