Roon for (almost) blind users

[Jos_Herni]

I’m struggling with Stargardt Disease which is responsible for Macuala Degeneration (very bad eyesight). Are there any services available for Roon Remote to overcome this handicap?

[Suedkiez (Just a fellow user like you)]

A feature request exists here:

Accessibility for blind people

A chap on the Naim forum on a thread where I’m defending Roon’s cost (yet again) mentioned his son loves Roon but he cannot use it as he is blind. Apparently with the Naim app he can use “voice over screen” to allow him “see” his music. I’m surprised a relatively basic app like the Naim app can have this functionality but Roon which appears light years ahead doesn’t. It would be nice if Roon could commit to making the software fully accessible for blind people. .sjb

However, in this feature request thread, Danny referenced an older post of his, explaining that Roon cannot support screen readers because of how the application is designed. This older post was here:

Accessibility of Roon app in Windows w/JFW

Hello - I’m blind and am using Jaws for Windows 16.0. I’ve been amazed by the reviews and forum posts, and am eager to see if I can use the Roon software from Jaws. I just started my trial, ran the install, and it’s not looking good from an accessibility standpoint. (I can’t get passed the license agreement screen.) Is anyone using Roon with any screen reader? Thanks very much - Brian.

However, a partial solution seems to be available by using the Roon Web Controller extension:

Roon Extension: Roon Web Controller v1.2.0

Hi @Mike_Plugge, I tried version 1.2.11 with the screen reader and the buttons are named now Two things that I noticed: When the Web Controller page is opened it always reads that the extensions needs to be enabled, even if it has been enabled in Roon The ‘currently active zone’ button below the primary controls is read as “Previous” Can you have a look at this?

Of course, blind people may require different solutions such as screen readers, while users with very poor eyesight might find other solutions like strong magnification useful. Therefore, what’s possible may vary

[bearFNF]

Voice control using Siri or Google assistant might be an option, for part of the interface anyway.
I have not used them so YMMV.

Roon Voice Control with Siri and Google Assistant

I’ve published a couple of articles on how to enable voice control of Roon using either Apple Siri or Google Assistant. These guides can be found in the RoonCommandLine Wiki at: Roon Voice Commands with Siri Roon Voice Commands with Google Assistant These are not simple setups. I would consider these DIY projects for the tinkering minded. They do, however, work - at least in my environment. Both methods of voice control rely on the installation and configuration of a Roon command line interfa…

[Suedkiez (Just a fellow user like you)]

@Wes Just wondering if you made this a new feature suggestion on purpose rather than merge with this existing one, surely their votes should be pooled?

Accessibility for blind people

A chap on the Naim forum on a thread where I’m defending Roon’s cost (yet again) mentioned his son loves Roon but he cannot use it as he is blind. Apparently with the Naim app he can use “voice over screen” to allow him “see” his music. I’m surprised a relatively basic app like the Naim app can have this functionality but Roon which appears light years ahead doesn’t. It would be nice if Roon could commit to making the software fully accessible for blind people. .sjb

Voting for accessibility is problematic, by the way, there will necessarily and thankfully never be large numbers, yet this is a poor justification for exclusion. (I am aware of the the technical and economic challenges, just thinking in principle because we currently have this dilemma at work as well)