Closed Captions from 30,000 Feet
Technology is taking accessibility to new heights. Tens of thousands of feet in the air, that is. For the first time in inflight entertainment, LiveTV has announced that closed captioning will be available for live television content viewed by passengers onboard an airplane.
For many years, LiveTV has provided connectivity systems and entertainment options aboard aircraft for many different airlines. The availability of closed captions with its service is significant because LiveTV believes it “is a major step forward in delivering the excitement of inflight entertainment to those passengers with hearing disabilities.”
Continental Airlines will be the first airline to offer this new closed captioning feature. Passengers onboard the LiveTV-equipped airplanes will be able to individually control the captioning option on over 100 available DirecTV satellite channels. LiveTV and Continental Airlines should be applauded for taking this great step towards greater accessibility. Hopefully, additional airlines will begin to take advantage of this service as well.
Having closed captioned content available for passengers aboard an airplane is another great example of how technology is greatly improving accessibility. Not only can video content be viewed by more people and in more places than ever before, but people with hearing disabilities are not excluded and can enjoy the same entertainment options as everyone else.
Closed captioning has moved from the standard of television to being available with video content online, on video screens and scoreboards at live events, and now in the middle of a flight. Are there any other areas where you think technology will help improve the availability of accessible media?