FAQs

If none of the links below answer your question, please call (02) 9212 6242 (voice and TTY).

How to get captions on TV

How do I get captions on my television?
What is teletext? 
How can I tell if my television has teletext?
I've got a teletext television. What do I do now?
My television does not have teletext. What can I do?
What does the new Digital TV legislation mean?

Captions on TV

The captions on my television are scrambled. What's going on?
How can I fix the problem of scrambled captions?
Why do the captions not always match the audio?
Why are there different types of captions? 
Why do captions sometimes jump around the screen?
Why are there sometimes spelling mistakes in the captions? 
How can I record captions on TV?
Can I get captions on Pay TV?

Captions on DVD

I'm thinking of buying a DVD player.  Are DVDs captioned?
Do I need any special equipment to watch captions on DVDs?
These FAQs haven't answered my questions about captioning. What should I do?

 Q - How do I get captions on my television?
A - In order to access captions on your television you need either an analogue TV with teletext, an analogue TV connected to a digital set-top box, or a digital TV. 

Q - What is teletext?
A- Teletext is an information system that is built into some analogue television sets.

Q - How can I tell if my television has teletext?
A- If your television is already equipped with teletext it should have a'text' button on the remote control. Other abbreviations are sometimes used such as 'txt' or 'tv/txt'. It also should say 'teletext' on the frame of the television or in the manual. If you are still unsure contact the television manufacturer and quote them the model number.

Q - I've got a teletext television. What do I do now?
A- If you have teletext you will be able to access captioned television programs right away. Look in your local television guide for programs with an S, ST or CC after the program name. These are the programs with captions on them. Next select the channel which the program is on, then press the 'text' button on your remote control, followed by 8-0-1. Wait a few seconds and the captions should appear.

Q - My television does not have teletext. What can I do?
A- If your TV is not upgradeable another option is to purchase a digital set-top box. Before purchasing a digital set top box, you must note that it will only work in 'digital' areas, that is an area that receives a digital transmission. Most areas of Australia receive digital reception. To get the captions to appear when you have connected the digital set-top box to your TV, just press the caption button on the remote control (this may be labelled S, Sub-t, CC or be a coloired button). On some models you can enter the set-up menu and turn the closed caption function ON.

Q - The captions on my analogue television are scrambled. What's going on?
A- When captions come up on the screen as mumbo-jumbo, i.e. letters missing, misspellings and sticking of captions, it is usually the result of a reception problem. The teletext signal that is sent is a very delicate one and if your reception for a particular channel is even slightly poor your captions may suffer as a result. Puchasing a digital television or digital set-top box will generally solve the problem.

Q - What does the new Digital TV legislation mean?
A- Since 1 January 1 2001, captioning quotas have applied to free-to-air broadcasters. These quotas state that all prime time programming (between 6.00pm - 10.30pm) must be captioned, as well as all news and current affairs programs outside these hours. The quotas provide exemptions for non-English language programming and non-vocal music programming. These quotas apply to both the current analog service, which will gradually be switched off in Australia between 2010 and 2013, and the new digital formats of broadcasting.

Q - How can I fix the problem of scrambled captions on an analogue TV?
A- In order to solve a reception problem, try fine-tuning your television to see if you can pick up a stronger signal of a particular channel. If this does not work, you may want to try and reposition your outside antenna (it may have been moved slightly during a storm or strong wind). If this still does not solve the problem, you may need to fit an antenna booster to your aerial. If you are not familiar with these types of procedures, contact a helpful antenna technician in your area who is familiar with teletext equipment.

Q - Why do the captions not always match the audio?
A- There are a few reasons why the captions may not match the audio of a program. Firstly prerecorded captions may be edited to a rate of 180 words per minute, which is considered to be an average reading speed for caption users. When live captioning, is being carried out, if the presenters are talking at a speed more rapid than 240 words per minute, or if many people are talking at once, the stenocaptioner may be unable to take down every word. 

Q - Why are there different types of captions?
A- There are two types of captions: roll-up and pop-on. Roll-up captions are used almost exclusively for live reporting or events. The words appear one at a time at the end of the line, and when a line is filled, it rolls up to make room for a new line. Pop-on captions are the standard for pre-taped material. The entire caption appears, all at once, anywhere on the screen. When a pop-on caption appears, all captions previously on the screen are erased. 

Q - Why do captions sometimes jump around the screen?
A- Caption placement is quite difficult as the location of a caption is used to indicate who is speaking and must also be positioned so it doesn't cover any important information. 

Q - Why are there sometimes spelling mistakes in the captions?
A- Although stenocaptioners captions aim for 99% accuracy, like anything done by a human being, live captioning may produce "typos". Unlike normal typing, however, stenocaptioners can write entire words or phrases with a single hand motion (known as a 'stroke'). A "misstroke," therefore won't be an incorrect or missing letter, but can be entirely different word or phrase.

When you see dropped letters, especially if those letters are dropped in pairs, word sticking to the page, or symbols appearing where letters should, that usually indicates transmission problems or bad television reception rather than errors on the part of the captioner. 

Q - How can I record captions on TV?
A- You cannot record captions with a teletext TV and a standard VCR or DVD recorder. You can record TV captions connected to a digital set-topbox and a standard VCR or DVD recorder, or using a hard disk recorder that displays captions.

Q - Can I get captions on Pay TV?
A- Yes. Due to a decision of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Pay TV providers are required to provide captioning across a minimum of 40 digital channels. An initial 20 channels that began captioning in October 2004 had to achieve captioning on 25% of programming by 2009, while a further 20 channels that began captioning in 2006 had to achieve 15% by 2009. These amounts had to increase by 5% each year.  Read more about captions on Pay TV here.

Q - I'm thinking of buying a DVD player. Are DVDs captioned?
A- Roughly 60% of DVDs have some form of captioning on them. You can check the captioning options for a particular DVD by looking at the caption or subtitle options on the back. Most will have at least English subtitles (which means the dialogue is represented as text), as well as a few other language options such as Italian, French or German. Some DVDs will have captions for the hearing impaired, which means that the entire soundtrack of the movie will be represented as text, including sound effects and music. 

Q - Do I need any special equipment to watch captions on DVDs?
A- No, you just need a standard DVD player. To change the caption options, simply enter the menu and go to captions. DVDs can also be viewed on a Sony Playstation 2 and many laptops and PCs.


Q - These FAQs haven't answered my questions about captioning. What should I do?
A - Contact Media Access Australia via phone (02) 9212 6242, fax (02) 9212 6289, TTY (02) 9212 6461 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   and someone will be able to answer your question.