Subtitles
July 29th 2010 06:37
Curious example of a technology intended for one purpose, then largely used for another.
"Research by Ofcom, the media regulator, has found that of the 7.5 million people who use TV subtitles, six million have no hearing impairment at all." -- Jonathan Duffy, "The joy of subtitles", BBC News Magazine, Friday 31 March 2006
Examples of use:
-- deaf;
-- partially deaf (eg elderly);
-- understanding what actors say when they mumble or talk too fast;
-- understanding what actors say when their words are drowned out by music or background noise;
-- understanding things that no one could catch, revealing "hidden" dialogue (after all, captioners often have the script in front of them to refer to);
-- understanding strange accents;
-- generally, reducing stress of keeping up with words;
-- noisy environments, eg pubs, kids playing, phones ringing, people talking;
-- crowded environments where it's undesirable to pump up the volume, eg airports, doctors' waiting rooms;
-- when you want to watch without disturbing anyone, eg when breast-feeding, or late at night, or in hospital wards;
-- when you want to have a conversation at the same time as watch the movie;
-- while eating (particularly crunchy food);
-- while on a treadmill at the gym;
-- when you're not fluent with the language of the program / when learning a language;
-- with children who are learning to read;
-- with people who have speech/language problems;
-- understanding the words of songs;
-- home-made karaoke, to sing along to songs;
-- helps to concentrate on movie;
-- when you have a broken TV with dodgy sound.
Notes
-- Friday 30 July 2010: The Internet is probably a better example -- developed for military applications, then largely used for porn, as per the song.
"Research by Ofcom, the media regulator, has found that of the 7.5 million people who use TV subtitles, six million have no hearing impairment at all." -- Jonathan Duffy, "The joy of subtitles", BBC News Magazine, Friday 31 March 2006
Examples of use:
-- deaf;
-- partially deaf (eg elderly);
-- understanding what actors say when they mumble or talk too fast;
-- understanding what actors say when their words are drowned out by music or background noise;
-- understanding things that no one could catch, revealing "hidden" dialogue (after all, captioners often have the script in front of them to refer to);
-- understanding strange accents;
-- generally, reducing stress of keeping up with words;
-- noisy environments, eg pubs, kids playing, phones ringing, people talking;
-- crowded environments where it's undesirable to pump up the volume, eg airports, doctors' waiting rooms;
-- when you want to watch without disturbing anyone, eg when breast-feeding, or late at night, or in hospital wards;
-- when you want to have a conversation at the same time as watch the movie;
-- while eating (particularly crunchy food);
-- while on a treadmill at the gym;
-- when you're not fluent with the language of the program / when learning a language;
-- with children who are learning to read;
-- with people who have speech/language problems;
-- understanding the words of songs;
-- home-made karaoke, to sing along to songs;
-- helps to concentrate on movie;
-- when you have a broken TV with dodgy sound.
***
Notes
-- Friday 30 July 2010: The Internet is probably a better example -- developed for military applications, then largely used for porn, as per the song.
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