Closed Captioning
Closed Captioning on TV: How does it work?
Posted April 24th, 2008 by inchChances are that you have accidentally hit the closed captioning button on your remote control before. If so, you have an idea of what closed captioning is all about. Generally speaking, this is when words are displayed on the screen so individuals who cannot hear can still enjoy the television. With that being said, closed captioning is not something that happens automatically. In other words, there is a lot that goes into this process.
For live television programs, an operator transcribes the words that are spoken using a stenotype. Believe it or not, this method has been in use since the 1970’s, and has been proven accurate and beneficial for many years. Of course, not all of television is live. There are many programs that are prerecorded. In this case, the captions are prepared well in advance.