The ability to view captions is usually a feature of the TV, projector or computer media player you are using to play your video, and not of the VCR or DVD player.

For Closed-Captioned1 media:

  1. To turn on captions using a DVD player through a projector, you turn on the captions in the projector. Instructions for the Panasonic projector are:

1.1.Set projector to “Video” input (press “Input Select” on the remote, then “Video”)

1.2.Press “Menu”, arrow down to “Option”, press enter (think it’s a circle button)

1.3.Arrow up or down to “Closed Caption”, right arrow and change to CC1

1.4.Press return button twice to exit.

Once this option is turned on, you should be able to play the DVD normally and the captions should show up.

  1. To turn on captions using a computer withWindows Media Player,you turn on the captions in WMP:

2.1.Set the projector to “Computer” input (this is usually the default. But, if not, press “Input Select” on the remote, then “Computer.”

2.1.1.On the computer, right-click anywhere in the Windows Media Player window for the drop-down menu.

2.2.Click on “Lyrics, captions and subtitles,” then click on “Captions.”

  1. To turn on captions on a TV:

3.1.This will be depend on the TV, but usually you press a button on the remote that is labeled “Display” or “CC,” until you see a CC1 on the screen indicating captions have been turned on. Or you will go into the Settings menu and there will be an option to turn captions on or off.

For Open-Captioned2 media:

  1. Do NOT turn on the captions on your TV, projector or computer media player or the captions will be read twice and will be superimposed onto your screen. View these videos regularly, as you would with any uncaptioned media.

For Subtitles3:

  1. For subtitles on a DVD, you may have to select the subtitle you want to view through the menu of the DVD. For subtitles on a VHS tape, turn on subtitles through the media player the same as you would for captions.

*Closed-Captioned - Closed captions are in a separate text stream that requires a decoder to view, and they must be turned on or off by the viewer.

** Open-Captioned - Open captions are burned into the video stream and are always in view, they cannot be turned off.

***Captions vs Subtitles - Captions describe all significant audio content (spoken dialogue, speaker identification, accents, music, sound effects, etc.); they are generally used for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Subtitles transcribe only the dialogue; they assume the viewer can hear but cannot understand the language, accent or unclear speech.