In Germany every fifth person is hearing or sight impaired. However at concerts, cinemas or theaters there haven’t been any adjustments to help them. More than 50 percent of the affected people don’t go to cultural events. This was the result of a TNS Emnid survey commissioned by the audio specialist Sennheiser. Therefore, the Wedemaker company is working on new streaming technology for cinemas and theaters which utilizes the inclusion principle, so that seeing and hearing impaired people are no longer excluded.
Sennheiser App makes the experience possible
In order to enjoy the new experience the affected cinema and theater visitors just need a Smartphone and headphones. Using a new streaming technology, they receive their own soundtrack, that was created for their special needs. “The hearing impaired can get a special, just for their needs, created audio track or subtitles,” Peter Claussen, Director at Sennheiser explains. “On the other hand, the seeing impaired will get an audio description of the film on their Smartphone.”
With the free app from Sennheiser, your own Smartphone becomes the receiver for the sound track. “So a visitor in the cinema or theater can enjoy the performance without a lot of hassle and must not rely on the help of others,” Clausen also says. “Sennheiser has offered audio support in theaters and operas for more than twenty years. Thanks to this new solution we can not only simplify audio support, but the app is also the ticket to the cinema for the seeing and hearing impaired people. It allows them to experience films in a completely new way, very simply with their Smartphone.”
At the moment the new streaming technology from Sennheiser is still in the testing phase. In the Spring of 2014, it, including the app, should be available. At Prolight + Sound the experts from the company will be in Hall 8.0 and available to answer all of your questions.
