SEC. 203. CLOSED CAPTIONING DECODER AND VIDEO DE-
SCRIPTION CAPABILITY. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.—Section 303(u) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303(u)) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(u) Require that— 
‘‘(1) apparatus designed to receive or play back 
video programming transmitted simultaneously with 
sound, if such apparatus is manufactured in the 
United States or imported for use in the United 
States and uses a picture screen of any size— 
‘‘(A) be equipped with built-in closed cap-
tion decoder circuitry or capability designed to 
display closed-captioned video programming; 
‘‘(B) have the capability to decode and 
make available the transmission and delivery of 
video description services as required by regula-
tions reinstated and modified pursuant to sec-
tion 713(f); and 
‘‘(C) have the capability to decode and make 
available emergency information (as that term is 
defined in section 79.2 of title 47, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations) in a manner that is accessible 
to individuals who are blind or have a visual 
impairment; and 
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‘‘(2) notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) apparatus described in such para-
graph that use a picture screen that is less than 
13 inches in size meet the requirements of sub-
paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such paragraph 
only if the requirements of such subparagraphs 
are achievable (as defined in section 716); 
‘‘(B) any apparatus or class of apparatus 
that are display-only video monitors with no 
playback capability are exempt from the require-
ments of such paragraph; and 
‘‘(C) the Commission shall have the author-
ity to waive the requirements of this subsection 
for any apparatus or class of apparatus.’’. 
(b) OTHER DEVICES.—Section 303 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(z) Require that— 
‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), ap-
paratus designed to record video programming trans-
mitted simultaneously with sound, if such apparatus 
is manufactured in the United States or imported for 
use in the United States, enable the rendering or the 
pass through of closed captions, video description sig-
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nals, and emergency information (as that term is de-
fined in section 79.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu-
lations) so that viewers are able to activate and de- 
activate the closed captions and video description as 
the video programming is played back on a picture 
screen of any size; and 
‘‘(2) interconnection mechanisms and standards 
for digital video source devices are available to carry 
from the source device to the consumer equipment the 
information necessary to permit the display of closed 
captions and to make encoded video description and 
emergency information audible.’’. 
(c) SHIPMENT IN COMMERCE.—Section 330(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 330(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘section 303(u)’’ in the first sen-
tence and inserting ‘‘subsections (u) and (z) of section 
303’’; 
(2) by striking the second sentence and inserting 
the following: ‘‘Such rules shall provide performance 
and display standards for such built-in decoder cir-
cuitry or capability designed to display closed cap-
tioned video programming, the transmission and de-
livery of video description services, and the convey-
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ance of emergency information as required by section 
303 of this Act.’’; and 
(3) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘closed- 
captioning service continues’’ and inserting ‘‘closed- 
captioning service and video description service con-
tinue’’. 
(d) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communications 
Commission shall prescribe such regulations as are 
necessary to implement the requirements of sections 
303(u), 303(z), and 330(b) of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended by this section, including 
any technical standards, protocols, and procedures 
needed for the transmission of— 
(A) closed captioning within 6 months after 
the submission to the Commission of the Advi-
sory Committee report required by section sec-
tion 201(e)(1); and 
(B) video description and emergency infor-
mation within 12 months after the submission to 
the Commission of the Advisory Committee re-
port required by section section 201(e)(2). 
(2) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity may meet 
the requirements of sections 303(u), 303(z), and 
330(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 through al-
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ternate means than those prescribed by regulations 
pursuant to paragraph (1) if the requirements of such 
sections are met, as determined by the Commission. 
SEC. 204. USER INTERFACES ON DIGITAL APPARATUS. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 303 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by adding 
after subsection (z), as added by section 203 of this Act, 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(aa) Require— 
‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), 
that digital apparatus designed to receive or play 
back video programming, that are shipped in inter-
state commerce or manufactured in the United States, 
transmitted in digital format simultaneously with 
sound, including apparatus designed to receive or dis-
play video programming transmitted in digital for-
mat using Internet protocol, be designed, developed, 
and fabricated so that control of all built-in appa-
ratus functions are accessible to and usable by indi-
viduals with disabilities; 
‘‘(2) that if on-screen text menus or other visual 
indicators built in to the digital apparatus are used 
to access the functions of the apparatus described in 
paragraph (1), such functions shall be accompanied 
by audio output that is either integrated or periph-
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eral to the apparatus, so that such menus or indica-
tors are accessible to and usable by individuals who 
are blind or have a visual impairment in real-time; 
‘‘(3) that built-in user controls on such appa-
ratus shall be capable of accessing closed captioning, 
including— 
‘‘(A) if a remote control is provided with 
the apparatus— 
‘‘(i) a button, key, or icon on the re-
mote control of such apparatus designated 
for activating closed captioning; or 
‘‘(ii) any other mechanism that pro-
vides a substantially equivalent level of ac-
cessibility; and 
‘‘(B) if on-screen menus are displayed on 
such apparatus— 
‘‘(i) the inclusion of ‘closed captions’ 
and ‘video description’ on the first menu 
that appears; or 
‘‘(ii) any other mechanism that pro-
vides a substantially equivalent level of ac-
cessibility; and 
‘‘(4) that in applying this subsection the term 
‘apparatus’ does not include a navigation device, as 
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such term is defined in section 76.1200 of title 47, 
Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 
(b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months after the 
submission to the Commission of the Advisory Com-
mittee report required by section 201(e)(2), the Com-
mission shall prescribe such regulations as are nec-
essary to implement the amendments made by sub-
section (a). 
(2) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity may meet 
the requirements of sections 303(aa) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 through alternate means than 
those prescribed by regulations pursuant to para-
graph (1) if the requirements of such section are met, 
as determined by the Commission. 
(c) DEFERRAL OF COMPLIANCE WITH ATSC MOBILE 
DTV STANDARD A/153.—A digital apparatus designed and 
manufactured to receive or play back the Advanced Tele-
vision Systems Committee’s Mobile DTV Standards A/153 
shall not be required to meet the requirements of the regula-
tions prescribed under subsection (b) for a period of not 
less than 24 months after the date on which the final regula-
tions are published in the Federal Register. 
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SEC. 205. ACCESS TO VIDEO PROGRAMMING GUIDES AND 
MENUS PROVIDED ON NAVIGATION DEVICES. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 303 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by adding 
after subsection (aa), as added by section 204 of this Act, 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(bb) Require— 
‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), 
that the on-screen text menus and guides provided by 
navigation devices (as such term is defined in section 
76.1200 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) for 
the display or selection of multichannel video pro-
gramming are audibly accessible in real-time upon 
request by individuals who are blind or have a visual 
impairment, except that the Commission may not 
specify the technical standards, protocols, procedures, 
and other technical requirements for meeting this re-
quirement; and 
‘‘(2) for navigation devices with built-in closed 
captioning capability, access to such capability 
through a button, key, or icon designated for acti-
vating the closed captioning, or through any other 
mechanism that provides a substantially equivalent 
level of accessibility.’’ 
(b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months after the 
submission to the Commission of the Advisory Com-
mittee report required by section 201(e)(2), the Com-
mission shall prescribe such regulations as are nec-
essary to implement the amendment made by sub-
section (a). 
(2) EXEMPTION.—Such regulations may provide 
an exemption from the regulations for cable systems 
serving 50,000 or fewer subscribers. 
(3) RESPONSIBILITY.—An entity shall only be 
responsible for compliance with the requirements 
added by this section with respect to navigation de-
vices that such entity provides to a requesting indi-
vidual who is blind or has a visual impairment and 
shall make reasonable efforts to make such require-
ments known to consumers. 
(4) SEPARATE EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Such regulations shall 
permit but not require the entity providing the 
navigation device to the requesting individual 
who is blind or has a visual impairment to com-
ply with section 303(bb)(1) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (as added by subsection (a) of 
this section) through such entity’s use of soft-
ware, a peripheral device, specialized consumer 
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premises equipment, a network-based service, or 
other solution, and shall provide such entity with 
the flexibility to select the manner of compliance. 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—If an entity complies 
with section 303(bb)(1) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (as added by subsection (a) of this 
section) under subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph, such entity shall provide any such soft-
ware, peripheral device, equipment, service, or 
solution at no additional charge and within a 
reasonable time to such individual. 
(5) USER CONTROLS FOR CLOSED CAPTIONING.— 
Such regulations shall permit the entity providing the 
navigation device maximum flexibility in the selec-
tion of means for compliance with section 303(bb)(2) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (as added by sub-
section (a) of this section). 
(6) PHASE-IN.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
provide affected entities with— 
(i) not less than 2 years after the adop-
tion of such regulations to begin placing in 
service devices that comply with the require-
ments of section 303(bb)(2) of the Commu-
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nications Act of 1934 (as added by sub-
section (a) of this section); and 
(ii) not less than 3 years after the 
adoption of such regulations to begin plac-
ing in service devices that comply with the 
requirements of section 303(bb)(1) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (as added by 
subsection (a) of this section). 
(B) APPLICATION.—Such regulations shall 
apply only to devices manufactured or imported 
on or after the respective effective dates estab-
lished in subparagraph (A). 
SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advisory 
Committee’’ means the advisory committee established 
in section 201. 
(2) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 
the Chairman of the Federal Communications Com-
mission. 
(3) 
COMMISSION.—The 
term 
‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(4) 
EMERGENCY
INFORMATION.—The 
term 
‘‘emergency information’’ has the meaning given such 
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