28 CFR Part 35 Title II Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) - Preamble (published 2008)

Video interpreting services. (Section-by-Section Analysis)

Section 35.160(d) has been added to establish performance standards for video interpreting services (VIS), a system the Department recognizes as a means to provide qualified interpreters quickly and easily.  (The mechanics of VIS are discussed above in the definition of VIS in the section-by-section analysis of § 35.104.)  VIS also has economic advantages, is readily available, and because of advances in video technology, can provide a high quality interpreting experience.  VIS can circumvent the difficulty of providing live interpreters quickly, which is why more public entities are providing qualified interpreters via VIS.

There are downsides to VIS, such as frozen images on the screen, or when an individual is in a medical care facility and is limited in moving his or her head, hands, or arms.  Another downside is that the camera may mistakenly focus on an individual's head, which makes communication difficult or impossible.  Also, the accompanying audio transmission might be choppy or garbled, making spoken communication unintelligible.  The Department is aware of complaints that some public entities have difficulty setting up and operating VIS because staff have not been appropriately trained to do so.

To address the potential problems associated with the use of VIS, the Department is proposing the inclusion of four performance standards for VIS to ensure effective communication:  (1) High quality, clear, real time, full-motion video and audio over a dedicated high speed Internet connection; (2) a clear, sufficiently large, and sharply delineated picture of the participants' heads, arms, hands, and fingers, regardless of the body position of the person who is deaf; (3) clear transmission of voices; and (4) nontechnicians who are trained to set up and operate the VIS quickly.