Speaker 1: The rise of streaming platforms and digital media has opened the door to a lot of new content, all of which needs to be accessible. Every streaming platform, every TV network, they all have accessibility features like captions, subtitles, and audio description. But with so many options comes confusion, and none has been more confusing for viewers, producers, and accessibility advocates than the difference between closed captions and subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, also known as SDH. So let's talk about it. In this video, we'll dive into some of the key differences between captions and SDH, show you how they're used, and explain why you might be seeing both options on some streaming platforms. What are closed captions? Closed captions are time-text files that communicate all audio information, including dialogue, sound effects, music, speaker IDs, and non-speech elements. Captions assume the end user cannot hear the audio. They were originally designed for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences, but are commonly enjoyed by all viewers. What are subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing? Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, more commonly known as SDH subtitles, or just SDH, are time-text files that communicate all audio information. All subtitles, or non-SDH, only reflect dialogue, but SDH includes important non-dialogue information such as sound effects, music, and speaker identification, just like captions. SDH may also be translated into other languages. SDH assumes the end user cannot hear the dialogue or understand the language spoken. So how are they different? We'll start with a quick geography lesson. In the United States and Canada, SDH traditionally assumes the end user cannot hear the audio or understand the language being spoken, whereas traditional subtitles, also referred to as non-SDH, assume the viewer can hear the audio but doesn't know the spoken language. This is different from places like the UK and other parts of the world, where the term subtitles encompasses all types of subtitles, captions, and time-texts. Let's talk appearances. SDH subtitles are very flexible when it comes to appearance. They can be styled to almost anything, depending on a platform or network's preferences. Here's a few common subtitling styles as an example. On the left, you'll see white or yellow text, slight drop shadow, and no background. On the right, white text on a semi-transparent black box. Closed captions are traditionally displayed as white text on a black box. Depending on the television or player, various customization options may be available to users. Here's what closed captions usually look like. White text on a black box. Many platforms trend toward styling SDH subtitles to mimic closed captions. But why is that? Well, SDH can emulate captions on media that does not support them, such as digital connections like HDMI or some OTT platforms. In recent years, many streaming platforms haven't been able to support standard broadcast line 21 closed captions. And that's led to a demand for SDH that look and feel just like closed captions. So what about placement? SDH can be placed anywhere on the screen if they are burned in. But as a best practice, SDH are usually centered for readability and ease in the translation process. Let's take a quick look at what SDH placement can look like. Now, while it's possible to place subtitles anywhere on screen, it's generally not recommended. More on this in just a bit. Captions on the other hand are not quite as flexible as SDH. Captions are usually limited to placement within the first four lines on top and the four lines at the bottom of the screen. Within this space, captions can either be centered or moved horizontally. Here's how it works. The pink overlay shows you the approximate safe areas for captions. According to FCC rules, captions must be positioned in such a way to avoid covering important lower third graphics. Because of this, you'll usually find that both captions and SDH move to the top of the screen when a graphic appears at the bottom. And here's what that looks like. Overall, SDH in caption positioning is dictated by the file type being used, or by a platform or television network's requested formatting specs. But many streaming platforms and networks are moving towards a standardized style for both CC and SDH. Center placement at the bottom of the screen, moving up for graphics. Finally, it's time to touch on encoding. We mentioned earlier that SDH is often used in place of captions on media that can't support traditional closed captioning. And this is because of encoding differences. Standard 608 captions are transmitted through line 21, an invisible data stream of commands, whereas 708 closed captions are transmitted through MPEG-2 video streams. Subtitles, on the other hand, are often encoded as bitmap images, a series of tiny dots or pixels. And this method of transmission is a lot more compatible with newer digital media methods like Blu-ray, HDMI, and certain OTT platforms. So why would they offer both? Many streaming and OTT platforms only offer one timed text option for viewers to use, but some have started offering both SDH and CC options when available. The answer can be different depending on the platform, but by offering both options, viewers are able to choose the format that they prefer. And oftentimes, when you see both CC and SDH options, it's likely that the captions originate from a true CC file and are formatted to match that style, whereas the SDH could be a simpler timed transcript in the source language that was intentionally designed for translation into other languages. Closed captions and SDH are tricky to declare as being one specific solution designed for one specific purpose. The primary difference comes down to translation, but even that has nuances. After all, captions are sometimes translated too, but that's another video. In the grand scheme of things, both captions and SDH provide an accessible solution for viewers to enjoy media. SDH tends to have more flexibility than captions, but as technology continues to evolve, it's possible that the definitions of closed captions and SDH will only get more complicated. Neither closed captions or SDH will ever fit neatly into separate boxes. Think of them like siblings. They're closely related, have similar mannerisms, but each has their own unique traits and appearance, both of which can vary from time to time. At the end of the day, one thing that remains certain about both closed captions and subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, they're designed to serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences first and foremost. Want to learn more about captions, subtitles, and all things media accessibility? 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