FCC closed captioning changes | What the Tech?

FCC closed captioning changes | What the Tech?

The FCC will soon require certain changes to closed captioning that will help people deaf, hard of hearing or just having a hard time hearing the dialogue in programming.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Millions of people in the U.S. watch programs with closed captioning on and the FCC is making changes to make it easier for people to use it.

The new order requires manufacturers of TVs, streaming devices, and set-top boxes to make it easier to find and customize closed-captioning settings. Giving viewers greater control over the display.

For example, if you have TVs of different brands, their closed-captioning settings are in different places in their menu.

And, just because you turn on subtitles in the TV settings, they don’t always display if you switch to a streaming device or channel. You have to go into those settings to make changes.

This LG TV allows customization of the color, font, and size of the subtitles. This Samsung TV does not.

The FCC order for closed captioning changes will require manufacturers to make closed captioning settings “readily accessible”.

Good news for the 48 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. And good news for everyone else who just wants to know what the actors are saying.

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