I have widescreen TV. Most TV is still 480i. Most of it shows closed caption. Were giving a few new ones that?

Question

I have widescreen TV. Most TV is still 480i. Most of it shows closed caption. Were giving a few new ones that are 1080i. They never show the (closed caption). Maybe it'll come later. Please let me know.

Answer 1

There is no reason for a higher-resolution screen not to show closed captions.  1080i TVs with CC capability are common.

However, there have been problems reported with TV hookups through HDMI cables being unable to show some closed captions - this is related to how the captions are encoded in the first place.  HDMI does not support "line 21" CC encoding.

If you are playing a DVD, you should be able to get captioning displayed by the DVD player.  If this setup is used, the captions will show on your TV, because they are not "closed", i.e. hidden within the picture signal.

Some digital boxes seem to have problems with delivering captions over HDMI connections, while others do not.  If you use a digital satellite/cable receiver, contact your supplier and ask if they have any recommendations or solutions.