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 the military, then largely used, as per the song, for porn.
"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 the military, then largely used, as per the song, for porn.
| 187 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Anonymous
http://crimeado.ru/
http://old-feodosia.ru
http://srn-feodosia.ru/
http://summer-feo.ucoz.ru/
Comment by Anonymous
On another note, do you have an 'about' page?
I am building my blogroll and usually briefly read about the author first.
E.g. if an author of a blog about galaxies has a name and a PhD in Astronomy, then I would see it differently from if he has a degree in business and works in marketing. (Nothing wrong with that, I have a business degree and write a science-inspired blog).
Comment by Anonymous
I spent 10 minutes on posting above comment ('Anonymous').
When I first clicked 'Create Comment', it turned out that I need to sign up for Orble community membership before I can post it. I did that, and lost the comment.
Then when I got the registration confirmation, I rewrote the comment after my memory. However, this time I needed a 'Community Tag' (easy to get lost in all these hyper-social clan features) and my password or whatever didn't work. Third time lucky: I could now post without Community Tag, I just became "'Anonymous' then, despite having given my name and web address.
That procedure sucks...
I like your blog. I have blogrolled it. However, if I receive any spam from this bloody Orble-thing due to my registration, then your blog is out of my roll in a blink of an eye.
Ps. can you please delete my duplicate comment above.
Thank you.
Anna
Comment by Nonymous
Philosophy Blog
The only "about" page I have is the "About this blog" post. From memory, there's a little bit of biography there.
About deleting the comment -- I've been looking for 10 minutes and haven't figured out how to do it! Will keep trying, but no promises.
Spam is probably unlikely; depends on the preferences you set.
Thanks very much for the comment. And, by the way, some great pics at your blog.
Comment by Anonymous
That's a very good 'about'... explains your motivations and background, and makes good sense. I just didn't see the link to it. I still don't, except in your comment. I guess that's just me who is blind, because it has comments, so apparently others found it.
Anna.
Comment by Anonymous