Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Lawsuit forces Harkins Theatres to account for blind, deaf - KTAR.com
Harkins Theatres is going to install equipment to aid blind and deaf customers in almost all of its 346 movie theaters throughout Arizona.
According to The Phoenix Business Journal, the changes are part of a legal agreement over a federal disability accommodation case brought against the movie giant. The suit was filed by a group of blind and deaf customers, as well as the state of Arizona and the Arizona Center for Disability Law in 2006.
The chain will install closed captioning and video description technology in its theaters next year.
According to a Harkins representative, they had been planning to make the changes, however the proper technology wasn't available until now.
The technology includes headsets for blind audience members providing narration of the action, character expressions and other visual aspects of the films, while deaf viewers will be provided with digital closed captioning devices that attach to their cup holders.
Capitol Media Services said that it costs about $2,000 to outfit an individual theater with the technology.
Harkins will also pay the Center for Disability Law's $24,000 legal fees and give 1,000 free movie passes to customers with hearing and vision disabilities as part of the settlement.
Here is the complete statement from Harkins Theaters:
"As has been our stated intention since these discussions began, Harkins Theatres is excited to be able to offer newly available technology on virtually all screens and locations to provide closed captioning for the hearing impaired and descriptive narration for the visually impaired.
Rather than accepting the completely ineffective requirements that were being demanded of us, we were determined to wait for the new technologies developed for digital projection that provide a real and viable solution for moviegoers.
Harkins had issued a press release earlier this year announcing this new technology and our timeline for rolling it out.
This groundbreaking technology is intended to provide the disabled community complete access to enjoy the moviegoing experience at any time. For those who are hearing impaired, personal closed captioning devices with digital text displays that attach to seat cup holders will be available.. Those who are visually impaired can take advantage of Harkins' descriptive narration devices; headsets that provide not only dialogue and sound effects, but audio descriptions of action taking place on the screen. This is in addition to the hearing impaired headsets that provide an amplified assisted listening soundtrack, which are currently available."
Harkins Theatres is going to install equipment to aid blind and deaf customers in almost all of its 346 movie theaters throughout Arizona.
According to The Phoenix Business Journal, the changes are part of a legal agreement over a federal disability accommodation case brought against the movie giant. The suit was filed by a group of blind and deaf customers, as well as the state of Arizona and the Arizona Center for Disability Law in 2006.
The chain will install closed captioning and video description technology in its theaters next year.
According to a Harkins representative, they had been planning to make the changes, however the proper technology wasn't available until now.
The technology includes headsets for blind audience members providing narration of the action, character expressions and other visual aspects of the films, while deaf viewers will be provided with digital closed captioning devices that attach to their cup holders.
Capitol Media Services said that it costs about $2,000 to outfit an individual theater with the technology.
Harkins will also pay the Center for Disability Law's $24,000 legal fees and give 1,000 free movie passes to customers with hearing and vision disabilities as part of the settlement.
Here is the complete statement from Harkins Theaters:
"As has been our stated intention since these discussions began, Harkins Theatres is excited to be able to offer newly available technology on virtually all screens and locations to provide closed captioning for the hearing impaired and descriptive narration for the visually impaired.
Rather than accepting the completely ineffective requirements that were being demanded of us, we were determined to wait for the new technologies developed for digital projection that provide a real and viable solution for moviegoers.
Harkins had issued a press release earlier this year announcing this new technology and our timeline for rolling it out.
This groundbreaking technology is intended to provide the disabled community complete access to enjoy the moviegoing experience at any time. For those who are hearing impaired, personal closed captioning devices with digital text displays that attach to seat cup holders will be available.. Those who are visually impaired can take advantage of Harkins' descriptive narration devices; headsets that provide not only dialogue and sound effects, but audio descriptions of action taking place on the screen. This is in addition to the hearing impaired headsets that provide an amplified assisted listening soundtrack, which are currently available."