Closed captioning is how deaf individuals can read the dialogue on television programming by displaying the text on the lower third of the monitor. The FCC approved the earliest closed captioning directive in 1993. This obliged all analog televisions with monitors more significant than 13 inches sold and manufactured in the US to have an integrated decoder to display closed displays. Congress followed suit several years later with the 1996 decision to require all video programming distributors, including cable TV, broadcasters, and satellite distributors, to close caption their programming.
The FCC added to this decision a year later with a detailed transition calendar that forced all distributors to expand the amount of programming that contained captioning. Lastly, in July 2002, the FCC accepted a second law requiring digital television receivers to include closed captioning display mechanisms.
Being involved in the communications industry while working at the American Movie Company has given me a personal experience of how these decisions have impacted most studio productions. One of these effects has been how video and television productions have adopted the teleprompter.
While most people recognize why closed captioning is valuable, many don’t realize how the teleprompter has a crucial role in conveying closed captioning to your television. There are two sections into which secure captioning systems are divided: On-Line systems and Off-Line systems. This is when the teleprompter becomes involved.
On-Line captioning is the teleprompter-based solution widely used by broadcasters and news stations. In this circumstance, pre-scripted stories are fed from the newsroom automation system to the teleprompter and the closed caption encoder. This data typically does not include closed caption control codes but relies on the encoder inside the monitor to add the correct codes each time an ASCII carriage return is received.
The regard for this kind of system is based on the fact that neither a steno-captioner nor a computer with costly software is necessary. In most instances, the teleprompter system is already on-site, and closed captioning can be added for only the cost of the encoder.
Closed captioning is an exciting field that offers many opportunities for the television broadcaster and the video producer. Hopefully, this introduction will help you to make intelligent decisions when you must elect a caption service provider, procure equipment, or offer information to those who will make these choices.
Not only the impaired are grateful that this standard exists, but also those in other countries who get involved in translations of English-based movies.
It is an absolute lifeline for those who have had to use any teleprompter before. For more information, videos, and articles on teleprompters, click to see more at Teleprompter New York rentals.
