TV Jots

Only Two Holdouts

I was doing a little Googling recently and discovered that a piece I wrote in September 2007 (and hadn’t read since then, either) is the top result returned when people search for keyword phrases like “captioned tv shows” and “captioned tv shows online.” Shocker. Titled “NBC Gets with the Program and Offers Captioned Online Video,” the article discusses NBC‘s early venture into captioning some of its broadcast shows when offering them for Internet streaming.

Much has changed since then, including NBC’s implementation of closed captions (CC) online, which makes now a great time for an update on the topic. In the earlier days, the network’s CC functionality took the form of a pane of scrolling text on the right edge of the video player’s picture that could be difficult to keep up with and read. You also couldn’t see the caption text in full-screen mode because there was nowhere for the pane to fit.

NBC Today

Presently, NBC’s closed captioning is much more natural and closer to what some televisions display. The bright white and boldface text, for maximum contrast in most situations, sits at the bottom of the player and on top of the picture. Better yet, it stays in the proper position in full-screen mode, which takes the viewing experience with captions enabled to a whole ‘nother, more enjoyable level.

An additional and fairly new (I believe) development is the spread of closed captioned online streaming to episodes of shows that air on NBC Universal’s basic-cable network USA … if you watch them via the video-streaming website Hulu. Shortly after their most recent seasons ended, some (not all) installments of Monk and Psych turned up on Hulu with the CC feature added, although USA’s website uses a video player that doesn’t offer closed captions.

Currently, In Plain Sight has joined the party, too, but The Starter Wife and Burn Notice are still a no-go, as are all series that call NBC Universal’s other basic-cable network, the Sci Fi Channel (to be rebranded Syfy on July 7th), home.

ABC

Although NBC was the pioneer among the five major broadcast networks, two more have since joined its welcome campaign to stop discriminating against Web users who either require or just want captioned online video. I have no idea which one came first, but I know that both ABC and Fox now caption many of their online TV show episodes from the 2008–2009 season, and probably all of them in the case of ABC.

While I’m very happy — thrilled, in fact — that ABC has gotten wise, I’m not a fan of how its player implements captions. First of all, the text sits at the bottom of the player and the picture, in a full-length pane that only accommodates three rows of text. Second, the pane, and hence the captions, disappears in full-screen mode, a major no-no.

Worse, however, is the usage of the extremely annoying scrolling effect, which is made more frustrating by the fact that the caption text appears in different areas of the pane, presumably to correspond with the location of the speaker or the non-verbal sound noted in parentheses. Sometimes the text is on the left, sometimes on the right, and sometimes in the center.

At all times, though, the text is a thorough pain to follow, and the constant shifting and re-focusing takes a toll on the eyeballs very quickly. To the network’s great credit, however, it seems to caption all of its online episodes from 2008–2009 series, as previously mentioned, with the exception of those containing “bubble” or pop-up commentary, such as the enhanced encore installments of Lost.

FOX and FX

Fox Broadcasting is a different story. The company has added a video player to its Fox and FX websites with CC capability built in. But, the last time I checked, 99.99 percent of the episodes on the respective networks’ websites don’t even have the darn captions. When they do, the text is tiny, in a one-row rectangle beneath the player — thus, no scrolling, just lots of flashing — and disappears in full-screen mode. The text also isn’t boldface, which decreases contrast and makes reading it harder, especially given the small-sized font.

For acceptable captioning of Fox and FX shows, you have to surf over to Hulu, which has an infinitely better-quality video player anyway that shows captions in full-screen mode, too, similar to NBC’s player. Browse the TV series titles for the Fox or FX series you want to watch, and there’s a good chance it will include captioned episodes. The feature isn’t included with all series or even all episodes within a series, however.

FYI

One thing to keep in mind when looking for captioned TV shows online from the networks discussed above is that captions are occasionally delayed. For example, NBC and ABC both put episodes of many (or perhaps all) of their shows online the day after they premiere on television. Yet, sometimes it can take up to several hours — or days or even weeks, unfortunately — for the caption option to appear.

The same is true for Fox series, although it’s more common for some episodes to never have closed captions added. It seems the more popular or buzzed-about a Fox show is, the more likely it is that episodes at Hulu will have the CC option immediately. Hence, while Bones, House, Dollhouse, and Lie to Me have every episode on Hulu captioned the moment they’re available, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles not so much.

Finally, if you can’t find a captioned episode on the network website, try Hulu, and do the same if you check Hulu first and come up empty-handed. I’ve not a clue why the availability is skewed in certain instances, but it helps to get in the habit of visiting both the network and Hulu when closed captions are what you want. This paragraph refers to all of the networks discussed above, except for ABC, which isn’t a Hulu partner and doesn’t offer its shows there.

What About Those Other Two?

The present article includes no section for sister broadcast networks CBS and The CW, both part of the CBS Corporation, along with premium-cable network Showtime. That’s because they continue to not give a damn about viewers who rely on or want closed captioned online episodes of television shows for whatever reason. You won’t find any full episodes (or any other types of videos) captioned on either network’s website as of this writing.

Praise to Hulu

In conclusion, let me heap much praise on Hulu. I visit the website almost daily to find high-quality videos that look superb viewed on my laptop or my desktop, as well as embedded online. Then, there’s the ability to create custom clips from the videos offered and embed them, too. Heck, I even like the option to choose which type of advertising I prefer when asked.

As for the subject of this article, captions, if my memory is correct, when Hulu first went live, it offered only a few captioned episodes of one or so animated series — Fox’s The Simpsons comes to mind. Since then, captions have grown increasingly more prevalent and astronomically easier to identify when available.

Just look for the CC icon in several prominent areas. It even has its own column near individually listed episodes now. The current situation differs vastly from the original “guessing game” set-up, where the CC designation was only included on the player itself … after you clicked play and the video started streaming. Seriously.

I was skeptical of Hulu when it first launched not that long ago, but it has truly become a staple in my life. People in need of captioned online TV episodes should be equally thankful for the great job the site does filling the gaps in some networks’ online video inventories.