Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

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jeremiah.bess
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Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#1

Post by jeremiah.bess »

I'm quite frustrated. Story time, skip to the end if this is TL;DR. So not only am I an STS, I am also an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter for the deaf in our area. As a service to our deaf sisters, I went in 2 hours before the Oct 2015 Women's Conference broadcast to the Stake Center to set up a laptop connected to a TV to broadcast the ASL version of conference. Our satellite system is used for English and Spanish channels, so our only choice was the live broadcast on lds.org. I went to the normal spot on lds.org for live conferences and attempted to stream (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/ ... s?lang=eng).

Normally you bring up the English version, and on the top right, under the language drop-down, you choose ASL. Nothing was listed on the page, just "Sorry, General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently not in session." I even tried the link on the home page to lds.org that said to stream the Women's Conference, but I was left with a black YouTube player. I refreshed again and again, different browsers, anything I could think of until about 45 minutes before the broadcast begun. Our satellite feed was showing MoTab, and the countdown was on.

With the supposed stream on lds.org using an embedded YouTube player, I tried going straight to the YouTube site. The site loaded, but the player was blank just like on lds.org. I called the GSC, but they had no quick answers and were still digging when I told them to just call me when they find an answer, knowing it would be too late anyways. I did find a document that stated ASL would be available on lds.org (https://www.lds.org/help/support/bc/cle ... f?lang=eng).

Now before anyone suggests that we could have just turned on the Close Captioning, let me stop you right there. In general, English is not the primary language of Deaf, and forcing them to read it to get anything from a meeting/conference is just cruel. Would you like to have the sound off and just read words of conference? Deaf deserve to have meetings and broadcasts in their own languages. And the Church normally provides interpreters during the Sat/Sun General Conference Sessions.

Anyways, I have several complaints/questions:
  1. Why is the church broadcasting using a YouTube live stream, but blocking the actual stream content on chapel internet services?
  2. I am at home now and I still cannot watch any language other than English, what gives?
  3. What else could have I had tried?
lajackson
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#2

Post by lajackson »

jeremiah.bess wrote:I'm quite frustrated.
  1. Why is the church broadcasting using a YouTube live stream, but blocking the actual stream content on chapel internet services?
  2. I am at home now and I still cannot watch any language other than English, what gives?
  3. What else could have I had tried?
I cannot answer your first two questions. I truly wish I could. (Edit: Within 30 minutes of the end of the session, almost all of the languages were available to stream again.)

As the STS and with the stake president's permission, there is a way to run the LDS.org stream at the chapel if they are using YouTube. I do not know if the link offered ASL as a language this evening because I did not need to go looking for it. But it is already available at the conference broadcast site for individual talks.

In a change I have not seen recently, the link to the repeat broadcast has already been taken down from LDS.org so I hope no one on the west coast or in Alaska or Hawaii needs it a few minutes from now because their main satellite system failed or is not otherwise working. The individual talks are there, but if someone needs to run the whole session, they will not be able to do so unless the Church gets it up in the next two minutes.

It is discouraging to be kept from doing the very thing we are called to do.

I think it would be a wonderful thing for those who set up these broadcasts to sit in a chapel when the satellite crumps and not be able to use the backup stream for such an important meeting as this. If that ever happened to them, I think things would change.
paulw
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#3

Post by paulw »

In my stake we support English, Spanish, French, and ASL. Our satellite rack has two receivers so we get the regular video feed, the ASL feed, and three spoken languages. At a minimum we use a projector and 4 TVs throughout the building. Needless to say, I say my prayers every 6 months for a fully functioning system. If the satellite goes down I'm not prepared to run 4 separate streams from the Internet. One or two, yes but not 4. I had a Roku device hooked up and ready to take over for the English stream. The Mormon Channel app on the device provides the stream in 7 or 8 different languages, but I can't recall if ASL was among them. Alas I don't see it listed at http://www.mormonchannel.org/live/general-conference.

If I were you:

1. Given your current circumstances, you could petition FM for a additional satellite receiver for ASL. A working satellite system also makes a great backup in case the Internet crashes. You might even get it up and running by the April 2016 broadcast. It might be a hard sell, though, if you don't have an official ASL branch like we do.
2. For next week's sessions definitely work with the GSC to get the Internet filter policy changed over to a more permissive one so you can access the YouTube links. Have them switch it back after conference is over and no one will be the wiser.
3. Petition someone at church headquarters to provide the ASL stream via the Mormon Channel for future conferences. Why fix ASL for just your building when you can get it fixed worldwide? ;) (Edit: I think the Mormon Channel links may go to YouTube as well... I dunno, maybe my stake center has a kind Internet filter.)
russellhltn
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#4

Post by russellhltn »

paulw wrote:Given your current circumstances, you could petition FM for a additional satellite receiver for ASL.
I can't speak to the other issues, but I'd work with your stake president to get ASL in the rack. It will take a second receiver and another modulator, but I'm sure it can be done. If the satellite signal is weak, you may have to have a preamp installed in the dish.

Another advantage of ASLvia satellite, I'd expect it to be in better sync with the English feed. If you stream one of them via the Internet, you may find the timing is significantly off. As in a minute or more. That may not make a difference if you put them in a separate room, but I like to put them in the same room and set up the TVs so they're not distracting. That way they can be together "as one", yet each group has their needs met.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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jeremiah.bess
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#5

Post by jeremiah.bess »

Well I found a portion of the answer I needed, which comes down to poor communication.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lds.dea ... 994568267/
We received word from many members trying to view the ASL interpretation for the General Women’s Session this past weekend that it was difficult to find the ASL interpretation on lds.org. We’ve done some research and it seems ASL and all other languages available through the language drop down menu have been removed from the main English broadcast page. All languages will now be shown on their individual language pages. This means that you need to go to lds.org/asl to find the ASL interpretation of General Conference. It will appear between “American Sign Language” and “Scriptures” on the page captured below. Sorry for this confusion. Please help us spread the word. - Jared Allebest
I might point out that asl.lds.org is another link to use for reference.
lajackson
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#6

Post by lajackson »

How about an email to the bishops, stake presidents, and STS folks, just on the rare chance that they may not have a Facebook account? Or if they are like me, check it once a month whether they need to or not?

(Note to Self: Remove hands from keyboard immediately.)
russellhltn
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Re: Conference in ASL on LDS.org at chapels

#7

Post by russellhltn »

it seems ASL and all other languages available through the language drop down menu have been removed from the main English broadcast page. All languages will now be shown on their individual language pages.
Well that's fine and dandy for self-service, but a heck of a note for anyone trying to set up the feed in behalf of another group.

Well, I guess there's always Google translate to navigate the page.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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