New Movie Captioning Technology
With The Avengers earning over a billion dollars in ticket sales, it seems everyone is going to the movies. Even those that are hearing impaired and visually impaired. However the full accessibility of movie theaters has been an uphill battle. The ADA was originally not very clear on whether movie theaters had to offer movie captioning or audio descriptions. Through lawsuits and other actions, movie theaters have now received the message that they do need to make their theaters accessible. Two devices that are working their way into the major movie theater chains are Doremi’s CaptiView and Sony’s Access Glasses.
Old vs New
The advantage of these newer devices are their portability and service to an individual user. Older technology of open captioning subtitles on the screen can be distracting to viewers who are not hearing impaired. Other types like captioning that was projected onto a piece of plastic in front of the viewer could be hard to read and possibly blocked by someone standing up behind.
CaptiView
The CaptiView device has a small OLED screen attached to a bendable support arm. At the other end of the arm is a piece that fits into the cup holder. So the user places on end in the cup holder then moves the screen to a position that works for the viewer. Easy to read but non-distractive captions then appear on the screen. Though finding a position that doesn’t involve a lot of eye movement from screen to screen might be difficult for some. Also you lose a cup holder! An optional earpiece is also available for audio description. Giving those who are visually impaired a description of action going on that they may not be aware of otherwise. CaptiView is now in many Marcus and AMC movie theaters with more to come.
Access Glasses
The other new device that’s starting to roll out is Sony’s Access Glasses. This device consists of glasses with an attached receiver. The viewer clips the receiver on to their shirt then puts on the glasses. Captioning then appears on the bottom of the glasses. This gives the viewer a direct line of sight with the screen and captions together. Though some may find the glasses uncomfortable or captioning style not for them. An optional earpiece for audio description is also available. Right now the Access Glasses are being test run at some Regal movie theaters with plans to expand in the near future. Read this Fresno Bee article for more information and to see more pictures.
Find Accessible Theaters Near You
Hopefully all movie theaters will follow the ADA and have these and other devices in all their theaters soon. The movie theater experience can be magical and should be accessible for all. To find out if you have accessible theaters near you, visit www.CaptionFish.com to find out.
