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Closed Caption/Open Caption Movies

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I’ve avoided movies for years bc of the loudness plus difficulty hearing dialogue. However, after a very pleasant experience taking my grandchildren to see Lion King, I’m interested in seeing more films.
A friend said he thought it was law theaters had to provide cc glasses (?) on request. I’ve attempted to research this but haven’t had too much luck. Also, are there theaters that still show open captioned? From what I’ve read this is preferred by most people, even some normal hearing individuals apparently.
Thanks for any info and/or guidance.

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Edited

Here is the UK, most all cinemas offer open captioned films but they are often at times most unsuited to normal family viewing and has been the bone of contention for many deaf over the years. For example, most captioned showing times are often early afternoon and weekends, very, very rarely any during the evenings when most people finish work. It’s almost as if cinemas don’t think deaf people have jobs or go to work! :thinking:

It’s also been known that sometimes hearing people have got up and complained about the captions and they have switched them off! Quite often they say they cannot be shown due to a fault! :rage:

CC Glasses are not something widely available here in the UK but it has been trialed in a few places.

Because of all the problems mentioned above (and more!) I avoid going to the cinema. I much prefer to watch movies with captions in the comfort of my own home on my big TV. It’s far cheaper, I can choose when to watch, I can choose when to pause when I need a toilet break (something you can’t do at a cinema! :laughing: ), I can eat/drink what I like (also far cheaper) and I don’t end up coming home with a cold, cough or some other virus I’d usually pick up from the spluttering crowds at cinemas. It’s a no-brainer for me! :wink:

Good topic. I didn’t go to movies for years because I only knew about open captions and none of the theatres around me offer that. Found out about the CC devices and have gone a few times since then. It isn’t perfect. One time I missed the first 20 mins cuz I had to find someone to fix it cause it wouldn’t turn on. Mostly it has been a good experience.

In the US, you can find theatres that offer captions at captionfish.com24. It also lists what kind of captions they offer and which movies or movie times of not available for all. Most sites made by the theatre will also list if they have it. You can also call to confirm before heading out.

So far I have only tried the cup holder device. I would like to try the glasses but none of the theaters aroundme offer that version.

I agree it is much simpler and cheaper to watch at home especially with the crazy movie prices now but sometimes it is nice to go out.

My experience with the cup thing was something like this.

There are some movie theatres that offers captioning. I have not seen new movies in years as tickets are 10 dollars or more now. I have not seen which caption devices they use. I have a metropcs cell phone with unlimited data and l get free Amazon Prime membership. In Prime, l watch movies and television shows and all of them are captioned. Most of the movies and tv shows are free.

In the US, any theater using digital projection must provide closed captioning devices, with a few exceptions. Of course whether or not the device works is another story, although failure to maintain the device is an violation.

I have never seen a movie theater with open captions, but that may be do to where I have lived. I also notice that caption fish doesn’t come close to showing all the captioned movies or even theaters near me.

There have been many complaints over the years that theaters play the volume too loud.

@Syncros said:

cup-holder CC units

Interesting. Not seen those before.
Does that mean you have to look up at the screen for the movie and down at the display for the captions all the time? That would drive me bonkers.

@legsmaniac69 said:

Does that mean you have to look up at the screen for the movie and down at the display for the captions all the time? That would drive me bonkers.

No, the idea is that you use the bendy metal arm to postion the CC screen underneath the film, so the captions are in the same field of view.

Edited

Yes, but you’ll be too busy worrying about the whole thing falling onto your neighbour’s lap to watch the movie anyway.

I don’t do caption. I can either watch a movie or I can read the book. I can’t read lips and captions at the same time

In Australia

[/quote]# CaptiView: a raw deal for deaf cinema goers[/quote]

CaptiView: a raw deal for deaf cinema goers – Opinion – ABC Ramp...2

The lastest innovation in cimema access for Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing is proving to be more of a nightmare than an access solution, writes Gary Kerridge.

[/quote]So unpopular are the CaptiViews, that many in the deaf community refer to it as “CraptiView”.[/quote]

How a device dubbed 'CraptiView' is the real movie spoiler for deaf cinemagoers10

Alexandra McKenzie loves watching movies, but a trip to the cinema is usually a frustrating and disappointing experience because of the closed-caption device in her cupholder.

Fully agree. I tried it once. Never again. I actively resist going to the movies these days. A percentage of captioned sessions should be mandated in my opinion.

Interesting and such a shame.

I noted that Ms McKenzie said…
“The ongoing view from the industry is that, ‘patrons will be turned off by seeing captions’, and, ‘patrons will cease attending movies if OC is required’,” Deaf Australia chief executive Kyle Miers said.

“I have always challenged them to prove these statements, but they have not provided any evidence whatsoever.”

Well, she only has to turn to the UK for this evidence.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8649743/Radio-1-DJ-Sara-Cox-in-deaf-cinema-showing-row.html6

To be fair, those who hate subtitles are in the minority. A recent survey found only 10% were against them. Those who do complain though are a real upsetting turnoff when open subtitle screenings are already unreliable and hard to find as it is. In any case, hearing moviegoers in the UK can avoid open subtitled screenings by going at times when subtitles are not shown. And there are plenty of them!

@CrazyInWeston said: (unavailable)

That effectively means that disabled people are paying extra for the same rights as a “normal” folk…

We pay exactly the same as everyone else. How are we “effectively paying extra”?

Strange. It’s exactly the opposite in this country in every city I’ve lived (which have been many, all across the country). Theater showings in the evening are most expensive, during peak times, and are less expensive during the day to try to draw customers during non-peak times.

And sorry, legs, IMO, it’s a violation of artistic integrity to impose open captions on a film. Personally, I would endure hardship, assisted listening devices, CraptiViews, anything to appreciate a film in its original form. But I’m weird that way about movies. Probably most people don’t share my views, as your statistics revealed.

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