According to AudioAccessibility.com (https://audio-accessibility.com/news/2018/10/all-caps-vs-mixed-case-type-for-captions/), initially, closed-captioning on TVs were in all-capital letters because older technologies wouldn't allow them to be displayed in mixed-case (meaning most letters were in lowercase). But over time, technology has advanced to allow for a crisper display of mixed-case letters. Early CC decoders couldn't display lowercase letters with true descenders (like the tails of "g", "j", "p", "q", and "y"). Television programs are virtually 100% captioned because the FCC has put a requirement on virtually all television program producers to do so.

Most shows used all-capitals closed-captioning until around the mid-2000s decade, when some shows on CBS and FOX started having their CC in mixed-case/most-letters-in-lowercase format. Eventually, in the mid-2010s, NBC's and ABC's scripted programs switched their CC from all-caps to mixed-case. And I think most of the CW's programs have made the switch, too (with a select few exceptions). Nowadays, only news programs, sports, and live events will still use all-capitals closed-captioning.

So, what are your opinions and thoughts regarding the overall switch from all-capitals to mixed-case? Which of the two options do you prefer?

I'll start by offering my own opinion:

I sometimes can't stand capitals-only closed captioning for scripted stuff or anything that isn't a live event, and I'm glad this gradual shift to mixed-case closed captioning is happening. A possible reason for this could be that all-caps closed captioning is too expensive, and therefore, mixed-case CC is cheaper. Also, all-caps CC may give the illusion of shouting, even though mixed-case used to indicate whispered dialogue in TV shows. The only parts of the CC that can be in all-capitals are the names of the speaker and descriptions of the film/TV show's non-speech elements, meaning mostly-lowercase dialogue.

I was used to all-caps CC when I was watching Cartoon Network a lot when as a kid, but not anymore. Nowadays, if a movie formerly used all-caps CC, it would be updated so that the movie's dialogue has most letters in lowercase. If it hasn't, well, I'll just have to turn the CC off (especially if I'm viewing a film that I've been wanting to see for a long time, only for said film to use CC in which EVERYTHING is capitalized except the name of the speaker).

Frankly, there is no need for movies and TV shows to closed-caption in all-caps after 2020.

I find that with all-caps, I can watch TV without my glasses too, so there is a benefit most would not think of.

My local diginet broadcasters use smaller characters than I get through my local cable provider, so I usually have to put on the glasses regardless when watching them.

However, I resurrected an old pair of Radio Shack wireless headphones, and those are the schiznik for programs that I don't want to ignore the visuals just to get the spoken words from CC


And then there is Bounce network. Doesn't matter if I'm watching cable or over the air, half the CC content I get from them is nonsense text.

All Caps

Mixed case. I don't need my TV shouting at me.

There are some programs that have always given me audio grief, even before age started taking it's toll.

Closed captioning is almost a must with X-Files, because they got that idiot Marc Snow blending in "background" music to the point it drowns out the dialog. I guess it's suppose to boost the suspense angle if you are confused about what really was said, but I loath that aspect.

I find that with all-caps, I can watch TV without my glasses too, so there is a benefit most would not think of.

My local diginet broadcasters use smaller characters than I get through my local cable provider, so I usually have to put on the glasses regardless when watching them.

I guess you'll just have to continue watching TV with your glasses on, because the day is coming where it will be illegal to closed-caption in all-caps.

Personally, I never want to go back to all-caps CC (except for live events). Another reason being I just find all-caps CC rather harsh-looking compared to mixed-case CC. About the programs that have failed to update their CC from all-caps to mixed case as of this writing: I think their (capitalized) CC is a couple of decades old (done during the 1990s or 2000s decades), and such CC is usually from providers like the National Captioning Institute or VITAC.

ALL CAPS ---- Easier to read!!!!!

I think their (capitalized) CC is a couple of decades old (done during the 1990s or 2000s decades), and such CC is usually from providers like the National Captioning Institute or VITAC.

Since you have accumulated knowledge on the subject. What is your experience with the Bounce network?

I have CC set up to work fine through my cable provider...all channels, except with Bounce I get about 25% of the dialog, and the rest unintelligible garbage.

Then, when I got my over the air antenna, I was hoping that would clear up, but it's the same over the air as on cable.

If they are using a different CC format than ALL the other channels, I have not been able to find one that works.

And then...like 2% of the time, it works perfectly, just enough to tease me.

Since you have accumulated knowledge on the subject. What is your experience with the Bounce network?

I've never watched the Bounce network full-time, or even part-time, so I can't say.

ALL CAPS ---- Easier to read!!!!!

Yes, but harder to keep costs down.

Any provider who STILL wants to use all-capitals CC for scripted programs in 2022, or any future years thereafter, can go straight to hell.:angryfire

I've never watched the Bounce network full-time, or even part-time, so I can't say.


Not a big Steven Segal fan, ehhh? ;)

FWIW, I just verified what kind of CC I'm getting from my Comcast provider.

It is all caps, but the leading letter in every sentence, and the first letter of all proper names is about 20% taller than all the other capital letters.

And the stated font style in my set-up screen calls the style "small capitals".

If you have been watching Green Acres on MeTV and PlutoTV, you will notice that its closed-captioning is entirely in uppercase, with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN LOWERCASE WHATSOEVER! You could tell that it's shades of pre-1987 The Caption Center at WGBH. If it's not (and unless you somehow saw those exact same closed-captions before 2000), what kind of closed-captioning company did the distributor for Green Acres hire during the 2010s? Whoever such a company is, they may be the worst, maybe just as worse as the stubborn National Captioning Institute.

I use captions a lot since I watch a lot of Youtube and not all the videos have the sound as a high enough sound level, or I usually want to be able to know all the dialogue of the video that I might miss without the caption. I dont need it usually but it is a nice luxury.

I rarely use closed captioning. When I do it is often distracting since the captioning covers over the video. With technology as it is I would like to see the captioning placed at the top of the screen similar to the information bar that is often placed at the bottom on the screen. When watching sports and news those bars on the bottom do not take away from the video images.

My preference is Lowercase letters are very easier to read, than using capital letters for closed captioning

I have been noticing that in recent years, many films from the Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and pre-1986 MGM libraries have still not had their CC changed to mixed-case, still having their all-uppercase National Captioning Institute captions. The captions themselves being two or three decades old does not help. Warner Bros. has definitely fallen behind the other major film studios in updating the CC for their old films. Is this due to flat-out refusal or non-willingness of WB?

For example, an airing of Casablanca two years ago on TCM had lowercase CC, but a recent airing of that same film weeks ago had the previous all-caps NCI CC restored. Why?

And two Best Picture Oscar nominees released in 1976, All the President's Men and Network, have never been seen with lowercase CC, either.

Lionsgate is that same way, too. Most of their films were captioned by the NCI until the early 2010s.

that somehow explains when i was watching youtube free movies, like Club Paradise, Vision Quest, they used old caption style uppercase.

You wanna know what are the last remaining American scripted primetime series still doing all-uppercase closed captioning?

All American
The 2021 version of Kung Fu
All American: Homecoming

All three of those shows air on The CW. I was surprised at the latter two series using all-caps CC instead of mixed/sentence-case.

Criminal Minds, which ended in 2020, used all-uppercase CC throughout its fifteen-year run on CBS. I had been hoping for an eventual shift to mixed-case after season 12, but it never happened. CM's Evolution revival on Paramount+ does use lowercase captioning, but it's probably done by VITAC instead of the National Captioning Institute.

I was also holding out hope for the All American shows ditching all-caps for lowercase, but it still hasn't happened. It should have been part of CW's new owner Nexstar's plan to cut costs at the network. I'm thinking All American may not go past season 6 because of that refusal to start doing lowercase CC. I'm guessing the National Captioning Institute must have a rule against lowercase closed-captions on scripted programming. They HAVE to be all-uppercase, all the time. Speakers' lines, dialogue, non-speech elements, EVERYTHING!

Because of this, I just can't support the National Captioning Institute anymore.:sad:

If The Facts of Life has lowercase closed-captioning, why can't its parent show Diff'rent Strokes?

For some reason, Sony has neglected to re-do the CC for Diff'rent Strokes before making it available on streaming, instead they're just sticking it with all-uppercase National Captioning Institute CC.

Guys,

My biggest problem with closed-captions is not the letter case, it is the poor accuracy of what is said on the caption vs. what is said on TV. The other issue is that the captions are either too fast or too slow in keeping up with the spoken dialogue.

The above issues should not be an issue with today's technology. CNN Headline News Channel captions are noted for always being behind or ahead in closed captions vs. the audio.

For problems with Bounce Network's captioning, I would suggest reaching out to Bounce on social media. There is safety in numbers and they could work with engineering to improve their captioning quality, if enough people submit feedback about this.

Satch

An airing of Legally Blonde on TBS last Saturday (October 21) had all-capital-letter closed captioning (done by NCI-CAP). But on streaming sites like The Roku Channel and Tubi, the closed-captioning for that same film is mostly in lowercase. I also saw Legally Blonde with the same NCI-CAP CC when it was shown on E!.

Why couldn't the closed-captioning for the linear-TV airings of Legally Blonde have just changed to the version used on streaming?

I think its easier to see all caps really..........

^^Frankly, uppercase closed-captioning is something that scripted shows and movies need to move away from. You're practically stating that old all-capitals CC from NCI-CAP, VITAC, etc., should be left alone. I have no interest in ever going back to all-capitals CC except for live events.

Why don't we continue this discussion by listing some non-Warner-Bros. films still using all-capitals CC as of 2024?

On a different thread (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=439746), I have already mentioned The Seven-Year Itch, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Paper Chase, and Shampoo. I don't know if the same holds true for their streaming versions.

One example of a film that's part of the MGM Distribution library whose closed-captioning STILL has not been changed to lowercase is Raging Bull (originally released by United Artists).

I saw The Breakfast Club (a Universal film) with NCI-CAP's capitals-only CC last month. The same goes for On Golden Pond (I think that one's distributed by Universal, also); And I'm especially angry about that one because not one streaming source has that film's CC in sentence-case (just like Raging Bull).

All caps is easiest to read,especially on those flat screen things!!

What about TV series-es still having capitals-only CC on SVoD sites like The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi, etc.?

I am still pissed-off about Sony TV not getting new closed-captions for Diff'rent Strokes while The Facts of Life DOES get to have sentence-case CC.

Also Gimme a Break!, Amen, Sanford (the 1980-81 series), Green Acres, and Family Ties... no sentence-case for these on SVoD, either.

Well, I am happy to see the uppercase closed-captioning on The Seven-Year Itch and To Kill a Mockingbird used on TCM's showings of those films is gone on Tubi.

Another film retaining its all-caps CC on SVoD platforms is Urban Cowboy (on Pluto TV). Given the fact that six Top-40 Hot 100 singles came off its Double-Platinum-selling soundtrack, it's got to be a real disappointment that its distributors (Paramount Pictures) never got around to getting new lowercase captions for Urban Cowboy.

Its too bad ya cant select which captions ya want.....All Caps or mixed.........

I never really noticed if the wording is small letters or in capitals . I will do that now to find out.

Its easier to read if its all caps :)

Its too bad ya cant select which captions ya want.....All Caps or mixed.........

Well, on The Roku Channel, there is a setting that allows you to change the closed captioning to "Small Caps" under the "Font Family" tab and vice versa. With most programs having sentence-case CC on SVoD these days, it's probably the closest thing you'll get.

Wow thats awesome they let ya!!

Its easier to read if its all caps :)

No, I want it all gone, Dude111. I've just about had enough at this point. We need to just get through to these distributors and DEMAND that any old scripted programming still with all-caps captioning be changed to lowercase if they haven't already. I don't care how "easy" it is. Be used to the idea that no one will closed-caption scripted stuff in all-uppercase anymore.

I am never going to watch any scripted shows or movies with all-uppercase captioning again, especially if those programs retain those all-caps captions (namely from NCI-CAP or VITAC) on SVOD platforms. I can no longer stand it anymore.

Ya I hear ya!!!!!!!

I would like to announce that, going forward, I will refuse to watch any Warner Bros. theatrical titles, including those from sister studios like New Line Cinema and the MGM films released before 1986 that WB currently owns. I will also refuse to watch any scripted programs who continue to have all-uppercase closed-captioning and have not been changed to mixed-case, regardless of studio or current distributor. This goes for both linear TV and SVoD platforms. This boycott will continue until a majority of WB's theatrical library (and the other non-WB programs I mentioned above) have changed its CC from all-capitals to mixed-case on SVoD platforms.

I dont wanna watch any GOOD analogue content in what I consider to be garbage and a disgrace to how good that media is......

I believe there exists six closed-captioning styles, each of which have different combinations of the speaker's name, spoken dialogue, and non-speech element descriptions:

Speaker's names, spoken dialogue, and non-speech element descriptions are ALL in uppercase
Speaker's names, spoken dialogue, and non-speech element descriptions are ALL in lowercase
Speaker's names are in uppercase, but spoken dialogue, and non-speech element descriptions are in lowercase (this style is employed by Media Access Group at WGBH)
Speaker's names are in lowercase, but spoken dialogue, and non-speech element descriptions are in uppercase (this style had been employed by NCI and VITAC)
Speaker's names and non-speech element descriptions are in lowercase, but spoken dialogue is in uppercase
Speaker's names and non-speech element descriptions in uppercase, but spoken dialogue is in lowercase (most older major films and TV shows and some newer major films employ this style on SVoD platforms)

The first and fourth styles described above should be banned from ever being used on scripted programming again.

Here is one commercial for the National Captioning Institute featuring John Ritter of Three's Company:

I5sRGdkbVWE

If Three's Company ever had any NCI-CAP closed-captioning during its original ABC run, they would've been long gone by now, because I never saw those NCI captions when Three's Company was reran on TV Land ~20 years ago.

Because all-capitals CC on scripted programming has fallen out of favor in the two decades since John Ritter's death, I can see somebody here joking that all-capitals CC went the way of John Ritter (or any other deceased public figure, for that matter), although it was not as quick as Mr. Ritter's death was, as upset as I would have been over the latter. With apologies to Mr. Ritter, the practice of using all-capitals CC for scripted programming needs to stay dead; Don't even think about bringing it back for new scripted shows and movies at any point in the future, ever.

Interesting discussion!