Disney-Pixar’s "Up" Released with Descriptive Narration on Blu-ray, DVD and for Download on iTunes

Disney-Pixar’s "Up" Released with Descriptive Narration on Blu-ray, DVD
and for Download on iTunes

November 13, 2009

In May of 2009, the Media Access Group at WGBH created a Descriptive Video Service® (DVS®) track for the theatrical release of Disney-Pixar’s "Up" which made the film more meaningful and accessible to movie patrons who are blind or have low vision.

The Media Access Group is proud to share the news that the DVS track for "Up" is included on the film’s Blu-ray and DVD releases (available wherever discs are sold) and– a first for Disney, Apple and WGBH– as a digital iTunes release* available to download at this page of the iTunes site:

"Up" (For blind viewers, audio description, DVS) <http://tinyurl.com/yjtkg8f>

DVS describes, via narration inserted into natural pauses in dialogue, information about actions, costumes, gestures, facial expressions, scene changes, and on-screen text that viewers who are blind have low vision would ordinarily miss. DVS was developed by WGBH for television in 1990, and expanded in 1997 to movies screened in theaters equipped with WGBH’s MoPix® technologies (mopix.org).

About Disney-Pixar’s "Up"
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios take moviegoers up, up and away on one of the funniest adventures of all time with their latest comedy-fantasy. "Up" follows the uplifting tale of a 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.  Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure.

Where and how the DVS tracks for "Up" are available

- Blu-ray – DVS audio is automatically packaged within the Blu-ray disc. Consumers can find "English Descriptive Video Service 2.0" as an option within the Audio Options menu on any Blu-ray version of "Up."

- DVD – DVS audio is automatically packaged within the DVD. Consumers can find "English Descriptive Video Service 2.0" as an option within the Audio Options menu on all DVD versions of "Up."

- *iTunes – When purchasing the movie from iTunes, please note that there are three options to choose from and one of these includes DVS. The DVS version includes description audible to all users ("Up" For blind viewers, audio description, DVS) available at the link above or by searching the iTunes store for Up DVS. The standard version (SD) and a high definition (HD) version on iTunes do not include the description track.

For a list of additional DVD and Blu-ray releases with DVS, as well as television programs that air with DVS, please visit:  
<http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/description.html>

About The Media Access Group at WGBH
In addition to DVS, the Media Access Group <access.wgbh.org> includes The Caption Center, the world’s first captioning agency (est. 1972), and the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM, est. 1992), a research and development entity that builds on the success of WGBH’s access service departments to make existing and emerging technologies more accessible. Members of the Media Access Group’s collective staff represent the leading resources and experts in their fields. Become a fan of the Media Access Group on Facebook.
 
About WGBH
WGBH Boston <wgbh.org <http://www.wgbh.org> is America’s preeminent public broadcaster, producing such celebrated national PBS series as Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur, Curious George and more than a dozen other award-winning primetime, lifestyle and children’s series. WGBH is the leading producer of online content for pbs.org– one of the most-visited dot-org sites on the Internet– a major producer for public radio and a pioneer in developing educational multimedia and new technologies that make media accessible for people with disabilities. For its efforts, WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors, including Oscars, Emmys, Peabodys and duPont-Columbia Journalism Awards.

Contact:

Mary Watkins, Media Access Group at WGBH, mary_watkins@wgbh.org, 617 300-3700

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