Low Vision Resources in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia: Your Complete Guide
When you’re dealing with vision loss, knowing where to turn for help can feel overwhelming. You need medical care, but you also need practical support
There’s something special about settling into your favorite chair to watch a good show. Maybe it’s the evening news to stay connected with the world. Maybe it’s a Steelers game on Sunday afternoon. Maybe it’s a movie with your spouse after the grandkids go home.
When low vision makes it hard to see the screen, that simple pleasure becomes frustrating or disappears entirely. You can hear what’s happening, but you can’t see the actors’ expressions. You know there’s text on the screen, but you can’t read it. Sports become a jumble of movement you can’t quite follow.
The good news is that you have options. Some are simple adjustments you can make today, and some involve technology like Vision Buddy that can transform your viewing experience.
Different eye conditions create different challenges when you’re trying to watch television.
AMD affects your central vision, which is exactly what you use to watch TV. The center of the screen where the action happens looks blurred or dark, while the edges stay clearer. You might see that people are on screen but can’t make out their faces. Captions and on-screen text become unreadable.
Glaucoma takes away your peripheral vision, creating a tunnel vision effect. You might miss action happening at the edges of the screen. It’s hard to take in the whole picture at once.
This condition can make everything look washed out or create dark spots that float across your vision. Contrast suffers, making it hard to distinguish details.
Cataracts create a cloudy, hazy film over your vision. Colors look faded, and bright scenes can cause uncomfortable glare.
Before investing in any technology, try these adjustments. They cost nothing and might help more than you expect.
You might have grown up hearing that sitting too close to the TV would hurt your eyes. With modern flat screens, that’s not true. There’s no harm in sitting closer, and the closer you are, the larger the image appears to your eyes.
Try moving your chair a few feet closer. Or pull up a smaller chair right in front of the screen for shows where you really want to see details.
Glare from windows or lamps reflecting off your screen makes everything harder to see. Close blinds when you’re watching during the day. Move lamps so they’re behind you rather than beside or in front of you.
Some people find that a small light behind the TV, called bias lighting, reduces eye strain and makes the picture seem clearer.
Modern televisions have accessibility features that many people never discover. Look in your settings menu for options to increase contrast, boost brightness, or enable high contrast mode. You can usually make captions larger and change their background to make them easier to read.
If you’re in the market for a new TV anyway, go bigger than you think you need. Large screen televisions are more affordable than ever. A 65-inch or 75-inch screen gives you a much larger image to work with.
Audio description is a feature where a narrator describes visual elements during gaps in dialogue. They’ll tell you about scene changes, facial expressions, physical actions, and other things you might miss.
It’s not available on everything, but major streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Hulu offer audio description on many programs. Your cable or streaming device settings let you turn it on.
Many people with low vision find that audio description fills in the gaps and makes shows much more enjoyable.
For many people with low vision, the adjustments above help but aren’t enough. That’s where Vision Buddy comes in.
Vision Buddy connects directly to your television or cable box through a simple HDMI cable. The device captures your TV’s video signal and displays it on high-resolution screens right in front of your eyes.
You can magnify the image up to 10x while maintaining crystal-clear 4K resolution. That means you can actually see facial expressions, read captions and graphics, and follow the action no matter what’s on.
We hear the same things over and over from people who start using Vision Buddy for TV watching.
“I can see the players’ numbers during the game for the first time in years.”
“I didn’t realize how much I was missing in my favorite shows until I could actually see it.”
“My wife and I can watch movies together again. I’m not constantly asking her what’s happening.”
Vision Buddy weighs about 1.1 pounds on your face. That might sound heavy, but it’s comparable to holding a large apple. Users find it comfortable enough for movie-length viewing without strain.
The 98-degree field of view creates an immersive experience. It’s like having a personal theater with a screen sized perfectly for you.
With 8 to 10 hours of battery life, you can watch an entire day of football or binge your favorite series without worrying about recharging. The external battery also means the weight isn’t all on your head.
Sports are especially challenging with low vision. The action moves fast. Scoreboards and graphics are small. Player numbers are hard to read. Ball position is tough to track.
Vision Buddy’s magnification lets you see all of these details. The high refresh rate keeps fast action smooth without blur. Whether it’s Steelers football, Pirates baseball, Cavaliers basketball, or any other sport, you can actually follow what’s happening.
News programs rely heavily on visuals. The anchor’s expressions convey urgency or reassurance. Graphics explain statistics and developments. Breaking news banners scroll across the bottom. Maps show where events are happening.
With Vision Buddy, all of that becomes visible again. You stay informed not just through words but through the visual storytelling that makes news compelling.
Great storytelling depends on seeing subtle details. A character’s slight smile. A tear forming. The nervous twitch that reveals they’re lying. These moments are what make drama powerful.
Vision Buddy restores your ability to catch these nuances. You experience films and shows the way the creators intended.
Allstar Visionary Solutions offers a 14-day trial program for residents of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. During your trial, you’ll connect Vision Buddy to your own television and watch your own programs.
Watch a football game. Catch up on your favorite series. See a movie with your family. Experience for yourself what it’s like to actually see your TV again.
Contact us today to learn about Vision Buddy’s TV watching capabilities and schedule your trial.
Phone: (724) 327-3553
Serving Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Wheeling, and the entire tri-state region
When you’re dealing with vision loss, knowing where to turn for help can feel overwhelming. You need medical care, but you also need practical support
If you’ve been living with low vision for a while, you’ve probably tried a few different devices. Maybe you have a handheld magnifier in your
When your eye doctor first told you that you have macular degeneration, your heart probably sank. Maybe you’d already noticed that reading was getting harder,
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with macular degeneration, glaucoma, or another condition that affects your eyesight, you already know how frustrating