The Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians

L. On-Screen Text

Possible Purposes Include:

Access for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Multi-languages.

On-screen text converts the spoken word and other audio contained in videos, TV programs, web-based multi-media and movies to text.

There are different types of on-screen text. The following three are commonly used.

Subtitling: Subtitles are used to communicate the spoken word in a different language. They can also be used for audiences who are hard of hearing.

Closed Captioning: Closed captioning is the addition of text inserted into the video portion of the signal using an encoder and made visible through the use of a decoder. Television sets with screens larger than 14 inches since 1995 contain a caption decoder chip.

Open Captioning: Open captioning is the decoding of words visible on-screen without the use of a decoder or any assistive device.

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