Neil Gregory

[Neil Gregory]

Hi - I'm in the UK in the disability access arena in the NHS. To help us get around increasing numbers of TVs and digital TV boxes that use Bluetooth, we are investigating using USB keyboards plugged straight into the TV. Then using the keyboard keys accessing all the functions. This seems to work on many devices, but Virgin 360 and also Guide does not seem to work/be accessible. We have mechanisms to send IR codes for keyboard presses for instance using the Pretorian IR Keyboard and Mouse.

I was wondering if anyone has some experience with keyboards as an access method to TVs etc?

Many thanks,

Neil Gregory - Lead Clinical Scientist

[Jeromy Franklin]

On 7/1/2024 at 9:44 PM, Neil Gregory said:

Hi - I'm in the UK in the disability access arena in the NHS. To help us get around increasing numbers of TVs and digital TV boxes that use Bluetooth, we are investigating using USB keyboards plugged straight into the TV. Then using the keyboard keys accessing all the functions. This seems to work on many devices Slope Game, but Virgin 360 and also Guide does not seem to work/be accessible. We have mechanisms to send IR codes for keyboard presses for instance using the Pretorian IR Keyboard and Mouse.

I was wondering if anyone has some experience with keyboards as an access method to TVs etc?

Many thanks,

Neil Gregory - Lead Clinical Scientist

Hi Neil! Interesting project — I’ve tried similar setups for accessibility, and you’re right, not all TVs or boxes fully support keyboard navigation. Some brands are better than others, but the Virgin 360 is quite limited in that regard.

Edited April 17 by Jeromy Franklin