# Reasons for subtitles and CC on DVD and streaming movies and TV. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409 "2011-03-20T23:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/21 "2011-03-22T15:13:27Z")
What about in bars and pubs? Over here at least they often have the sound off and the subtitles up. Their main impact for me is that I’ve learned how frustrating it must be to watch the news if you’re deaf, since the subtitles contain so many errors, and often “stick” and then resume with whole sentences or chunks of speech missed out. Sidebar: What I **really** don’t understand are pubs that put the TV on with no sound and no subtitles. Okay for sport, but for dramas…?! ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/22 "2011-03-22T17:21:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Sometimes closed captioning is amusing. On certain types of shows, typos are rampant. You’d think that this would happen more on live show rather than those that were taped months before airing, but that’s simply not so. Try watching a judge show with cc some time. Be prepared to laugh your ass off. Yeah, typo-based humor is random and fun. CC is on by default on individual TVs at my gym, and I’ve loved watching the incredible screw-ups that occur on some shows. “A hundred nun sex move, next on Today!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/23 "2011-03-22T17:24:40Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > All your reasons are nice, but really only #1 is the correct answer (i.e. why it’s required by the FCC - the other non-hearing impaired groups who occasionally benefit are just getting a bonus). For closed captioning, sure, but I thought subtitles were more an artistic choice–seeing as they aren’t always available. I also use them while listening to commentary–and I sometimes get too wrapped up in reading them, and have to rewind the commentary. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/24 "2011-03-22T17:33:38Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Yeah, typo-based humor is random and fun. CC is on by default on individual TVs at my gym, and I’ve loved watching the incredible screw-ups that occur on some shows. “A hundred nun sex move, next on Today!” [Here](http://crazyfunnypictures.blogspot.com/2010/12/15-funniest-closed-caption-mistakes.html) are a few good ones. I love how Nancy Reagan is described as a former fertile lady. Maybe she had too many refried penis. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/25 "2011-03-22T21:28:10Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > All your reasons are nice, but really only #1 is the correct answer (i.e. why it’s required by the FCC - the other non-hearing impaired groups who occasionally benefit are just getting a bonus). I somehow thought the ADA regulations enforced by the FCC were only for broadcast television, not cable, dish, DVDs, streaming and the like. Am I mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/26 "2011-03-22T22:03:02Z")
Number 6 here: Incase the human race goes through some global catastrophe and there is a need for the remaining population to rebuild the written and spoke language generations later. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409/27 "2011-03-23T13:52:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > [Here](http://crazyfunnypictures.blogspot.com/2010/12/15-funniest-closed-caption-mistakes.html) are a few good ones. I love how Nancy Reagan is described as a former fertile lady. Maybe she had too many refried penis. Some of those appear to be drop outs rather than typos. The word was spelled correctly, but not all of it made it to your TV. That might explain why they aren’t unpopular on scripted shows. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-subtitles-and-cc-on-dvd-and-streaming-movies-and-tv/575409.md?page=1)