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Overview of DTV Transition
The digital television (DTV) transition refers to the
switch from analog to digital broadcast television. When the DTV transition
was completed on June 12, 2009, all U.S. full-power TV stations stopped
broadcasting in analog format, and now transmit only in digital. Consumers
who subscribe to pay television services (for example: cable, satellite)
continue to receive broadcast (“over the air”) television programs through
these subscription services. Consumers who do not have subscription TV
services and are not receiving digital signals have two choices: (1) they
can purchase a digital TV (either a stand alone digital TV or separate
digital tuner set-top box) or (2) they can acquire a digital-to-analog
converter box for each of their analog TVs to continue receiving free
over-the-air digital television programming. The converter box converts the
over-the-air digital signals into signals that analog TV sets can receive
and display.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require
digital-to-analog converter boxes to pass through closed captions. This
advisory explains how consumers can access closed captions using these
converter boxes.
Closed Captioning and the Digital-to-Analog Converter
Box
Closed captioning displays the audio portion of a
television program as text on the television screen, enabling people with
hearing loss and others to better access television programming. The
digital-to-analog converter box receives closed caption signals and passes
those closed caption signals to your TV automatically. In addition, many
converter boxes generate captions through the converter box itself, thus
enabling you to change the way your captions look.
How to Control Closed Captions Through Your TV
Analog TVs that are 13 inches or larger, and were
manufactured after July 1993, can display closed captions. When using any
digital-to-analog converter box on one of these TVs, you can follow the
instructions that came with your TV to turn closed captions on or off
through your TV or TV remote control, just as you always have. If you were
able to see closed (More) captions on your TV before you got the converter
box, you will continue to see closed captions on your TV the same way after
attaching the box. As before, captions appear as white text on a black
background.
Analog TVs that are smaller than 13 inches and TVs
manufactured before July 1993 are not required to display closed captions.
If your converter box is equipped to generate closed captions itself,
however, you may be able to see closed captions on these TVs by following
the instructions below.
How to See Closed Captions Through Converter Boxes
Equipped Themselves to Generate Closed Captions
In addition to passing through closed caption signals,
many converter boxes also include the ability to take over the captioning
role that the tuner plays in your analog TV set. To determine whether your
converter box is equipped to generate captions in this way, refer to the
user manual that came with the converter box. If your converter box is
equipped to generate captions in this way, then follow the instructions that
came with the converter box to turn closed captions on or off via your
converter box or converter box remote control. When you access the closed
captions in this way, you can also change the way your digital captions
look. The converter box will come with instructions on how to change the
caption size, font (style), caption color, background color, and opacity.
This ability to adjust your captions is something you cannot do now with an
analog television and analog captions.
What To Do if You Have Problems Getting Captions
If you turn on the digital-to-analog converter box and
see a double row of overlapping captions, it may mean you are seeing
captions through both your TV and your digital-to-analog converter box. You
should turn off the closed captioning function either on your television or
on the converter box.
If you are able to get captions when you tune to one
station, but not another, most likely there is no problem with your
converter box. You should contact the television station airing the program
that does not have captions. If you are using a digital-to-analog converter
box with an analog TV set and cannot see any captions, you should contact
the manufacturer of the converter box.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you have tried to resolve your problem viewing
closed captioning in any of these ways but it continues, you can file a
complaint with the FCC alleging a violation of the Television Decoder
Circuitry Act and the FCC’s implementing rules. There is no charge for
filing a complaint. If your complaint concerns the inability of your
converter box to deliver captions, you may complain directly to the FCC. If
your complaint concerns the lack of captioning on a specific program or
channel (i.e., you receive captions on some channels, but not others), you
must first complain to the programming distributor (meaning the broadcast TV
station). For more information on filing a complaint with your programming
distributor and the information to include in such complaints, see the FCC’s
closed captioning consumer fact
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html. If you are uncertain
where to file your complaint, contact the FCC’s Consumer Center using the
contact information provided for filing a complaint with the FCC below.
You can file your complaint using an FCC on-line
complaint form found at
esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. You can also file your complaint with
the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing
fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice,
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554.
Note: On November 3, 2008, the
Commission adopted rules revising the procedures for filing closed
captioning complaints. These rules, however, will not take effect until
approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Therefore, consumers must
continue to follow the instructions for filing complaints that are contained
in this advisory until further notice. Under the new rules, consumers will
no longer be required to file complaints with the video programming
distributor. Consumers will have 60 days from the date the captioned program
aired to file a complaint either with the distributor or the Commission. If
the complaint is filed with the Commission, the Commission will forward it
to the distributor. After receiving a complaint, either directly from the
consumer or from the Commission, the distributor will have 30 days to
respond to the complaint. The Commission also adopted new rules requiring
that video programming distributors make specific contact information
available to consumers to assist consumers in contacting the distributors
about closed captioning concerns.
What to Include In Your Complaint to the FCC
The best way to provide all the information the FCC
needs to process your complaint is to complete fully the on-line complaint
form. When you open the on-line form, you will be asked a series of
questions that will take you to the particular section of the form you need
to complete. If you do not use the on-line complaint form, your complaint,
at a minimum, should indicate:
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your name, address, email address, and phone number
where you can be reached;
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whether you are filing a complaint on behalf of
another party, and, if so, the party’s name, address, email address, day
time phone number, and your relationship to the party;
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preferred format or method of response (letter,
fax, voice phone call, email, TRS, TTY, ASCII text, audio recording, or
Braille);
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that your complaint is about closed captioning for
DTV;
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the name, address, and telephone number (if known)
of the company or companies involved in your complaint;
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the date and time or other details about timing of
the lack of closed captioning;
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television station call sign (WZUE), TV channel
(13), location (city and state), and name of program involved; and
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a brief description of your complaint and the
resolution you are seeking, and a full description of the equipment or
service you are complaining about, including date of purchase, use, or
attempt to use.
For More Information
For more information about the DTV transition, visit
www.dtv.gov, and see the FCC's consumer fact sheets at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html and
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvcaptions.html. You can also contact
the FCC's Consumer Center using the contact information provided for filing a
complaint.
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Federal Communications Commission · Consumer
& Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. ·
Washington, DC 20554 |
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1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) ·
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) · Fax: 1-866-418-0232 · www.fcc.gov/cgb/
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