1st Edition

Closed Captioning Handbook

By Gary D. Robson Copyright 2004
    404 Pages
    by Routledge

    404 Pages
    by Routledge

    This guide will give you the know-how you need to be in compliance with U.S. closed captioning mandates through 2012!

    THE CLOSED CAPTIONING HANDBOOK gives you what you need to:

    * Understand and comply with captioning laws, including the Telecommunications * * Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
    * Purchase, understand and use captioning equipment
    * Select and hire captioning professionals
    * Use captioning for broadcast TV, digital TV, DVD, movie theaters, Internet, streaming media and more
    * Design standards-compliant captioning software
    * Understand the terminology of captioning, broadcasting and deafness

    Captioning laws are varied, complex and fluid. THE CLOSED CAPTIONING HANDBOOK provides implementation timetables, exceptions, and up-to-date information on the latest FCC ruling, along with a historical perspective on the U.S. laws--all explained in a clear, simple language with supporting quotes from government documents.

    Closed captioning is infiltrating every aspect of the broadcast industry, and THE CLOSED CAPTIOINING HANDBOOK is the only comprehensive handbook that explains what it is, how it works, and how to use it. A pioneer and leader in the field, Gary Robson is a true evangelist for captioning and accessibility for dead and hard-of-hearing people.

    Focal Press is a proud sponsor of www.captioncentral.com, your online resource for articles, news and other resources in closed captioning.

    Part I: Overview of Closed Captioning
    Why Closed Captioning?
    A Brief History of Captioning
    Part II: Captioning Law
    Overview of U.S. Captioning Law
    The Americans with Disabilities Act
    The Telecommunications Act of 1996
    Other FCC Rulings
    Part III: Captioning Technology
    Where the Captions Live: A Line 21 Overview
    Encoding, Decoding, Troubleshooting
    Generating Captions in Realtime
    Part IV: Related Technologies
    Captions in Internet Streaming
    Web Site Accessibility
    Movie Theater Captioning
    Live Event Captioning
    Video Description for the Blind
    Part V: Captioning Around the World
    Part VII: Appendices, Glossary, and Index

    Biography

    Gary D. Robson is one of the foremost experts in the field of closed captioning. He was the 1997 recipient of the Telecommunications for the Deaf Andrew Saks Engineering Award for "outstanding contributions in improving visual accessibility to information via realtime captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans.” An author of two books and over 50 articles on captioning-including the World Book Encyclopedia entry-he also designed closed captioning software which became the standard tool for the industry. Gary is an independent captioning consultant in Montana.

    "A 'biblical' tome for captioning--this book will be referenced by those in the captioning industry in the years to come. The industry owes it to Gary Robson. Honestly, without Gary, there is very little out there documenting the development of captioning, from both a historical and technical point of view." Philip W. Braven, ex-President of the National Captioning Institute and former Chairman of the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees