NCTA and Consumer Groups Defend Caption Display Settings Joint Proposal
A joint proposal from NCTA and several consumer groups representing the hearing impaired “does not solve all technical issues” involved in improving closed caption display settings accessibility, but is enough for the FCC to move forward, NCTA said in reply…
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comments posted Friday in docket 12-108. The Joint Proposal “at least provides a mechanism to deliver device-level caption display settings to applications hosted on the device” and could “provide a path” for eventually tackling “more complex issues.” Responding to CTA concerns about the proposal (see 2404170061), NCTA said that each entity in the video production chain would be responsible for its products and that cable operators will consult with consumers and train customer care and support employees to help subscribers adjust their caption displays. In their own joint reply comments, several consumer groups representing the hearing impaired said FCC action is the only way to get better caption display accessibility. “Market forces have simply failed our constituency – not now, nor ever over the past twenty years” since the FCC adopted rules on digital TV closed captioning display settings “have these settings been readily accessible to television viewers,” said the filing from the National Association of the Deaf, the Hearing Loss Association of America, Communication Service for the Deaf, and TDIforAccess. The groups also called for the FCC to apply similar accessibility requirements to other entities beyond the cable companies covered in the joint proposal and to give any new rules an implementation deadline no longer than two years.