moth@dartmouth.edu (Tom Leathrum) (01/03/90)
Index Number: 6011 I was wandering around a bit in a video store one day, and I started to notice that relatively few tapes were closed-captioned. I also noticed (while I was home for the holidays and had access to cable) that the same holds true of the cable movie channels, not to even mention the special service channels like CNN and Nickelodeon. Does anyone have any hard data comparing different videotape distrubutors and cable services? This seems like an issue that needs to be addressed, and the companies should be contacted. I'd be happy to do something, but I would like to know a bit more of what I'm talking about first. Something definitely needs to be done before Sony gets it videodisc industry rolling (only a matter of time now that they have bought Columbia Pictures). Also, I will probably be tutoring a blind high school student in geometry later this term (starting next month?). I have contacted Raised Dots Computing in Wisconsin to ask for their catalogue -- does anyone have any other suggestions of where I could get some teaching tools to help her out? Regards, Tom Leathrum moth@dartmouth.edu
Neal.Griggs@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Neal Griggs) (01/12/90)
Index Number: 6215
Tom,
As for movies being closed captioned, it is up to the individual companies
distribute the movies in conjunction with the movie companies to decide whether
to close caption a movie or not.
As for CNN or Nicklodeon, there has been talk about closed captioning them but
I haven't heard any more about it. Some cable companies put video processing
equipment in that interfere with the captioning data while some off air stations
don't even bother making sure if their equipment will pass the data. I work at
The Nashville Network at the earth station, the transmit and receive building
between the satellites, and we can pass the closed captioning data with no
alterations to it. We have produced about 3 specials with CC and have the
equipment to CC most any show but don't do it on our regular live or taped
shows.
Maybe if more people wrote in and wanted it we would do it. I have
suggested it several times but it has fallen on deaf ears (no pun intended)
since I am just a lowly engineer....just wait until something breaks and see how
lowly I am (grin).
Neal
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Internet: Neal.Griggs@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.orgAnn.Stalnaker@f14.n385.z1.fidonet.org (Ann Stalnaker) (01/17/90)
Index Number: 6260
Hi, Neal! Hope you don't mind me butting in but I've found that more
and more movies on videocassettes are closed captioned (at least the
most popular ones are) and I believe they are slowly working on the
classics.
I was most surprised to find out that C-Span is closed captioning a
lot of the senate sessions as well as LifeLine and USA. There seems
to be a great demand for more closed captioning and not enough funds,
however, I feel we've come a long way and like everything else, things
don't happen overnight.
I wish more local stations would caption the local news. To me, that
is a top priority. Even though a lot of us receive the local newspapers,
we often have to wait until the next day or receive the news second
hand. GRRRRRR! That's a pet peeve of mine and I'm working on trying
to convince our local station the local news needs to be closed captioned.
We've even written letters and have thought about picketing but it's
hard to get everyone involved.
Guess we can keep hoping we don't have to wait 10 more years to get
the local stations involved.
- Ann
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Internet: Ann.Stalnaker@f14.n385.z1.fidonet.orgJack.O'keeffe.Of.129/26@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Jack O'keeffe Of 129/26) (01/17/90)
Index Number: 6280
AS> I've found that more and more movies on videocassettes are
AS> closed captioned (at least the most popular ones are) and I
AS> believe they are slowly working on the classics.
Ann, are you familiar with the "Complete Closed Caption Video
Catalog" which contains over 1500 descriptions of captioned
movies? It's $3.95 from One Video Place, 405 Lowell Street,
Wakefield, MA 01880.
I wish they would display a STANDARD closed caption symbol more
prominently on the captioned video cassettes. I think there is
a degree of parochialism that has the various captioning agencies
each use their own symbol. ("CC" for the Caption Center; the
funny "[,]" for National Captioning Institute: etc.) Wish they
would get their act together.
Hmmm... I should have posted this in SilentTalk, shouldn't I?
But I was replying to you, and you were replying to Neal . . .
How about you cross-posting some of this if you receive it so
we can get some action going on SilentTalk. You can do that
can't you - you're the SYSOP!
AS> Guess we can keep hoping we don't have to wait 10 more years to
AS> get the local stations involved.
Two of the Pittsburgh local stations, the CBS and the ABC affiliates,
are captioning some of their local news. They are using a system
that takes the captions from the electronic "idiot boards" the
news anchors read. This avoids the MAJOR expense of having a
court reporter for live captioning of the news. In some ways
it seems to work even better than the court reporter system that
the networks use.
Jack.
... Live, from Beaver County, it's . . . .
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