Abstract:
A method and apparatus are provided to notify a visually impaired visual media consumer of the availability of audio description for items of visual media via one or more audible indications. Further, a catalog of items of visual media can be sorted or arranged such that items of visual media having audio description may be selected or inquired about in a quicker and more convenient manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to audio description, and more specifically to indicating the availability of audio description for visually impaired individuals. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Audio description is generally known in the art to provide visually impaired individuals with an audible description of events occurring on screen for various forms of visual media. The visually impaired, whether they be blind or impaired to a lesser degree, are consuming visual media more than ever, and with the increasing availability of audio description for visual media, especially for television programming and DVD or BluRay media, they are also able to enjoy that visual media more than ever. 
     Audio description, also known as video description, is an audio track that contains vocal description of the visual aspects, context, or action of a scene. Audio description is generally transmitted or stored as an alternate audio stream that can be selected played instead of, or in addition to, the main audio stream. For example, a user can generally enable audio description on modern televisions or set-top boxes through on-screen menu options to elect the alternate audio stream. 
     Currently, a visually impaired person is limited in their ability to find items of visual media that contain audio description. The visually impaired cannot read text descriptions of visual media nor can they see visual symbols, both of which may otherwise give an indication of the availability of the audio description for a particular item of visual media. As such, a visually impaired person can only find an item of visual media (such as a television channel or program) that does in fact contain a corresponding audio description by scrolling through every available item of visual media until he or she finds one that has audio description (i.e., by “channel surfing”). This can be time consuming for the visually impaired individual and can hinder their efficiency or enjoyment in consuming visual media. Additionally, a visually impaired individual cannot plan ahead to find visual media containing audio description they would like to watch or record in the future as they are limited simply to listening for audio description for items of visual media currently being played. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Several embodiments of the invention advantageously address the needs above as well as other needs by providing an apparatus and method for providing notice of the availability of audio description. 
     In accordance with one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a method comprising the steps of determining at a processing device that audio description is available for at least one item of visual media of a catalog of items of visual media; and causing an audible indication distinct from the audio of the audio description to be emitted in response to determining at the processing device that audio description is available for the at least one item of visual media. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the invention can be further characterized as providing an apparatus comprising: a processing device; a communication interface operatively connected to the processing device and configured to operatively connect to a visual media provider; and an audio device operatively connected to the processing device and configured to effectuate audible indications; wherein the processing device is configured to determine that audio description is available for at least one item of visual media from a catalog of items of visual media available from the visual media provider; and communicate to the audio device at least one instruction to effectuate an audible indication distinct from the audio of the audio description in response to determining that audio description is available for the at least one item of visual media. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features and advantages of several embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an apparatus for providing notice of the availability of audio description for at least one item of visual media in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows an enhanced version of the apparatus in  FIG. 1  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a method of providing notice of the availability of audio description in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram depicting steps and details beyond those of  FIG. 3  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a conceptual view of a simple catalog of items of visual media in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is another example of a catalog of items of visual media in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  depicts a simplified digital audio stream in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram depicting further steps and details beyond those of  FIG. 3  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a simplified example of an electronic programming guide in accordance with the method depicted in  FIG. 8  and various other embodiments of the invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is a simplified example of a modified version of the electronic programming guide shown in  FIG. 9  in accordance with the method depicted in  FIG. 8  and various other embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus  100  for providing notice of the availability of audio description in accordance with various embodiments of the invention is shown. The apparatus  100  comprises at least one processing device  101 , at least one communication interface  102 , and at least one audio device  103 .  FIG. 2  shows an optionally enhanced version of the apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. In a similar manner to  FIG. 1 , the apparatus  100  comprises at least one processing device  101 , at least one communication interface  102 , and at least one audio device  103 . The apparatus  100  of  FIG. 2  may further comprise: an interface device  201 , a detector  202 , a user interface  203 , at least one display interface  204 , at least one display  205 , and at least one memory  206 . 
     The apparatuses  100  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  each comprise at least one processing device  101  that is operatively connected to one or more communication interfaces  102  and at least one audio device  103 . The processing device  101  may comprise one or more processors as are known in the art, including but not limited to general purpose processors, central processing units, microprocessors, microcontrollers, multi-core processors, and PIC processors. The communication interface  102  is configured to operatively connect to one or more visual media providers  104 . Examples of visual media providers  104  include, but are not limited to, cable television and/or data providers, satellite television and/or data providers, terrestrial television providers, telecom providers, internet protocol television providers, internet service providers, and wireless service providers. A communication link  105  between the communication interface  102  of the apparatus  100  and the visual media provider  104  may comprise coaxial cable, optical fiber, Ethernet, TCP/IP, WiFi, WiMax, satellite or radio signals, wireless or cellular signals, or various other communication links and protocols known in the art. A sound emitting device  106 , such as a speaker, buzzer, or other known sound emitting device may optionally be connected to the audio device  103  to produce audible indications. 
     With further reference only to  FIG. 2 , the processing device  101  may also be operatively connected to at least one display interface  204 , which in turn may be operatively connected to at least one display  205  (such as a television, a monitor, etc). The processing device  101  is further operatively connected to at least one interface device  201  to accept inputs from or communicate with a user interface  203 . The user interface  203  may comprise, but is not limited to, a television or set-top box remote control, an advanced function remote control, a smartphone, a tablet, or a general purpose computer. In accordance with one embodiment, the user interface  203  may comprise an audio device (not shown) and/or a sound emitting device (not shown) similar to the audio device  103  and sound emitting device  106  of  FIG. 1 . So configured, the user interface can be capable of emitting the audible indication. Optionally, the user interface  203  may also be integrated directly into the apparatus  100  as a keypad, buttons, touch screen, or other known interface types. A user interface communication link  207  is established between the user interface  203  and the interface device  201  using known methods such as, for example, infrared (IR) or other wireless or wired connectivity schemes. To effectuate this user interface communication link  207 , a detector  202 , such as an IR detector or other wireless detector, may be inserted between the user interface  203  and the interface device  201 . Optionally, and not shown here, the user interface  203  may communicate with the interface device  201 , or the processing device  101  directly, though the previously described communication interface  102 , possibly though, for example, a WiFi or Ethernet network. Lastly, the processing device  101  may be operatively connected to one or more memories  206 . So configured, the apparatus  100  may operate as a modified version of a set-top box (such as for cable or satellite television reception and digital video recording), digital video recorder (DVR), a television controller, a computer, a smartphone, a tablet, or other devices capable of at least one of receiving, processing, or displaying visual media. Further, the apparatus  100  can be integrated into another device such as a television, tablet, computer, etc., or exist as a separate device. 
     In operation, and with reference now to the flow diagram depicted in  FIG. 3 , the apparatus  100  performs a method  300  of providing notice of the availability of audio description in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. The method  300  begins in step  301  in which a processing device  101  determines that audio description is available for at least one item of visual media of a catalog of items of visual media. An item of visual media may comprise a television or online channel or program, which may further comprise a broadcast, movie, show, series, documentary, advertisement, etc.; a video-on-demand (VOD) or pay-per-view (PPV) program (i.e., movie); or a program recorded in DVD, BluRay, or HDDVD format or existing in a non-transitory memory, such as memory  206 . There are numerous other examples of items of visual media that are known in the art and to which various embodiments of the present invention may be applicable but are not listed here. The catalog of items of visual media (described in further detail in the descriptions of  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) may be as simple as the set of current channels offered by a visual media provider  104  (such as a television service provider), a list of VOD or PPV programs offered by a visual media provider  104 , a partially time-based list or matrix of programming offered by a visual media provider  104  (such as a channel guide or electronic programming guide (EPG)), or results of a query of visual media. 
     In step  302 , based at least partially on, and in response to, the determination made in step  301 , the processing device  101  will cause an audible indication that is distinct from the audio of the audio description to be emitted. Examples of an audible indication are, but are not limited to: an audible tone, a set or combination of audible tones, a chord, a short jingle or tune, a buzzer sound, a beep or series of beeping sounds, or a vocal indication (i.e., “Audio description available”). The audible indication may optionally be the same for each instance, or be altered depending on a plurality of variables. However, a single or select few audible indication is preferred to facilitate ease of recognition. In causing the audible indication to be emitted, the processing device  101  will send a signal to the audio device  103  to emit, or cause to be emitted, the audible indication. In turn, the audio device  103  emits, or causes to be emitted, the audible indication, via an internal or external sound emitting device  106 , such as a speaker, buzzer, etc, or by outputting a signal to an internal or external amplifier, receiver, etc (not shown). Other devices and/or methods as are known in the art may be used to effectuate the audible indication. 
     By another embodiment, the processing device  101  may conversely cause an audible indication to be emitted upon determining that audio description is not available for the at least one item of visual media. By yet another embodiment, the processing device  101  may cause an audible indication to be emitted upon determining that no item of visual media of the catalog of items of visual media has audio description available. By yet another embodiment, the processing device  101  may inquiry to the user if the user desires to select the at least one item of visual media for at least one of presently viewing, presently recording, scheduling a future viewing, or scheduling a future recording of the item in response to determining that audio description is available for the at least one item of visual media of the catalog of items of visual media. 
     The audible indication is distinct from the audio of the audio description in that it comprises one or more recognizable sounds that the visually impaired user can associate with the availability of audio description. The audible indication is preferably emitted immediately when a user selects or inquires about an item of visual media, or shortly thereafter, with the purpose of giving the user quick notification. By this, a visually impaired user can more readily realize that the item of visual media they are playing, selecting, or inquiring about does or does not contain audio description, rather than waiting until he or she can recognize that audio description is or is not available for this particular item of visual media. Such recognition time can be relatively long due to the nature of audio description as the spoken audio description generally occupies only moments where other dialog does not exist. Additionally, audio description does not occupy every non-dialog moment in an item of visual media. Either due to lengthy dialog exchanges or due to a break in both dialog and audio description, a visually impaired user may be required to wait for an extended period of time to hear the audio description to recognize that it is available or may incorrectly decide that an item of visual media does not contain audio description and navigate away from that item. Additionally, it may be difficult for a visually impaired individual to quickly distinguish audio description from the actual dialog in an item of visual media, thus adding further to the delay of his or her recognition of audio description availability. Also, if a visually impaired user selects a channel that is at a commercial, but is otherwise featuring an item of visual media (i.e., television program) that does contain audio description, the user may not discover the availability of the audio description for that item until the commercial ends and he or she may navigate away from the channel before the commercial ends. These difficulties and delays in recognizing whether an item of visual media contains audio description can make consumption of visual media an arduous process rather than an efficient or enjoyable one for the visually impaired. By these teachings, a visually impaired user can be, in accordance with the present embodiment, nearly instantly notified of the availability of audio description by simply hearing the audible indication upon selecting or inquiring about an item of visual media. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a flow diagram  400  is depicted illustrating additional optional steps and details beyond those of  FIG. 3  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. In step  401 , the processing device  101  receives an input signal indicative of a user&#39;s desire to either select or inquire about an item of visual media. Such a signal may originate at the user interface  203  (i.e., remote, etc.) by user manipulation of keys, switches, a touch screen, or any number of known command inputs. The signal may optionally be detected by the detector  202  and then processed by or passed through the interface device  201  to the processing device  101 . By way of non-limiting example, the user can select an item of visual media by simply changing a channel to the selected channel or scrolling through a catalog of items of visual media (such as an EPG, channel guide, VOD list, or PPV list) and selecting it for purposes of presently viewing it, scheduling a future viewing of it, recording it for future viewing, or scheduling a future recording of it. This selection can occur with respect to items of visual media that are currently being displayed or broadcast, will be displayed or broadcast in the future, or are playable on-demand or at schedulable time. 
     Similarly, a user can inquire about an item of visual media by initiating a command to request information (i.e., an “info” button on a remote), or by simply scrolling though the catalog of available items of visual media by navigating to, highlighting, hovering over (such as with a mouse pointer on a computer) the item, or any other function with respect to the item of visual media. In essence, inquiring may be an active or passive activity on the part of the user. By way of another non-limiting example, and with brief reference to  FIG. 9 , the catalog may be visually depicted through a channel guide or electronic programming guide (EPG)  901 , which a user can in turn navigate through to either select or inquire about items of visual media as described above and depicted by the highlighted item of visual media  905 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 4 , in step  402  the processing device  101  determines that a user preference relating to audio description is set. More specifically, in some embodiments the preference may be with respect to enabling the feature of determining whether audio description is available, what audio stream is enabled under what circumstances (i.e., audio description when available, otherwise normal audio), or whether the audible indication is to be emitted. Setting the user preference may entail use of an on-screen menu, or other known methods to alter user preferences, generally manipulable by the user interface  203 . Additionally, the status of the user preference may be stored in the memory  206  for retrieval at a later time. 
     It should be noted that this particular step  402  may be performed at any time and multiple times in various embodiments of this invention. For example, it may be performed as a gateway step to step  403  (as is described above) to either prevent or allow the process of determining that audio description is available for the item of visual media. Alternatively, it may be performed prior to step  406 , to prevent or allow the audible indication to be emitted. Alternatively even still, it may be performed prior to step  407  (described below) to prevent or inhibit automatic selection of audio description for the at least one item of visual media. 
     Before continuing to the description of step  403  in  FIG. 4 , a brief detour to  FIGS. 5 and 6  may prove helpful. 
       FIG. 5  shows an abstract illustration of a hypothetical catalog of visual media  501  in list form. As previously described, this catalog  501  comprises a list of a plurality of items of visual media  502  which may correspond to the set of current channels offered by a visual media provider  104  (such as a television service provider), a list of VOD or PPV programs offered by a visual media provider  104 , or results of a query of visual media.  FIG. 6  shows an abstract illustration of a hypothetical catalog of visual media  601 , which may comprise a partially time-based matrix of programming offered by a visual media provider  104  (and may optionally be visually displayed as a channel guide or electronic programming guide (EPG)  901  as depicted in  FIG. 9 , described below). This abstract illustration shows a plurality of channels  602  (be they television channels or other media channels) along the vertical axis and a timeline  603  along the horizontal axis. Various items of visual media  604  are shown assigned to at least one channel  602  and at least one time slot in the timeline  603 . The catalogs  501  and  601  of  FIGS. 5 and 6  may exist with the visual media provider  104  or in the memory  206  of the apparatus  100 . Additionally, these catalogs  501 ,  601  may exist in any number of data structures or formats and are not limited by the example abstract illustrations depicted in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     Both  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  also depict a selected item of visual media  503  and  605  from the respective catalogs  501  and  601  of each figure. Each selected item  503 ,  605  may contain one or more descriptors  504 ,  606 , including but not limited to a title, a description, a time or duration, a format, language(s), a closed caption indicator, and an audio description indicator. These descriptors may be plain text strings, data fields, binary flags, or any other known data storage means, and may exist in any known data structure or format. 
     Returning to  FIG. 4 , step  403 , which corresponds to step  301  of  FIG. 3 , contains further detail by describing two exemplary methods  404  and  405  of determining that audio description is available for at least one item of visual media. The first method  404  entails determining that a description of the at least one item of visual media indicates audio description is available for the at least one item of visual media. The processing device  101  can be configured to detect the availability of audio description by receiving and processing the descriptors  504 ,  606  for the selected items of visual media  503 ,  605 . This may be achieved by a search for keywords in a data or text field indicating that audio description is available (such as the phrase “audio description available”), or by interrogating data fields or flags for values or other data indicating audio description is available. Alternately, the processing device  101  can be configured to perform optical character or symbol recognition for text or symbols not otherwise provided in parsable descriptors for the various items of visual media. The text or symbols may indicate the availability of audio description. One such example of a possible optical symbol is provided in  FIG. 9 , item  906 , and is a simple “AD” in a similar manner to the familiar “CC” symbol used to indicate closed caption is available. Accordingly, the processing device  101  is able to determine the availability of audio description for at least one item of visual media through indications provided in descriptions of the item. 
     Step  405  provides an alternate method of determining that audio description exists for an item of visual media. Step  405  entails determining that the at least one item of visual media corresponds to an audio stream with an audio stream descriptor indicating the audio stream is for audio description. With reference to  FIG. 7 , an example audio stream  701  is depicted. This audio stream  701  may comprise an AC-3, E-AC-3, MP2, MP3, ACC, or HE-ACC audio bit stream, or any other audio stream format known in the art. The audio stream  701  may comprise a descriptor header  702  that may be intermittently transmitted or stored and further comprises various descriptive elements about the audio stream  701 . One such descriptive element  703  may be the identification or mode of the audio stream  701 , which may indicate that the audio stream  701  is for audio description. As a non-limiting example, the audio stream  701  may comprise an AC-3 audio bit stream, as specified by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) for use in digital television (DTV) transmission, the descriptor header  702  comprises a 3-bit descriptive element  703  labeled bsmod (i.e., “bit stream mode”). A binary value of 2 (0b010) is specified to indicate the audio stream  701  is for “associated service: Visually Impaired (VI)”. Accordingly, and returning to  FIG. 4 , in step  405  the processing device  101  can be configured to identify the appropriate descriptive header  702  and descriptive elements  703  that may indicate the existence of an audio description audio stream  701  for an item of visual media. 
     It should be noted that either of these described methods may be performed alone or in combination with each other or other methods. It should also be noted that the apparatus  100  may comprise two or more communication interfaces  102  such that two or more items of visual media may be interrogated simultaneously, or such that one or more items of visual media in addition to a currently displayed item may be interrogated without disrupting the currently displayed item of visual media. Alternatively, the communication interface  102  and/or processing unit may be configured such that two or more items of visual media may be interrogated simultaneously, or such that one or more items of visual media in addition to a currently displayed item may be interrogated without disrupting the currently displayed item of visual media. 
     By this, a visually impaired user is able to discover items of visual media containing audio description more rapidly. Additionally, he or she is able find items of visual media scheduled for display at a future time so that he or she may schedule viewing or recording of those items. This then allows for further consumption and enjoyment of visual media with audio description by the visually impaired user during times when no items of visual media containing audio description are currently being displayed or broadcast. 
     Step  406  corresponds to step  302  of  FIG. 3 , which is previously described. 
     In step  407  the processing device  101  can be configured to automatically select the audio description audio stream for the at least one item of visual media. This then allows a visually impaired user to select the item of visual media for viewing or recording without any additional steps to enable or select the audio description audio stream. This step may optionally be enabled by a determination that a user setting enabling audio description is set, such as is previously described in step  402  of  FIG. 4 . Additionally, this step may be implemented independent of other steps described herein. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 8 , a flow diagram  800  is depicted illustrating additional optional steps and details beyond those of  FIG. 3  in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. Step  801  describes determining the set of all items of visual media with audio description of the catalog of items of visual media. By one approach, this can be achieved by systematically interrogating each item of visual media in the catalog according to the methods depicted in either step  404  or step  405  of  FIG. 4  until the set is determined. By another approach, the set may comprise a list or data structure of the items with audio description or an altered version of the catalog with additional data indicating which items have audio description. This may optionally be stored in the memory  206 . This step  801  may be applied to various types of catalogs, including those depicted in  FIG. 5  (list-based catalog  501 ) or  FIG. 6  (partially time-based catalog  601 ). Alternatively, a list of some items of visual media with audio description (as opposed to all) may be determined. 
     By one approach, after the set of all items of visual media with audio description is determined, a user is then enabled to at least one of select or inquire about at least one item of visual media from the set of all items of visual media with audio description, as is illustrated by step  802 . The general process of selecting or inquiring about the at least one item of visual media is previously described. In step  802 , however, selection or inquiry is made from the set of all items with audio description rather than an entire catalog (unless, of course, the entire catalog is solely comprised of items of visual media with audio description). By this, a pre-sorting of the items of visual media with audio description is facilitated, thereby eliminating the need for the visually impaired user to manually search for these items, and thus adding to the user&#39;s ease of selection. Two methods (steps  803  and  804 ) of enabling the user to select from the set of all items of visual media with audio description are described here; however other methods of sorting and presentation may exist. 
     Step  803  illustrates one such method of sorting and presenting the items of visual media that do contain audio description to enable selection or inquiry therefrom. This step  803  entails assigning a priority to the set of all items of visual media with audio description. Alternatively, step  804  describes excluding from selection or inquiry a set of items of visual media without audio description. (As a point of specificity, step  804  may or may not entail presenting only the set of items with audio description for selection or inquiry to the exclusion of all items without audio description.) 
     By way of non-limiting example, and again with brief reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , after step  801  is performed, the processing device may arrange the catalog  501  or  601  in a manner such that the set of items of visual media with audio description is assigned a priority by being located at the top or start of the abstract catalog  501 ,  601  and the items of visual media without audio description located below or after the first set. Accordingly, the set of items with audio description may be presented to the visually impaired user prior to those without to expedite the user&#39;s selection. For the case of a partially time-based matrix catalog  601 , this prioritized sorting may occur for each time period of the timeline  803  or for each channel  602 , thereby presenting the list of all items with audio description in each time period of the timeline  603  or channel  802  to the user for selection or inquiry first. Alternatively, the catalog  501 ,  601  may remain in its previous form, but navigation of the catalog may be altered such that navigation to items with audio description is prioritized before navigation to items without audio description. Alternatively even still, and by step  804 , the set of all items with audio description is presented to the user for selection or inquiry to the exclusion of a set of items without audio description. 
     Returning to  FIG. 8 , step  805  describes arranging an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) corresponding to the catalog of items of visual media according to either the assigned priority to the set of all items of visual media with audio description (step  803 ), or the exclusion from selection or inquiry of a set of items of visual media without audio description (step  804 ). Step  806  refers to the assignment of priority as described in step  803 , and step  807  refers to the exclusion from selection or inquiry described in step  804 . In essence, step  805  and sub-steps  806  and  807  describe altering a visual presentation of the abstract catalogs  501 ,  601  such that navigation and use of the visual presentation is possible by a visually impaired user. 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , steps  805 ,  806 , and  807  are further described.  FIG. 9  shows an EPG  901  in accordance with various embodiments of this invention. Alternatively, this could represent a channel guide or a mere list of items of visual media offered by a visual media provider  104 . EPG&#39;s and channel guides are generally known in the art. The example EPG  901  is a visual representation of a partially time-based matrix catalog  601  as may be presented on a display  205 . The EPG  901  contains a horizontal time line  902 , a vertical channel list  903 , and a plurality of items of visual media  904  with descriptions available at various times of the timeline  902  on various channels  903 . This particular EPG  901  shows one highlighted item  905  which may be highlighted as the result of a user&#39;s navigation to that item using the user interface  203  and/or selection or inquiry about that item. Additionally, optional “AD” symbols  906  are shown that may indicate that audio description is available for those items of visual media  904 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates one example of an arranged EPG  1001  in accordance with step  805  of the present embodiment of the invention. The set of items of visual media with audio description  1002  is displayed on the EPG  1001  to the exclusion of the items without audio description  1003 , in accordance with step  807  and other embodiments of this invention. Optionally, the set of items without audio description  1003  may be shown, but is subject to the assigned priority of step  806 , being presented after the set of items with audio description  1002 . So configured, the EPG  1001  offers an arranged presentation scheme that facilitates expedited selection of or inquiry about items of visual media with audio description. 
     It should be noted that steps  802 - 807  may optionally be performed automatically, or in response to determining that a set of user preferences indicates that any of these steps are to be performed, or upon receiving a user input to perform any one of these steps  802 - 807 . 
     Step  808  corresponds to step  301  of  FIG. 3  and step  403  of  FIG. 4 , and step  809  corresponds to step  302  of  FIG. 3  and step  406  of  FIG. 4 , which are all previously described. 
     By these teachings, a visually impaired user can more readily recognize that an item of visual media he or she is playing, selecting, or inquiring about does or does not contain audio description. Additionally, various embodiments provide for expedited discovery of items of visual media that contain audio description through arrangement of catalogs of items of visual media. Additionally even still, the visually impaired user is able to find items of visual media scheduled for display in the future so that they may schedule viewing of those items or record those items (which allows for further enjoyment of visual media with audio description during times when no such items are currently being displayed or broadcast). The end result is a more efficient, and therefore, more enjoyable overall visual media consumption experience for a visually impaired user. 
     Many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as devices or interfaces, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a device or interface may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A device or interface may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like. 
     Devices or interfaces may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified device or interface may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified device or interface need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the device or interface and achieve the stated purpose for the device or interface. 
     Indeed, a device or interface composed of executable code could be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within devices or interfaces, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices (such as a memory), and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. 
     While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, examples and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.