Chances are that you have accidentally hit the closed captioning button on your remote control before. If so, you have an idea of what closed captioning is all about. Generally speaking, this is when words are displayed on the screen so individuals who cannot hear can still enjoy the television. With that being said, closed captioning is not something that happens automatically. In other words, there is a lot that goes into this process.

For live television programs, an operator transcribes the words that are spoken using a stenotype. Believe it or not, this method has been in use since the 1970’s, and has been proven accurate and beneficial for many years. Of course, not all of television is live. There are many programs that are prerecorded. In this case, the captions are prepared well in advance.

Generally speaking, there are three types of closed captioning that you can choose from. The type of captioning that you select is based largely on preference, and how you like to read the words on your screen. Scroll up closed captioning is when the words appear on the screen from left to right. In most cases, the captions are displayed at the bottom of the screen, but you may have the ability to change this based on the television set that you are using.

Pop up closed captioning is when captions appear on the screen in whole. This is used most commonly for film programming, as well as pre-recorded television shows.

Finally, the paint on option is when single words come onto the screen one at a time. Additionally, paint on closed captioning can also be described by appearing one letter or sentence at a time. Although this option is rarely used, it is available.

The type of closed captioning that is available depends greatly on two factors. First off, you need to consider the type of television that you are using. More importantly, the closed captioning will be based on the television program. For instance, live programs use scroll up whereas pre-taped television uses pop up captions.

As you can see, there is much more to closed captioning than what you see on your screen. Even though you will be choosing whether or not you use this option, keep in mind that behind the scenes there is a lot going on. The type of closed captioning that is used is based largely on whether or not the show is live or pre-taped.