Closed
Captioning and Open Captioning are both coded through the
television monitor as opposed to the DVD player. Closed Captioning
is white text enclosed in a black box. Open Captioning is white text
that is not enclosed. The DVD program on my computer uses OC,
whereas my television set uses CC. The one disadvantage of OC is it
can be hard to see if the background is lighter. CC is much more
common, probably for that reason.
You
turn on the captions through your TV's menu. Since everyone's TV is
different, a tutorial on how to turn on the captions would be pretty
pointless. If you're starting to develop hearing loss and want to
start using captions, take a look at the instruction manual for your
TV. If you didn't keep it, you can probably find instructions
online. Once you turn the captions on, they will stay turned on
unless you manually turn them back off. When your TV is in CC mode,
captions will go on automatically for DVDs, shows, and commercials
that are captioned.
SDH
(Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing): SDH
is coded through the DVD player instead of the TV. It looks a lot
like Open Captions. The text is usually white, but sometimes it's
yellow. DVD's that don't have CC usually have SDH. Some have both.
If I have a choice, I choose CC because, again, it gives you more
contrast against lighter backgrounds.
Subtitles:
The huge difference between
subtitles and captions or SDH is what's in the text. The intention
of subtitles is to make a movie accessible to a hearing person who
speaks a different language. Often, they are not word-for-word, and
they don't have sound effects that a person with hearing loss might
miss, such as a knock at the door, a scream off-stage, etc. I'll use
subtitles in a pinch when there are no other options, but they are
not the same thing as captions or SDH.
How
to tell if a DVD has captions or SDH: The
CC or SDH icon will be on the back or spine of the DVD case. The
“CC” is usually encased in a little TV symbol or a thick square.
The “SDH” letters are sometimes in a box, but usually they're
just by themselves. They often have an asterisk with the explanation
of “subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing” at the bottom of
the case.
If
you've ever watched a movie with me, you've seen me check the DVD
case to make sure it's captioned. This is what I'm looking for.
The
legislation regarding what has to be captioned is a bit complicated.
I'll have to do more research and go into more details in another
post. But here's the short version: In the US, movies produced for
entertainment purposes need to have CC or SDH by law. Special
features do not. Documentaries also are not required to have
captions. PBS puts captions on all their stuff, thankfully.
Needless to say, the lack of captions on non-PBS documentaries made
college a living nightmare!
If
you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment! :)
