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Whats a good computer setup for someone with degraded vision?

Dec 26, 2012 5:01 PM

My brother has very poor near field vision - beyond the scope of corrective lenses or glasses. He can still function day to day, but using a computer has become a nearly crippling exercise, rendering him with headaches for hours. He's using a 22" monitor at very low resolution, and with the text size all blown up. While this works for most tasks, it also screws with the formatting of things he wishes to write or read.

We were thinking along the lines of a 42" TV to be used at a mid range distance (5-6 ft where his vision is slightly better) but if anyone has tried this (specifically for vision impairment) and it didn't work, you might save us from dumping money into an issue that wouldn't help it. I'm stumped mainly because i'm of the opposite point of view - running fairly larger monitors (30") at ultra high resolutions which make me skeptical about 1080p at a slight distance.

goatcrapp goatcrapp

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When I used to support computers for the visually impaired (I mean not blind folks, just visually impaired) most of them used software called ZoomText.

http://www.aisquared.com/zoomtext

Check that out!

jrpigman jrpigman
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I have a friend with a similar problem and he said the state blindness agency provided a lot of information and assistance (in both subsidized hardware and software).

I have a computer hooked up to a 40 inch tv. Unfortunately, it runs natively in 1080i (1920x1080) and therefore it is sharpest then but super tiny. It will only produce a few proportional resolutions at lower resolutions like 1366 but it should be ok. I would experiment by taking a notebook to the store and hooking up an HDMI cable to the AUX input on the side and making sure it runs at that lower resolution.

henryhargrove henryhargrove
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+1 for ZoomText.

chris12345 chris12345
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@jrpigman: logged in to answer this as well, but you've posted the solution I would suggest. I have a coworker who uses this at home and work and it really makes all the difference for her. Be careful when ordering - I've seen sites with a cheaper price advertised but there is an upgrade package available that seems to have the same packaging as the starter version.

caron7 caron7
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Didn't even know that software existed - I'll try it out with him! Seems they offer a decent trial, and if it works for him, the cost is easily justified.

Will still consider the larger monitor / tv for him as well, and i have a few local shops that i frequent with my own A/V needs where they'll let me hook up my source equipment no problem - so this shouldn't be any different. Thanks for the suggestions!

goatcrapp goatcrapp
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(I don't have any information to add, but I just wanted to say how much I love seeing what comes from asking a question like this of the Woot community. I too didn't know that software like this is out there, & I'm I learned about it.)

gertiestn gertiestn
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Since no one's brought this up...

Microsoft actually offers built in applications for visually impaired users.

"Onscreen Magnifier" "Narrator" and "Onscreen Keyboard" are under the "Accesibility" tab.

Apple OSX offers the same with different names....

Both offer voice control...though Apple seems to have better implimentation...

undrpsi undrpsi
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If you use a Mac, you can zoom into any part of the screen, why any application is open, simply by pressing the CTRL key and using the mouse scroller.

I use it all the time even though I technically have 20/20 vision but I have a hard time seeing detail when it's up close.

cengland0 cengland0
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This is just another suggestion, but I have dual monitors, with one zoomed in. If I can't read something on my main monitor, I simply carry it over to the other monitor and it's like I put a magnifying glass over it.

I find it helpful because I don't necessarily want the PC games I play to be magnified, so this gives me an option to have those at a different size on my left, while smaller text that is difficult to read can be dragged to the right.

kmashaney kmashaney

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