Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 At 01:05 2/9/2000 -0800, you wrote: > > >Just a quick question....my 6 yr old has chosen to >start using captioning while watching TV. I've noticed >that on quite a few of the movies he has, the >captioning is horrific. Can someone possible point me >in the direction for finding out about correcting this >type of problem or such...Or is it not the tape but >the encoder in the TV?? My wheels are a'turning now! If you are getting little white rectangles instead of text, then the problem is in the signal, getting a better antenna would probably help. However, my opinion, after watching captioned tv for several months is that, in general, the captions are really crappy. I'm especially disgusted with shows like Sesame Street in which the text of the captions means approx. the same thing as what is being said, but is actually totally different language. I've seen programs with AWFUL captioning, horrible misspelling and lots of wrong words to the point where the captions make no sense. Videos usually have better captioning than programs. I understand that all DVD's are captioned, but I don't have one so I don't know about the quality of those. Barbara Handley " Shouting to make your children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 > >Low signal strength is one cause, but it can also be a problem with the >downlinked signal from your affiliate, or the cable/dish company's >switching center, or your town's cable head end. Log a complaint. Let them >figure it out. Lots of the time, with cable, it's your local loop and/or >house wiring. With a dish system, it can often be atmospheric conditions. Guess I revealed my low tech connection to the world. I have neither cable nor a dish, just an old-fashioned antenna. >Real time captioning is expensive, and the base of experience is thin >compared to the demand. This I know, but I've also seen inexcusable captions on pre-recorded programs. I've also noticed that ads have the most precise captions of anything. Barbara Handley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 Hi : I've used captioning for many years. If you are using a tape/VCR, usually the captioning is messed up because of the tracking. Check the VCR remote for a tracking button and adjust it up or down while you are viewing the tape. It may take a minute or two to get it adjusted. Let me know if this works, it should! :-) a lisa johansen wrote: > > > Just a quick question....my 6 yr old has chosen to > start using captioning while watching TV. I've noticed > that on quite a few of the movies he has, the > captioning is horrific. Can someone possible point me > in the direction for finding out about correcting this > type of problem or such...Or is it not the tape but > the encoder in the TV?? My wheels are a'turning now! > > J. > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 Chris: My VCR is only 4-5 years old and it has an automatic tracking feature which I assume is the autocalibration you are referring to, but you can also adjust the tracking manually and it usually does the trick. > a, > > I don't know how old your VCR is, but most modern models have > eliminated > the tracking knob/button in favor of autocalibration. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 At 04:36 PM 2/9/00 -0500, you wrote: > > >Hi : > >I've used captioning for many years. If you are using a tape/VCR, >usually the captioning is messed up because of the tracking. Check the >VCR remote for a tracking button and adjust it up or down while you are >viewing the tape. It may take a minute or two to get it adjusted. Let me >know if this works, it should! :-) a, I don't know how old your VCR is, but most modern models have eliminated the tracking knob/button in favor of autocalibration. , If you are having problems with CC over cable or dish, then log a complaint with your provider. This can be fixed, and it's usually not your problem. Chris << Christofer deHahn..................Manager, EDA Systems and Test >> << Quantum Corporation...........Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 At 02:28 PM 2/9/00 +0000, you wrote: > > >At 01:05 2/9/2000 -0800, you wrote: > > > > > >Just a quick question....my 6 yr old has chosen to > >start using captioning while watching TV. I've noticed > >that on quite a few of the movies he has, the > >captioning is horrific. Can someone possible point me > >in the direction for finding out about correcting this > >type of problem or such...Or is it not the tape but > >the encoder in the TV?? My wheels are a'turning now! > >If you are getting little white rectangles instead of text, then the >problem is in the signal, getting a better antenna would probably help. Low signal strength is one cause, but it can also be a problem with the downlinked signal from your affiliate, or the cable/dish company's switching center, or your town's cable head end. Log a complaint. Let them figure it out. Lots of the time, with cable, it's your local loop and/or house wiring. With a dish system, it can often be atmospheric conditions. >However, my opinion, after watching captioned tv for several months is >that, in general, the captions are really crappy. > >I'm especially disgusted with shows like Sesame Street in which the text of >the captions means approx. the same thing as what is being said, but is >actually totally different language. I've seen programs with AWFUL >captioning, horrible misspelling and lots of wrong words to the point where >the captions make no sense. Real time captioning is expensive, and the base of experience is thin compared to the demand. >Videos usually have better captioning than programs. I understand that all >DVD's are captioned, but I don't have one so I don't know about the quality >of those. DVD's do not have captions, they are called subtitles. They appear without a black box, rather they are words on the screen, just like a subtitled movie with spoken dialog in a different language. They also do not scroll vertically like captions, and are often available in multiple languages. One neat trick that widescreen formatted DVDs use is to put the subtitles in the letterbox, the black bars above and below the picture. That is, unless you have a widescreen HDTV-ready tv, in which case there's no black bars, and the subtitles are on top of the picture. Chris enjoying his w i d e s c r e e n hdtv << Christofer deHahn..................Manager, EDA Systems and Test >> << Quantum Corporation...........Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2000 Report Share Posted February 9, 2000 At 05:21 PM 2/9/00 +0000, you wrote: > > > > > > >Low signal strength is one cause, but it can also be a problem with the > >downlinked signal from your affiliate, or the cable/dish company's > >switching center, or your town's cable head end. Log a complaint. Let them > >figure it out. Lots of the time, with cable, it's your local loop and/or > >house wiring. With a dish system, it can often be atmospheric conditions. > >Guess I revealed my low tech connection to the world. I have neither cable >nor a dish, just an old-fashioned antenna. > > >Real time captioning is expensive, and the base of experience is thin > >compared to the demand. > >This I know, but I've also seen inexcusable captions on pre-recorded programs. > >I've also noticed that ads have the most precise captions of anything. Because they're not real-time. Also, they're not required by law, so any captions you see on a commercial is a gift from the advertiser. Chris << Christofer deHahn..................Manager, EDA Systems and Test >> << Quantum Corporation...........Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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