A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question...

Question:

Help! I have an immediate need for help with my magnavox vcr. I have a deaf student who needs the closed captioning enabled. I can get the t.v. (samsung) to show the closed captioning, but when I put in a movie, with cc listed on its box - no closed captioning appears! My student cannot participate until this problem is solved. Any ideas? I have tried every "field" and "channel" option listed within the samsung t.v. operator's manual.

-submitted by teacher

Answer:

There are 8 common CC modes on a TV ( CC 1-4, and Text 1-4). These are adjustable in the television's menu. CC1 is the most common close caption mode in use, so I would verify that the TV is set to this mode. If that doesn't work, feel free to try other modes as well. Be sure that the "CC on mute" mode is not enabled, which only turns on the CC decoder if the television is muted. When changing modes, allow up to 1 minute for the CC text to appear. Also make sure that the VCR is properly connected to the display.

Verify that the special audio program (SAP) feature on the TV is not engaged. If the TV is set up to receive SAP, it could inhibit the ability for the display to read the captions (unlikely, but worth a shot).

Another thing to keep in mind is that the tape may have lied to you. I've ran across many boxes that claim features that don't exist. It is possible that the tape does not carry a CC track at all. You'd need to test it on a different system to be sure.

If anyone else has any ideas, post them to the discussion page below.

Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com