People who live with challenges appreciate the ADA every day, but this anniversary was special, because it also marked the passage of another important piece of legislation.

On July 26, 2010, the U. S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3101, commonly dubbed the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. Legislators recognized the need for further changes in the communications industry, with a landslide vote of 348 to 23.

Although this bill still has many crucial steps to make before it is signed into law, the overwhelming vote for H.R. 3101 shows that our government leaders recognize the need to update accessibility laws to accommodate citizens living in the 21st century.

Where the ADA provided physical necessities like ramps on sidewalks and into buildings, and easier access to transportation, H.R. 3101 puts people with individuals in touch with all of the new technology that has become so essential in American life. With this new legislation, materials on the internet and in video will become much more accessible to those who have hearing loss.

H.R. 3101 was authored, introduced and championed by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). The bill, if passed, would require television programs that are captioned for broadcast to be captioned when viewed over the internet, as well. The resolution would also lead to hearing-aid compatibility over internet-based telephone, improved relay services and funding, access to internet-based services and equipment, and requirements that would increase video description services for television broadcast.

The resolution has received bi-partisan support in the House, and has now gone to the U. S. Senate for a vote. The legislation has received ample support so far, but that doesn’t mean that it will pass with no opposition, or that its success is necessarily guaranteed. It is essential for advocates of H.R. 3101 to contact their legislators and voice their support of equal access for all.

You can make your opinion known by writing, calling, faxing, or emailing your two U. S. Senators. Contact information for all senators, including phone, e-mail and snail mail addresses, can be found at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

Tell your U. S. Senators to vote for H.R. 3101 – the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, and help make technology more accessible to all.

Let’s say you work for years and your company invest lots of money to take a spark of an idea and make it reality. You create a video to tell the world about your wonderful product, and you hope the video will go viral and that everyone in the world will want to buy your product, right now.

You post it, and once your baby has left your hands and is out in the wide world of the internet, voice recognition technology puts its two cents in. It takes your dream, labels it with a bunch of inaccurate captions, and the only attention you’re getting is side-splitting laughter from the millions of people who receive your video as a funny forward.

Last year, YouTube brought voice recognition online, and used the technology to automatically caption millions of videos on the hugely popular internet channel. That’s great for viewers, especially those with hearing loss, right? Yeah, not in all cases.

We applaud the fact that YouTube when out on a limb to provide viewers with new voice-recognition captions, however, it is impossible for software to be accurate all the time. As a result, examples of seriously incorrect captions have flooded the internet.

Viewers watching an episode of the PBS series “Sid the Science Kid” heard the alphabet song. But those watching the subtitles saw “a B C D E F G a giant day an enemy and he laughed and he made me now the US black and scene.” Hello, how am I supposed to learn to spell my name using that alphabet?

An interview segment from a trade show caught a spokesman talking about Windows 7. The auto-captioning had him saying, “The good news is that they want a more reliable of racism they want.” OK, am I supposed to believe that my computer has been making fun of my ancestry behind my back? I hope not.

Macintosh is known for technical innovation, but the video introducing the company’s new operating system, Snow Leopard, read “you know this is is more monkeys and transplant patients have mental Clinton’s aides to Obama.” Of course, I can’t be positive, but I’m guessing that’s not the message Mac wanted to send to its customers.

What about you? When your company places a sales, promotional, or training video online, what message do you want to send? And how can you be sure that when potential customers search for what you’re selling, they’ll be directed to your doorstep?

Accurate captions keep your work (and your product) from turning into a joke, but they also make a big difference when it comes to the effectiveness of internet searches. A client searching for the hot new Mac OS probably won’t be Googling Clinton or Obama, or with any luck, mental patients.

Accurate text in the video means your search engine optimization factor, or SEO, shoots up like a rocket. Better information for the search engines means a higher placement and better ranking, which will lead your audience right to you. With accurate text in the video, people searching will be more likely to land on your video.

A professional captioning company can create accurate and useful captions that will bring respect instead of giggles, and help boost your worth when it comes to internet searches.

YouTube is a cultural phenomenon that isn’t going away any time soon, and there’s no reason every business person shouldn’t consider using it – to create a buzz, to create an image, to provide demo videos and tech support. But leaving the captions up to a technology that’s still in its infancy might not be the best choice. When it comes to your livelihood, best to do what your clients do – go to the experts and let them do their thing.

After doing my own personal survey, I have realized that most people don’t have a good understanding of the basic types of captions. Sure, everyone is familiar with them at some level, but many people don’t understand the different types and uses of captions, and why captions are set up the way they are.

So if you’ve ever wondered why captions are done a certain way, or if you just want to show off your superior captioning knowledge at your next company picnic, keep on reading.

Subtitles

To set the record straight, subtitles are not captions.  However, I’ve included them here because it is important to understand what makes them different from captions.

Closed captions were developed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing audience to be able to read along with the TV program they are watching.  The technology allows captions to be “encoded” into the video signal and transmitted over the air (or played from tape) to the viewer’s home.  A “decoder” chip installed in the viewer’s TV set (or set-top box) allows the captions to be turned on or off.  Usually, the text has white letters on a black background and can be placed in many different areas of the screen.  Closed captioning technology has been around for many years and is now required on almost all broadcast TV programs.

Subtitles are a little different.  They were developed to allow the viewer to read text translated from a foreign language.  They could be presented in a wide array of font and color combinations and almost never have a black background.  The text is not encoded into the video signal, so there is no way to turn them on or off using a TV set decoder. The introduction of DVD changed that slightly. Subtitles used in DVD or Blu-ray can be turned on or off from the DVD menu. In addition, DVD and Blu-ray usually offer the viewer the choice of watching subtitles in one of multiple languages.

Captioning is a different thing altogether, and there are two captioning methods widely in use today.

Roll-up Captioning

Just like this term implies, the captions roll up the screen line by line.  Usually two or three lines of text are displayed on the screen at a time, either at the top or bottom of the screen.  Because this is the most basic form of captions, a simple double chevron is often used to indicate speaker changes (>>) and only minimal sound effect descriptions are included.

This type of captioning is used for all live event broadcasts and some post-production broadcasts that have few speaker changes. Roll-up captions are a very popular style for broadcast because this style is more economical and requires less time to produce and format.  The downside to roll-up captions is that they are often harder to follow. As the captions roll by, it may become difficult to comprehend details such as speaker changes and sound effects when they occur in quick succession.

Pop-on Captioning

This is the most descriptive form of captions.  The text “pops” on and off the screen in sync with the audio.  Each caption usually consists of two or three lines of text and is carefully placed on the screen to avoid covering graphics and faces while also identifying the speaker.  Sound effect description is also included in the pop-on style.

Pop-on captions are the easiest to read and comprehend, but the process of creating them is much more detailed, time intensive, and more of a financial burden for small broadcasters.

No matter which method is used, captioning itself proves to be a useful tool, and one viewers will appreciate, whatever their reasons for using the captioning.

**Note: The statements made about closed captions refer to CEA-608 Line 21 captioning.  CEA-708 captions that are created for ATSC digital streams have a wide range of additional features that we have not attempted to explore in this article.

The Federal Communications Commission has made it easier for the public to report captioning problems – problems that broadcasters might otherwise not know are happening.

People who use closed captioning, especially those with a hearing loss, depend on captions to get the information they need and the entertainment they want. Television is much more accessible than it used to be, but problems still exist. Garbled captions, misplaced captions that cover names or other important information, or captions that are missing altogether – all are concerns for the hard-of-hearing community.

Users report that song lyrics are sometimes missing, replaced with a single musical note. Sometimes captions don’t match what is actually being said, and the content may be drastically shortened instead of being written out verbatim. Punctuation is another problem that can go hand in hand with this.

For instance, a hypothetical government official apologizes for embezzling money, and announces he has decided to put himself into exile in France. The caption: I’m sorry I decided to move to France. In this example, the meaning changes significantly.

Other problems include captions that are misspelled, changing the meaning entirely. Online (live) captioners have to keep up with lighting-fast speakers, sometimes several of them, so they use a shorthand machine like a court stenographer. The shorthand symbols are decoded by another machine, and words that aren’t recognized are turned into the closest phonetic equivalent.

The famously misheard Jimi Hendrix lyrics come to mind: “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” Yeah, it was the sky, not a guy, and again communication breaks down.

Program producers and viewers want these problems solved, but those who broadcast the shows often don’t know that a problem exists.

The FCC has developed a new system to help bring captioning problems to light. Under the new rules, viewers who have a complaint can contact the station where the problem was seen, or contact the FCC, which will forward the report to the broadcaster, cable company or satellite provider.

Simple problems can be fixed within minutes, if consumers call or e-mail right away. Some people may decide to contact broadcasters later, but the new rules state that complaints must be made within 60 days of the captioning problem. Then the program producer has 30 days to respond to the complaint.

How To Contact The FCC:

Online
File your complaint using the FCC Complaint Form.

Email
File your complaint by email to fccinfo@fcc.gov

Fax
1-866-418-0232

Letter
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

Phone
1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (ET)

Sometimes faith-based organizations are strapped for cash and so they put captioning on the back burner. Many provide captioning only when it is mandated by law. Many others consider it as an undue burden to provide captioning for their TV program or internet media. But in doing so, they alienate viewers who really need and desire access to the church’s message, and more importantly, God. Ruling out captions essentially walls off the entire deaf and hard of hearing population as unimportant!

Adding captions to evangelistic programming brings that extra bit of encouragement and steadiness into the lives of people with hearing loss. Many shut-ins rely on religious programming, and many of these people also have difficulty hearing. Because they cannot get out of the house, their favorite weekly local church broadcast may be all the church they get.

The faithful are called to spread the word, and captioning makes that more achievable. Churches and non-profits may consider the same prospective for their web-based communications. Hearing–impaired individuals can read the newsletter and get information from a flier, but without closed captioning, they miss out on a recorded sermon or an inspirational video about a new ministry opportunity.

Both television and Internet programming can reach people who are too far away to attend your church, or who live in remote areas where there isn’t an accessible church. In this situation, technology opens up doors not only for the hearing-impaired, but for speakers of other languages.

It’s not easy to balance a budget, especially when your project is sharing resources with a dozen other ministries. But don’t write off captioning as an unnecessary luxury. It’s a valuable tool, and worth every penny; because it helps you reach those people who are waiting out there for someone to tap them on the shoulder and invite them to follow.

The benefits are huge!

HD Workflow

In an HD environment, the captions can be added to the VANC.  This means that the program can be exported to tape with true HD (CEA-708) captions without the use of an external encoder. HD encoders usually cost about $7,500, so this represents a tremendous savings over purchasing an encoder. Because the captions can be exported right in the edit suite, all your files for captioning can be transferred over the Internet—no more “overnight” tape shipments, and no more shipping related costs or delays when a shipment is misrouted.

SD Workflow

Adding Line 21 (CEA-608) captions to your SD project can now be easily done right from the FCP7 print to tape or edit to tape menu. The key advantage over other methods is ability to do this without rendering, resulting in several recouped hours per program.

How it works

The show is edited as usual in the Final Cut Pro edit suite. Once the show is complete, the editor renders a preview file to send to the captioning firm. Once the captions have been created, the file is e-mailed back to the editor.  The editor selects the file inside the print to tape or edit to tape menus and masters the final program to tape.

This new technology was developed through the cooperative effort of AJA, Final Cut Pro and CPC. Final Cut Pro does not offer a direct way to create and format captions for broadcast, so it is very common for producers to utilize the help of a closed captioning firm to complete this task. Currently, this technology is limited to captioning firms who offer captions created on CPC software. When selecting a firm, it is important to look at quality, cost, experience and turn-around time. Forging a partnership with a firm that can provide just the right mix will mean a savings in time and money for the program producers, and an excellent finished product.

Before the game ever happened, we were excited to hear that the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) had worked extensively with the NFL and CBS to encourage advertisers to caption their ads.   The NAD stated, “As a result of these efforts, viewers should notice an increased number of captioned commercials compared to previous Super Bowls.” [read more]

The captioning of 30 second advertisements is not required by law, so any spot that is captioned is done because the company sees value in reaching a greater audience through captioning.

Every year, people in the deaf and hard of hearing community watch and count the number of sponsors who do not caption.  Their point is pretty simple.  If an advertiser is able to spend the reported $2.8 million in airtime on one spot, they surely can afford the hundreds of dollars it would cost to caption it.  Many will then share their findings through networking sites and blogs.  They will also contact the companies to let them know that there is a need for accessibility — even if it is only for a 30 second ad.

From the stats we’ve seen, around 70% of the advertisements during Super Bowl XLIV were captioned.  Of course, this number will vary slightly by market as local stations were also allowed to independently sell specific times during the broadcast.  Overall, 70% is not bad, and it does show improvement over the past years; but it also leaves us wondering why 30% still were not captioning.

For the advertiser, captioning during the Super Bowl, or anytime for that matter, makes sense.  There are 36 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States who rely on captions.  Add to that number the amount of people watching TV from a bar or restaurant, and it’s obvious that a significant portion of their audience is missing their message if captions aren’t included.  Cost isn’t a factor; with millions spent on production and airtime, the costs of captioning are minuscule.

The most likely reason that the Super Bowl experience is not 100% captioned from start to finish is a lack of understanding of the need.  It’s great that the NAD is doing their part.  Consider doing your part, also.  Start making note of advertisements that are missing captions and then contact the companies sponsoring those ads.  With enough continual viewer feedback, advertisers will get the message.

Captions are also widely used in public places where noise or other distractions make them a welcome addition. Health clubs, restaurants, bars and airports all make use of captions, allowing people to stay plugged in while they are socializing, working out, or waiting for their flight to be announced.

It is in these environments that the majority of hearing citizens are exposed to captions. Public caption use is becoming such a part of our culture that government is getting in on the act. There is a bill in the works that could require bars in Maryland to display captions on all televisions [read more].  Some legislators want captions on all sets, while others think captions should be turned on only when requested. In either case, most of the legislators seem to agree that it is important to make captions available for those who need them.

If you have a profound hearing loss, there’s no question that you need captions. But beyond the issue of need, there are a few things captions can do that benefit society as a whole.

It’s not too surprising when you think about it, but captions are an excellent learning tool.  Research has shown improvement in motivation, reading comprehension and vocabulary when hearing children are shown text captions along with audio and video. Just like “word walls” that are so highly recommended in schools throughout our country, captioning continues that text-rich environment of the classroom, and carries it to each child’s TV time. Using captions mimics the techniques used in educational videos, but instead of learning just colors and numbers, a child can discover new vocabulary in anything that comes across your TV set — words that pertain to sports, economics, geography or far-away cultures.

Captions also benefit hearing adults who are trying to learn a new language. The ability to see the spoken word in films, television and Internet videos greatly increases retention of new words and their meanings. When we see the written words, it is much easier to pick up on connections between our native language and the new words, cementing these language lessons in our minds. The great part is that the learning happens almost effortlessly.

Captions are a great tool for both the hearing and the hard-of-hearing communities. Try it out for yourself.  During family TV time, turn on the captions and see the difference it makes in your kid’s reading and comprehension. Next time you rent a DVD, turn on the subtitles in Spanish or French. You’ll be amazed at what you learn!

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, many product developers seem to forget to build-in caption accessibility.  We’ve heard countless comments and complaints about the lack of captioning on Netflix, internet videos and other new technologies.  Regardless of the reasons, captions seem to easily get overlooked as new products are rushed to market.

That’s why we were pleasantly surprised to see that the new Apple iPad has built-in support for captioning.  Although this is only one little item in the product’s spec sheet, it shows that Apple cares and understands the importance of giving accessibility to everyone.

The iPad looks like an oversized iPhone or iPod Touch and features a 9.7’ LCD screen.  In addition to watching captioned videos, the iPad features include gaming, email, photos, contacts, maps, music and e-books.  Prices will range between $499 and $829.

For generations, tape and video have worked hand in hand.  Since the very first video picture was seen on a black and white monitor, we’ve needed a way to record and store the images we create. Live shots are great, but when we developed the ability to play them back later, we opened the door to tremendous freedom and creativity.

So in the early 1950’s, videotape recordings began. Since then, videotape has changed in many ways. As the technology of tape (and recording methods) evolved, the quality increased and the size of the tape decreased.  Any veteran of TV production can recall the whirl of 2” reel-to-reel Quad machines as they shuttled to their next cue. Compare that to today’s mini-DV tapes that can hold an entire hour of video in a pocket-sized shell, and it’s like another world.

Each new leap seems like we’ve finally reached perfection, but the progress doesn’t stop. Technology is once again changing the way we record, store, and play back our media.  Since video has transitioned into the digital realm, the ability to store gigabits of ones and zeros on ever-evolving media is growing rapidly.

The reasons are pretty obvious. High capacity media like hard disks, thumb drives and SD cards are much more affordable than tape. They are also faster – instead of copying footage in real-time, digital storage allows transfer of files at much higher speeds. Speaking of saving time, when the media is in a digital file form, media can now be edited immediately—goodbye capturing. And of course, there’s no need to purchase expensive equipment like extra VTRs.

Several years ago, a client came to me with a question that made us think outside the box.  He’s a small producer, airing in a couple local markets.  He hasn’t invested in the expensive TV gear, but his station required the show be delivered in BetacamSP.  It wasn’t long after talking with him that we worked out a solution so he could deliver his shows to us on a hard disk.  We took care of everything else: closed-captioning, duplication to BetacamSP, and fulfillment to the TV station.

In that moment, I realized that the old mindset of tape was soon going to be replaced.  Sure enough, it wasn’t long before I began noticing other tapeless solutions develop.  From Sony’s XD-CAM to the AJA Ki Pro to Panasonic P2, one look at today’s marketplace and you’ll see that tape is “old news” for acquisition.

By this point, maybe you’re asking what this has to do with closed captioning. To be honest, it has more to do with how content will be delivered to stations in the future. I think that this revolution we are experiencing with acquisition, editing, and storage will soon migrate over to station playout, as well.  I’ve heard reports of some stations already beginning to accept delivery of programming on a hard disk or thumb drive.  I also foresee that as available Internet bandwidth increases, stations will begin accepting full-length programs via FTP.

As we witnessed in the audio industry, the days of the videotape may be numbered.  Production and program delivery of today and of the future will require new tricks and new ways to be effective, accurate and efficient. When it comes to your productions, make sure your entire team is ready to adapt, because before you know it, even our most familiar tools will be a thing of the past.