Samsung Electronics said on the 2nd that it was selected for the seventh straight year as the supplier for the free TV distribution program for people with visual and hearing disabilities. Samsung Electronics will supply 35,000 43-inch Full HD smart TVs sequentially from late July through the end of the year.
The free TV distribution program for people with visual and hearing disabilities is a project by the Korea Media and Communications Commission to distribute TVs with specialized features to improve broadcast accessibility and reduce the information gap for people with disabilities. The Community Media Foundation under the Korea Media and Communications Commission selects recipients in order of priority from among applicants. Low-income people with visual and hearing disabilities can receive a set free of charge. Others with visual and hearing disabilities pay a partial expense of 100,000 won.
The product to be distributed this year is the Samsung Electronics 43-inch Full HD smart TV (model KU43F6310FFXKR). It is a model with enhanced customized features to improve information accessibility for people with visual and hearing disabilities. For viewers with color vision deficiency and color blindness, a "black and white" function is built in. It switches the display to black and white to help make broadcasts appear clearer. "SeeColors mode" adjusts green, red, and blue to help distinguish objects on the screen.
An "AI sign language position auto-detection" feature is also applied. Users can move the subtitle position to view sign language and subtitles together. A feature that magnifies a specific area other than the sign language window is also provided to help people with low vision use the TV.
Features for people with visual disabilities include voice guidance for the control menu, adjustments for voice speed, pitch, gender, and background sound, and a high-contrast screen. For people with hearing disabilities, subtitle separation, subtitle position and size adjustments, and multi-audio output are applied.
Ochio, vice president and head of Korea at Samsung Electronics, said, "Samsung Electronics sees it as its responsibility to create an environment where anyone can enjoy content on TV without limitations and is focusing on developing accessibility technologies," adding, "We will continue working so people can freely enjoy content through Samsung TVs."