What are the differences between Closed Captions, Subtitles, and Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing?
- Danielle Brown
- William Schneider
- Former user (Deleted)
NOTE: Information about caption and subtitle options for a particular DVD can usually be found in the data grid on the lower back of the DVD jacket:
Closed Captioning
Closed Captioning is FCC mandated for broadcast media and is the least accurate of the 3 choices. It is not mandated on DVDs or Blu-Rays so you will need to look on the DVD case to see if it is available. If CC is encoded on your media, and you are not using a computer, it needs to be turned on in the menu of the TV or projector. CC can be turned on using software, if you are using a computer (image below). Subtitles and SDH are superior in many ways and these are replacing CC on DVDs. CC is not available with HDMI or other digital cables. It is only available from cable or off air TV and from DVD players using the red white and yellow RCA cables.
Subtitles
Subtitles are features on DVDs and Blu-Rays and are turned on from the DVD’s menu. Subtitles are more accurate because they are translated and encoded by humans, not by interpretive software like CC. Subtitles are also available using all the various cables to hook up a DVD player.
Each DVD menu will be different in appearance and language:
On this DVD Languages gets you to the subtitle menu:
Whereas the subtitle menu is completely different on this DVD:
The DVD above has SDH for English and normal subtitles for Spanish.
Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) is the best of the 3 options. It is superior because it adds atmospheric comments like (background chatter) or (music plays) or (loud breathing). It also puts the subtitles on or close to the person who is speaking. If the person speaking isn’t in the frame, or it is a thought instead of spoken word, SDH identifies the person.