Viewer FAQ
Q. What is Captioning?
A. Closed Captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. A variety of types of captioning are used depending on the need:
Off-line captions are used for prerecorded programs and are prepared before the programs are shown on television.
Real-time captioning is used for live programs such as news and sports.
Live display (also known as punchback) captioning is used when a program script is available beforehand for a live event broadcast.
Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) produces captions using voice recognition software with no human intervention.
Q. Why are there mistakes in the captioning?
A. NCI’s standard of accuracy for live captioning exceeds an average of 98%, and it often surpasses 99.3%. Although we are immensely proud of the quality of work we produce, errors are unfortunately part of real-time captioning due to the sheer amount of data involved and the live nature of its transmission. Some reasons for real-time mistakes include:
● Technical problems in transmitting and receiving the captions
● Muffled, hard-to-understand, or otherwise compromised audio can lead to incorrect text.
● Real-time captioning is displayed immediately, leaving no time to proofread.
● The captioner could hit the wrong keys or mispronounce a word, or the computer could incorrectly interpret the phonetic code.
● Captions may fall behind because there is a limit on how fast the television set can display them.
Q. Why are captions missing from programs? Why are they garbled?
A. Captioning problems can occur for a variety of reasons and the problems can stem from different sources depending on the type of broadcast, such as network, syndication or cable. Since the caption data is inserted directly into the television transmission signal, anything blocking the signal path will cause the captions to become garbled or disappear altogether. A weak transmission of a television signal, poor reception of the television signal as it travels into the home, or cable problems in the home can also garble captions or cause white boxes to appear within captions.
Q. Why does a program appear on one channel with captions and is repeated on another channel without captions?
A. Once a program is captioned, the captions should stay with that program for rebroadcast unless the program has been edited. Any changes to a program will affect the captions. It also is possible that the new program provider received an uncaptioned master video asset and was not aware that a captioned version was available.
Q. Why are some home videos labeled as being captioned, but there are no captions on the movie?
A. If there are no captions on a video, the master video asset used to make the copies may not have had captions. The studios make thousands of copies at different facilities, and maybe one of the facilities did not use a captioned master video asset. It’s also possible that the captions may have been accidentally stripped off due to a technical problem in reproducing the video asset.
Q. Why do captions sometimes disappear during commercial breaks?
A. It could very well be that the commercials themselves are not captioned. Alternatively, when a program is being captioned live and reaches a commercial break or the end of the program, the captioner must send a command to enable the encoder that is processing the captions to accept other data. If the captioner neglects to send this enabling command when finishing the captioning of a segment or program, the captions on the next commercial or program will not be able to access the encoder, and will not appear.
Q. Why don’t captions show up on my TV when I play a DVD?
A. The problem may be with the DVD player, the connector, or the DVD. Some DVD players don’t support closed captions.
Q. Is closed captioning of television programming required?
A. Please see our new Public Policy page for the latest information on applicable laws.
Q. How can I complain about closed captioning problems?
A. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued rules about closed captioning, and they have established a complaint process. Before you proceed, be sure your own equipment is in good working order.
You should first complain in writing to your programming distributor (i.e., your cable or satellite TV service, or the TV station if you do not pay for cable, satellite, or another subscription video service). If you are paying for cable or satellite television service, your provider is responsible for resolving any captioning problems. Keep a record of your complaint. If the problem is not resolved, then you can file a complaint with the FCC. See the FCC’s closed captioning guide, which includes information about filing closed captioning complaints.
Q. Is closed captioning available for digital television?
A. Since June 13, 2009, full-power television stations nationwide have been required to broadcast exclusively in a digital format. Visit FCC – Digital TV – www.dtv.gov for more information.
Q. Will digital-to-analog converter boxes used to convert over-the-air digital TV broadcasts for viewing on analog TV sets also convert digital closed captioning?
A. Yes. FCC rules require that digital-to-analog converter boxes be able to convert over-the-air digital closed captioning so that analog TV sets can decode and display them. Most converter boxes also have the capability to decode and display the captions themselves, meaning that the viewer could use the settings on the converter box or a button on the converter box remote to turn on the captions.
For more information:
www.fcc.gov/guides/closed-captioning-and-digital-analog-converter-boxes
Q. How do I access descriptions on my TV?
A. Descriptions of a program’s visual elements added to the standard sound track of some programs provide access to television and other video programming for people who are blind or have low vision.
To access descriptions, you need either a TV or VCR equipped with stereo and the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) capability — all of which became standard after 1992 — or a stand-alone SAP receiver. Descriptions are only available on a limited number of programs, so check local listings and network or local station websites.
TV or VCR: Activate the SAP feature through the TV’s remote control or on-screen menu. It is sometimes labeled “MTS,” (Multi-channel Television Sound), which provides a choice of SAP, mono or stereo.
Stand-alone SAP receiver: Simply tune it to the channel that broadcasts the description soundtrack.
Digital set top box (STB): use the STB’s remote or on-screen menu to select the described audio source.
Digital-to-analog converter box: Use either the remote that comes with the converter box or the TV to access the SAP option.
You Can also see the following FCC Advisories for more information:
www.fcc.gov/guides/video-descriptions-and-digital-television-transition www.fcc.gov/guides/digital-analog-converter-box-features
