Closed Captioned
Captions, accessibility and web multimedia
Captions, accessibility and web multimedia
Video content is more prevalent on the web than ever. Users are demanding that the content of the web be more exciting, interactive and useful.
As the functionality of the web increases people are finding more and more uses for using the Internet and accessing its content. Video in particular is being increasingly popular for distance learning, promotional interests, and entertainment and is now a significant part of overall web content offering. For those users who are deaf or hard of hearing, accessibility to video and audio content remains an issue. Captions and transcripts are used to give these users access to the material within the videos.
Open and Closed Captions
Captions can be either open or closed. Open captions are those which are part of the encoded media itself, they cannot be disabled and are always shown when the video is played. Closed captions may be optionally displayed and are not part of the media visual media itself. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types.
Because closed captions are not a separate part of the media, they can be accessed and indexed by the search engines separately. Currently the search engines are not able to index video media itself and so having the content captured in a separate data files in the form of closed caption text allows access allows the search engines to index the material which would not otherwise be possible. Closed captioning however places a burden of responsibility on the viewer for accessing the captions. In addition the capabilities of the software that is used to display the video may all may not permit the showing of captions.
Open captions however are always displayed when the video is shown so this burden of responsibility is taken away from the user. However because the captions form part of the media itself they will not be indexed in the search engines. A further disadvantage of open captioning is that it does suffer from a reduction in quality when the encoded video is compressed.
Captioning Guidelines
Wherever captions are used there are guidelines on the format that should be followed. These include:
1 The captions should be synchronised with the text content audio content
2 The caption should provide equivalent content and convey the same meaning as the audio
3 The captions should be readily accessible to the user.
Multimedia technologies and captioning
The primary technologies for online video today include Macromedia flash, Windows media player, QuickTime from Apple and RealPlayer from RealNetworks. Regrettably there is no fully standardised format used across each of these technologies however there are many similarities. The formatting and presentation of captions used in these multimedia technologies includes a file to control the layout and presentation of the caption and another to hold the captions themselves while some technologies may use both others combine the two functions into the one file.
QuickTime
QuickTime uses two files. A synchronised multimedia integration language (SMIL) file controls the layout and presentation while a separate text track file stores the captions themselves together with their timings.
RealPlayer
Similar to QuickTime, RealPlayer uses and SMIL and a separate text file to store the captions and timings.
Windows media player
Windows media player incorporates captioning into one file called synchronised accessible media interchange (SAMI)
Macromedia flash
Macromedia flash uses a timed text file that details the captions, timing and presentation.
About the Author
James Evanns
Articles, Captions, Transcripts for Web Accessibility and SEO
http://www.seotranscript.com
james.evanns@seotranscript.com
H1N1 (Swine Flu) – Closed Captioned
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Housekeeping (VHS, 1988, Closed Captioned) $20.00 |
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Chances Are (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) $2.00 |
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Sniper (VHS, 1993, Closed Captioned) $2.00 |
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Goodfellas (VHS, 1991, Closed Captioned) $0.50 |
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“Starship Troopers” (VHS, 1998, Widescreen Version; Closed Captioned) $4.50 |
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Urban Legend (VHS, 1999, Closed Captioned) $5.25 |
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Drowning Mona (DVD, 2000, Closed Captioned; Widescreen) $2.00 |
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The Fisher King (VHS, 1992, Closed Captioned) $4.99 |
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (VHS, 1998, Closed Captioned) $2.99 |
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Little Women (VHS, 1995, Closed Captioned) $0.99 |
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NEW! : On the Waterfront : Restored Version; Closed Captioned : Marlon Brando $1.99 |
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Hush (DVD, 1998, Closed Captioned; Subtitled and Dubbed $4.99 |
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Whatever It Takes (DVD, 2000, Closed Captioned) $7.99 |
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The Devil’s Own (DVD, 1998, Closed Captioned) Movie $6.99 |
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Never Talk to Strangers (DVD, 1999, Closed Captioned) $3.39 |
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The Replacement Killers (DVD, 1998, Closed Captioned) $1.49 |
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Dogma (VHS, 2000, Closed Captioned) Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino $2.75 |
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula (VHS, 1998, Closed Captioned) $4.49 |
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A River Runs Through It (VHS, 1993, Closed Captioned) $3.49 |
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A River Runs Through It (DVD, 1999, Anamorphic Widescreen; Closed Captioned) $4.00 |
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The Daytrippers (DVD, 2000, Closed Captioned) $18.29 |
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The 13th Floor (VHS, 1999, Closed Captioned) $3.99 |
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The Mask of Zorro (VHS, 1998, Closed Captioned) $1.09 |
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Heidi (VHS 1937) NEW,FACTORY SEALED,CLOSED CAPTIONED $19.50 |
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Dogma (VHS, 2000, Closed Captioned) $2.99 |
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Steel Magnolias (DVD, 2000, Closed Captioned; Multiple Languages) $2.75 |
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First Knight (VHS, 1995, Closed Captioned) NEW, Sealed $3.63 |
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Sex, Lies and Videotape (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) $1.99 |
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My Girl (VHS, 1992, Closed Captioned) $7.00 |
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Chances Are (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) $2.00 |
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The Slingshot (VHS, 1995, Closed Captioned) Rare/OOP! Coming of age. NOT ON DVD! $10.00 |
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The Borrowers (VHS, 1998, Closed Captioned) $2.00 |
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Only You (VHS, 1995, Closed Captioned) $0.99 |
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Only You (VHS, 1995, Closed Captioned) $0.99 |
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Devil in a Blue Dress (VHS, 1996, Closed Captioned) $0.99 |
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White Nights (VHS, 1991, Closed Captioned) pre viewed sealed $6.49 |
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Me Myself I (DVD, 2000, Closed Captioned) Comedy -NEW DVD $3.99 |
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The Suburbans (VHS, 2000, Closed Captioned) $8.17 |
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Henry Fool (VHS, 1999, Closed Captioned) $21.05 |
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Screamers (VHS, 1996, Closed Captioned) PETER WELLER, JENNIFER RUBIN, RARE, EPIC $1.99 |
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The Criminal Mind VHS, 1996, Closed Captioned Ben Cross $6.98 |
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Les Miserables (VHS, 1998, Closed Captioned) $8.00 |
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The Karate Kid (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) Ralph Macchio Pat Morita $1.99 |
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Someone to Watch Over Me (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) $9.98 |
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Boyz N the Hood (VHS, 1992, Closed Captioned) $2.50 |
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Donnie Brasco (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) JOHNNY DEPP – ROBERT DENIRO – NICE!! $6.00 |
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Dance With Me (VHS, 1999, Closed Captioned) – MINT!! $5.00 |
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Evertz 9084 HD Closed Captioned Encoder – by owner $0.99 |
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The Bishop’s Wife (VHS, 1997, Closed Captioned) $4.00 |
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Storyville (VHS, 1993, Closed Captioned) $7.50 |
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Gaiam Abs Ball Workout Kit (Color May Vary) $26.44 The Gaiam Abs Ball Kit is a great tool to strengthen your core and sculpt your abs. This unique two-handled ball is easy to grip, and the weight (8 pounds) is the recommended resistance for optimal torso-reshaping results. The 35-minute guided-workout DVD, which is included in the kit, features seven-time Iron Man triathlete Jonathan Roche who will guide you through two 12-minute workouts (beginne… |
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Dynasty Mandarin Sweet & Sour Seasoning Mix (12×0.90z) $16.99 … |
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Ben 10: The Complete Season 2 $4.42 All 13 second-season episodes–including “Truth,” “Gwen 10,” “The Galactic Enforcers,” “Ghostfreaked Out,” and “Back with a Vengeance”–have been collected in a two-disc set. 5 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish. **13 episodes on 2 discs. 5 hrs.**… |
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Ben 10: The Complete Season 1 $13.25 Average kid Ben Tennyson becomes a host of alien-fighting superheroes with the help of an extraterrestrial device in Ben 10, an engaging and kid-friendly animated series that arrives on DVD with a smattering of extras for series devotees. Ben 10′s basic premise resembles the 1960s and 1980s DC Comic title Dial H for Hero, with affable teen Ben discovering an alien device called the Omnitrix after … |
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Ben 10: The Complete Season 3 $7.33 All 13 third-season episodes–including “Ben 10,000,” “A Change of Face,” “Super Alien Hero Buddy Adventures,” “Monster Weather,” and “The Visitor”–have been collected in a two-disc set. 5 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo, French Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; deleted scenes; photo gallery. **13 episodes on 2… |
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JVC JLC42BC3000 1080p 120Hz Black Crystal Series 42 LCD HD TV $575.99 JVC BlackCrystal JLC42BC3000 42″ LCD TV – 16:9 |
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Akai LCT42Z6TA 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV (Refurbished) $759.99 Enter a world of full HD, with the stunning Akai 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTVAn HDTV is a necessity in any home theaterThis TV features 1080p resolution, the most technologically advanced form of HD resolution currently available |
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Coby LEDTV2326 23 LCD TV $216.99 Coby LEDTV2326 23″ LCD TV |
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NEC Display E322 32 LCD TV – 16:9 – HDTV $437.99 NEC Display E322 32″ LCD TV – 16:9 – HDTV |
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Coby TF-TV3225 32 720p LCD TV – 16:9 – HDTV $279.99 Coby TF-TV3225 32″ 720p LCD TV – 16:9 – HDTV |
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Only You – Closed Caption (DVD) $9.52 In this romantic comedy an engaged woman goes to Italy to find out if the man her Ouija board said she was meant for actually exists. While there she meets and falls in love with a man who claims to be the one, and she must decide whether or not to tru… |
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Godzilla – Closed Caption (DVD) $8.53 Nuclear testing once again awakens the green behemoth. Godzilla demolishes large portions of New York. |
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Go – Closed Caption (DVD) $5.93 SWINGERS director Doug Liman assembles a hip cast in this follow-up to his hit debut. A group of young Californians do drugs, deal drugs, go to raves, have carnal adventures and get in many kinds of trouble over the course of one action-packed night. |
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Hook – Closed Caption (DVD) $8.95 Director Steven Spielberg brings J.M. Barrie`s PETER PAN to the screen with a delightfully modernized twist. Forty-year-old Peter (Robin Williams) has grown up to be a workaholic lawyer with more affection for his cell phone than his wife and two child… |
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Gorgeous – Closed Captioned (DVD) $9.83 International superstar Chan (RUMBLE IN THE BRONX) strikes again with an effervescent, screwball comedy that combines a sweet romantic plot with his trademark action sequences and wit. When hopeless romantic Ah Bu (uber-pixie Shu – SEX AND ZEN II) find… |
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Soul Food: The Series – The Second Season (DVD) $27.7 Closed Caption |
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What Planet Are You From? – Closed Captioned (DVD) $9.12 The comic story of an alien, H-1449-6 (Shandling, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW), sent to Earth to impregnate a human woman as part of a fiendish plot to conquer the Universe. Assuming the identity of Harold Anderson, he attempts to blend into human society (… |
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The Quick and the Dead – Closed Caption (DVD) $7.88 Sharon Stone stars as Ellen, a beautiful gunslinger with a cloudy past. She arrives in the town of Redemption with a bone to pick, namely with one John Herod (Gene Hackman, BONNIE AND CLYDE, THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS), with whom she shares a shady history…. |
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The Orphan Trains – Closed Caption (DVD) $22.71 From 1853 to 1928 over 150,000 orphans were rescued from the streets of New York and sent to 47 states by train. This “American Experience” documentary follows the stories of minister Charles Loring Brace, the founder of the Children`s Aid Society, and… |
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American Experience – Jimmy Carter – Closed Caption (DVD) $16.39 A peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, provided the upbringing for the 39th President of the United States, James Earl Carter, Jr. After spending over a decade in the Navy, this country boy began his political life fighting the corrupt, segregationist south… |
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Striking Distance – Closed Caption (DVD) $8.21 Detective Sgt. Tom Hardy (BRUCE WILLIS) is a maverick cop who has been demoted to “waterdog” — river patrol — because he is convinced the department has convicted the wrong man of a score of serial killings, including that of his father. His reputati… |
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The Nuttiest Nutcracker – Closed Caption (DVD) $6.12 A kooky, original take on the classic musical. Belushi plays Reginald the Mouse, Marin is Mac the Macadamia Nut, and Diller is the Sugar Plum Fairy. |
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Double Platinum – Closed Caption (DVD) $6.92 Two generations of superstars team up in this ABC telefilm in which Diana Ross stars as a superstar mom, driven to abandon her only child (Brandy) for the sake of her career. |
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The Winslow Boy – Closed Captioned (DVD) $19.15 Based on an actual trial that created a media frenzy in WWI-era London, THE WINSLOW BOY might have been conceived as a standard courtroom drama. Instead, director David Mamet (working from the play by Terence Rattigan) focuses on a family pushed to the… |
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Simon Sez – Closed Caption (DVD) $9.18 Interpol agent Simon (Dennis Rodman) is working a case against a vicious arms dealer when he runs into Nick, a CIA flunky attempting to deliver ransom and bring home a wealthy client`s kidnapped daughter. It isn`t long before the two are entwined in a … |