Wireless RERC - Closed Captions

Anvato Complies With FCC Accessibility Requirements almost 2 Years Early

mz22 — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:51:46 +0000

Anvato Enables Broadcasters to Meet Latest FCC Accessibility Requirements for TV Everywhere

August 2014 – Anvato, provider of the leading video platform and multi-device player TV Everywhere, announced that their turnkey video software has reached full compliance with the FCC’s latest closed-captioning mandate. The FCC extended IP closed-captioning to “straight-lift” video clips, montages, and video clips of programming shown live and near-live on television in July. According to Anvato, they have met these requirements, as well as captioning compliance for back-catalog content less than a month after the ruling. Though closed-captioning of past video content is scheduled for January 1, 2016, Anvato has met FCC accessibility requirements nearly 2 years before the scheduled date, adding additional multi-language and keyword-search features. President and CEO of Anvato, Alper Turgut states, “As a market leader in implementing these new mandates, Anvato has been—and will continue to stay—a step ahead of the latest requirements to ensure our customers have the most advanced technology, not only for compliance but also to maintain their competitive edge.”

Effective Date and Compliance Deadlines for IP Closed Captioning of Video Clips

mz22 — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 16:46:18 +0000

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Closed Captions

Internet Protocl (IP) Closed Captioning

Notice of Effective Date of Rules Governing Closed Captioning of IP-Delivered Video Clips

August 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission released a public notice informing citizens of an adopted order requiring closed captioning of internet video clips [MB Docket No. 11-154]. According to the Federal Register summary, published August 5, 2014, the adopted rules concerning video clips delivered using Internet protocol will be effective on September 4, 2014. Compliance dates are as follow:

January 1, 2016: “Straight lift” clips or video clips containing a single excerpt of a captioned television program with the same video and audio previously aired on television;
January 1, 2017: “Montages” or a single file containing multiple straight lift clips;
July 1, 2017: Video clips of programming shown live or near-live on television.

The FCC is also requesting additional comments on the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by October 6, 2014, with reply comments by November 3, 2014. For additional information, please click the link below.

FCC Implements Closed Caption Requirements for Online Video

mz22 — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 13:57:07 +0000

Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA)

Closed Captions

Internet Protocl (IP) Closed Captioning

FCC Moves to Ensure Online Video Clips are Accessible to Americans Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

July 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission has announced new sanctions extending closed captioning for online video content, including: “straight lift” clips, montages, live and near-live television programming. Under the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and internet protocol (IP) closed captioning rules, the decision aims to further access to online content for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Program distributors will be required to provide closed captioning for online video-clips of programming that originally appeared on television. Compliance deadlines begin in 2016 and extend into 2017.

Closed Captioning Exemptions Denied

mz22 — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 17:29:17 +0000

Closed Captions

FCC Notice to Dismiss Closed Captioning Exemption

June 2014 – The FCC issued a Public Notice denying petitions for exemption from closed captioning rules. Sixteen different entities were named in the Notice, 12 of which br8adcast religious programming. Under the current process, programming providers, owners or producers are able to file a petition for exemption from closed captioning their content if they could show the process to be “economically burdensome.” Regarding the 16 entities cited, the FCC reviewed their initial requests but required further information before processing. The FCC stated that the petitioners “failed to provide in full the requested supplemental information.” Because of this, the FCC has dismissed these petitions for exemption. A full appendix listing the entities can be found by clicking the link below.

FCC Issues Final Rules for Closed Captioning

mz22 — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:46:29 +0000

Closed Captions

Hearing Loss

FCC Final Rules [GC Docket No. 05-231]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued final rules in accordance with Section 713 of the Communications Act to enhance the quality of closed captioning. Despite previous rules, the FCC has continually received comments noting that captions are often found to be “inaccurate, garbled, incomplete, misspelled and/or misunderstood, incomprehensible, obscure the speaker, or significantly lag behind the spoken words they are intended to convey.” The final rules require that captions are accurate and synchronous in portraying the spoken words and background noises, are present for the whole program, and are placed in such a way that they do not block important visual content. Also adopted are rules which require broadcasters “who utilize Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT)” to ensure that all news scripted for the teleprompter is also captioned. In order to ensure technical compliance of the rules, the R&O specifies that video programming distributors must “monitor and maintain their equipment,” in addition to keeping records of any “maintenance, monitoring and technical checks of their captioning equipment.” Finally, the rules provide best practices for video programmers, and off-line and real-time captioning vendors and captioners. The requirements presented in the final rules become effective January 15, 2015.

FCC Releases Rules to Improve Closed Captioning

mz22 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:33:01 +0000

Closed Captions

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

deaf

hard of hearing

FCC R&O [CG Docket No. 05-231]

February 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order (R&O) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FRPRM) In the Matter of Closed Captioning of Video Programming [CG Docket No. 05-231]. The R&O adopts new rules in accordance with Section 713 of the Communications Act to enhance the quality of closed captioning, including new standards to ensure that captions are accurate and synchronous in portraying the spoken words and background noises, are present for the whole program, and are placed in such a way that they do not block important visual content. Also adopted are rules which require broadcasters “who utilize Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT)” to ensure that all news scripted for the teleprompter is also captioned. In order to ensure technical compliance of the rules, the R&O specifies that video programming distributors must “monitor and maintain their equipment,” in addition to keeping records of any “maintenance, monitoring and technical checks of their captioning equipment.”

In the FNPRM, the FCC seeks comment on additional factors to further enhance “accessibility of television programming.” Specifically, the FCC seeks comment on whether metrics should be established to measure the completeness of live and near-live captioning and if specific time intervals should be established for equipment checks. Regarding consumer complaints, the FCC seeks comment on methods to improve complaint handling and proposes a “public dashboard containing information about captioning complaints.” Finally, the FCC is requesting comments on the level of compliance regarding technical standards of captions and whether consumers have had any issues with recent “on-screen visual changes or textual depictions.” Comments for Section VI.A of the FNPRM are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and comments for the remaining sections are due 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.