Closed captioning is a system developed to show text on video screen or television to give extra information to the audience. Closed caption displays audio transcription of the program as it play, sometimes it also includes non speech elements of the program. Only viewers who have activated closed caption can view the text.
What are stenocaptioners and how do they work?
Stenocaptioners are skilled reporters specialized in real-time captioning. They write the captions with the help of steno machine. They can write at high speed of about 250 words per minute, sometimes even faster.
Types of Captions
There are three types of captions: Roll up, pop-on, and paint-on. In roll up, the caption appears at the bottom of the screen and one line at a time. The words move from left to right and completed line moves up to give way for a new line. After that the top line gets erased. In pop-on, the caption appears as a whole and anywhere on the screen. In paint-on, the caption moves left to right and letter by letter on the screen. This method is rarely used.
What does the >> and >>> symbol mean?
Program captioned using roll up and for any live programs, the caption include >> to show a new speaker and >>> to indicate new story in news. Sometimes, >> indicates one person is speaking and >>> for more than one.
Do all TV’s support captions?
FCC has enacted rules that all new televisions should support captioning. According to this act, all analog television should be 13 inch or greater, either manufactured or sold, and should have the ability to display captioning. This act is also placed on digital television later.
Online (real time) vs. Offline (pre taped) captioning
In online captioning, captions (scrolling) are produced by trained stenographers in steno machines as the speaker speaks. There is no time to edit, repeat unfamiliar words. Phonetic spellings are used wherever required and expected accuracy is 98%. In offline captioning, program copy tape is made and program material is absorbed in to the server. Trained captioners recall the material and transcribe it. Finally the caption film is reexamined in real-time. After all needed alterations, the film is given to ABC for broadcasting.
Why do captions not always match the audio?
There are a few reasons why the caption does not match audio. First, in pre recorded programs captions are edited at the rate of 180 per minute for average users. In live captioning, if the speaker talks more than 240 words per minute or more than one speaker is talking at a time then it becomes hard for stenographer to caption all words.
What types of media can be captioned?
Generally video caption can transmit audio information like narration, dialogue, sound effects, and other information like music. Types of media that could be captioned are DVD, movies, theater, video games, plays, and telephones. First video game with closed caption is Zork Grand Inquisitor.
Other Resources on Closed Captioning
Other Resources for Disabled Gamers
