Closed captions on TV

[red750]

My hearing is getting progressively worse. Even with hearing aids I have difficulty with what is being said. I usually have to ask my daughter three times what she has said, and my son is worse. I often just give up.

 

Watching television has also become a problem. They have the volume set at 25 - 27,and I can barely discern that it is not muted but cannot make out what is said. If I turn it up, i get to a bit over 30, then it doesn't sound any louder no matter how much further I go. When I get to about 55, all I hear is "mwa mwa mwa."

 

I have tried usung the closed captions, but as I have said before in another thread, it has serious drawbacks. It's not so bad on previously recorded programs like films and sitcoms, where they have had time to convert the script to caption, and schedule it to appear at the right time, but live broadcasts are another matter. Because they have to wait till after the word is spoken before the can caption it, they are way behind the speech so trying to link caption to lip-reading is hopeless. then the captions change before you get to read them. It appears that an artificial voice-to-text is used, which often displays homonyms making it hard to make sense of the caption. A couple of examples from this morning's new broacasts:-

 

Post Master for Bushmaster when talking about the Australian vehicles being used in the Ukraine.

Virtual for vigil when reporting the Royal family  keeping watch on the Queen's coffin.

[spacesailor]

How could anyone " read lips " , & watch the ' caption ' words .

I like those ' ODD ' or is it crazy mistakes in my " captions ' .

spacesailor

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Keep trying Red. we sure like your postings.

 

[nomadpete]

Peter, we do understand your frustration. Few of us have escaped 'industrial deafness'.

 

I have had some success with using infra red headphones - they have a sender attached to the TV, and a cordless set of headphones that allow me to turn it up as I wish.

 

If your TV is more modern than mine, a pair of $16 wifi or bluetooth headphones might change your world. They sell them at the cheapy shops.

 

Also, be aware that the built in speakers fitted to modern flat screen TV's are pisspoor. They aggravate any hearing problems no matter what level they are set at.

[onetrack]

I've lost about 70% of my hearing and I'm totally reliant on hearing aids - but I still miss a lot of words. TV is an absolute waste of time for me, I've watched very little of it for years, I get sick of the constant ads and brainless talking heads, and I get my entertainment, news, socialising and information from the 'net.

 

Nomadpete is correct on the pathetic speaker quality of almost all modern electronic devices, including TV's. You can buy good quality wireless speakers that you can connect to the TV, and site them near to where you're sitting.

 

I have a set of Sennheiser Wi-Fi headphones which are excellent for watching any worthwhile TV shows such as documentaries, travel shows, etc - but the problem with them is you can't hold a conversation with anyone, and watch TV too.

Unfortunately the Sennheisers retail for around $600, so they're not a cheap option. I'm fortunate in that DVA has accepted my deafness as being war-related, so they pay me a pension accordingly, and picked up the tab for the headphones.

[spacesailor]

My hearing Aid,s ( plural or, is it stereo ),  

Has three setting,s 1 for noisy area,s 2 for phone,s 3 for TV watching. 

BUT

I could never workout which, of those three programs, the aids were on .

Free  from the government, but not, if you were in need of the Remote !.

spacesailor

[red750]

3 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

 

I could never workout which, of those three programs, the aids were on .

Mine (2 aids) have a button which alters the volume - click the right aid to turn up, click the left aid to turn down. Three beeps indicates maximum. They work as a pair.

 

Hold the button down, and they speak the setting. Mine are "Normal", "Television" and "Crowd", which cuts out background noise. Hold the button down till you get the setting you want.

[spacesailor]

No " closed loop " phone program? .

I think that,s what it,s called. In some offices the whole room had it .

spacesailor

 

[Yenn]

I have expensive hearing aids and they don't satisfy me. TV is hard because there is often background noise or music and also the presenters annunciation can be poor. Comedians always seem to slur and speed up the punch line.

Telephones are OK except when I get  an Asian on the line.

I will have to look into speakers or headsets for TV. It may be an answer to some of my troubles.

The hearing aid suppliers are just pushing more and more expensive options. My Grandsons wife did the training with one of the hearing aid people and she couldn't come at pushing people into more and more expensive options so she got out of the job.

[red750]

You can get a unit from Kogan to transmit from your TV to bluetooth headphones, ear buds or compatible hearing aids. Problem is, I think, that it mutes the speakers so others can't hear the TV. See link below.

 

 Bluetooth transmitter/receiver from Kogan $26.99

[red750]

Here are a few howlers from the prayer over the Queens coffin when it was brought in to lie in state.

 

JESUS CLIFT and JESUS CHIEFT for Jesus Christ.

RES CORRECTION for RESURRECTION

DELIVER US FROM ENVELOPE  for DELIVER US FROM EVIL

WE BE SEETHING for WE BESEECH THEE

 

There were more, but I couldn't keep up with them.

[old man emu]

6 hours ago, red750 said:

WE BE SEETHING

Don't you be woke to Ebonic, Bro'? No shit we be seething. Anger be part of grieving. We be angry Clift took our main lady.

[onetrack]

I'd be seething too, if I had to wait in a queue that's 4kms long, just to pay my respects.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I was talking to a bloke at work about it.. we were about to join it and visit every pub on the way.. Could be a good arvo!

[facthunter]

  I got put in the far queue and never got over it.  A pub crawl is barred on health and endurance criteria these days. Besides you meet a lot of noisy people who make no sense.. Next day  you are good for nothing.. Every day is precious when you are my age.,, Nev

[red750]

On a news report of a bus/truck smash in which the schoolbus rolled down an embankment, the caption read "..rolled down an enactment".

[red750]

Another couple of classics.

 

Covering the leadup celebrations for the AFL Grand Final, they showed Mike Brady singing his AFL anthem Up There Cazaly.

The lyric is "Up there Cazaly, show 'em your might!" captioned as "show 'em your height." It's been around for years, ffs.

 

And reporting on the financial crisis and drop in share prices, the comment was "the end of a sorry week"' which was texted as "soggy week".

[red750]

Best one yet this morning.  The report was on the falling birth rate in Australia, saying it had dropped from 1.9 to 1.8 babies per woman. The captions aid "from 179 to 178 per woman". Hahaha.

 

The TV in our family room is not connected to an outside antenna, just rabbit ears. When the double storey house was built next door, between us and the transmission towers, we lost reception, either totally or very bad break-up of signal, so we can only watch cable in that room. However, on heavily overcast days, we get good free to air reception. The signal must be bounced off the clouds. The external antenna is connected to the TV in the lounge room.

[red750]

Sometimes I think Jerry writes the captions (Sorry mate.)

 

A couple from today:  McHappy Day -  The Capi Day

                                     Booligal            -  Bull Eagle       (The NSW town where the floods look like an inland sea.)

[nomadpete]

A while back (69 or 70) when a 12 year drought ended I drove out from sydney to Walgett to have squiz. It was a inland sea. Drove for 50 miles through water that was mostly less than a foot deep over the road. Of course we went around the 'Road Closed' sign. What amazed me was the enormous number of pelicans. The water had only been up less than a week and they must have flown 500 miles from the coast! How did they find out? They didn't have mobile phones or interwebby back then, and I don't think pelicans buy news papers. Anyway, the road had an impassible washout which stopped our adventure just shy of Walgett.

[red750]

Ever heard of the fridge president, or you killer powered submarines?  (French President, nuclear powered submarines.)

[facthunter]

You only have to put up with that stuff in Medical Centre waiting rooms. Why submit yourself to it voluntarily?  No level of exposure is safe. Nev

[spacesailor]

you put up with the crook captions !.

OR Turn the volume very high . Then the wife has a BIG  bite out of you, for neglecting to renew your hearing aid Batteries .

spacesailor

[red750]

Spacey, makes no difference how high the volume is, to me it's the same if the volume shows as 45 or 95. And my hearing aids don't work - waiting on new ones.

[spacesailor]

SO , you must ' lip read ' well if not using ' closed captions ' , 

I could have put a LoL in there , but it,s Not a laughing matter , When the neighbors complain. 

My neighbor complains about my listening to the air radio,s in my garage. 

spacesailor