Netflix for the hearing impaired.

Cafe Society
1

Netfix for the hearing impaired has been a sore spot since they started streaming. Even before that CC was rather spotty. Should you have an interest or a need then you probably already know that now you can get some foreign language titles available for streaming with English subtitles and some couple of hundred English language movies have subtitles. Streaming with CC seems almost non-existent.

Should you be interested, this link has the best history of efforts to do something about the problem. Netflix Slammed by Deaf Protests.

Here is a list of the few English language movies with English subtitles. ncmacasl’s blog: Netflix InstantWatch Subtitles

2

I was unaware of this, thanks for posting.

I have been captioning my YouTube videos. Not sure how many people use them, but it is not a huge amount of work, and it makes them available in every language via YouTube’s automatic translation system.

3

In my title line I use “Netflix for the hearing impaired” but, especially in the case of CC, there are many others with a need. Advocates say many persons who are ESL persons use CC to improve their skills and CC is almost non-existent in the vast rapidly growing area of streaming.

4

Tell me about it. I make CCs and Subtitles for hundreds of movies and TV. I have even reformatted them for NetFlix streaming. Problem is, when dealing with old TV (CRT) and HD TV, you have set standards. With computers, you have many viewing possibilities.

I can simply make the streaming captions on NetFlix look even goofier if I simply zoom in, or change my viewing screen size.

Ex: I was watching a movie recently where the caps looked like this on a full size screen (17" MAC)

That man
is truly crazy.

Change the screen size or zoom in, and I got:

That manis
truly crazy.

What the caption should’ve looked like to begin with is:
That man is truly crazy.

The other thing that gets messy is placement. With traditional subtitles, you had left, right and center. You place the dialogue or sound effect underneath the speaker. If they’re offscreen, you place it with where they are offscreen. So imagine your screen split into three fields for L/R/C.

With different viewing sizes, streaming rates and buffering, the letter size might never change giving you something like:

That
man is
truly
crazy.

Even though I work in this biz, my only answer is WTF is going on and when will they fix it? I’ve even captioned episodes of MST3K and yet on Netflix instant streaming, they are unavailable.

5

Thanks for the plug for my blog! - Mike (aka ncmacasl)

6

I just got my bill from Netflix and was reminded that the price went up starting with the first billing cycle after January 2nd. So those who *must *use disks because hearing impairment are now paying more. An average of $2 per month more is the street rumor.

7

Someone is attempting to do something about the situation. See Hacking NetFlix : Netflix Faces Two Class Action Lawsuits over Captions & Customer Data. If this link doesn’t take you there go to Hackingnetflix.com and scan down to March 18th, 1911. There are some contacts listed where one can ask to become part of the class.

8

Hacking NetFlix : Netflix & Other Companies Face Yet Another Lawsuit Over Captions. The press release says Netflix and four other high tech corporations have been charged with violating human rights in a formal legal complaint which alleges that willfully refusing to provide closed captioning on most of the programs it transmits over the Internet constitutes| PRLog

9

Netflix has made a settlement with NAD agreeing to have subtitles or closed captions on all streaming by 2013 (Or 2014 depending upon the news source.)