ATV
Closed Captioning Findings

There was a high level of consensus among participants. The participants tended to favor captions in mixed case, a sans serif font, and white captions on a black background. The participants emphasized readability and tended to react negatively to anything which made the captions "fancier."

Differences of opinion tended to occur along expected lines: older people tended to prefer greater contrast; hard-of-hearing consumers with higher degrees of hearing tended to rate the black background lower, preferring to see more of the picture; and computer users were more particular about the font.

Many of the participants also agreed on which features they would like to control. The participants would most like to be able to adjust the caption background and control the size and color of the captions. They also expressed a strong desire to be able to move the captions or adjust the picture on those occasions when captions tend to interfere with other information.

Because there is such variation in people's visual tastes, it is clear that a considerable amount of flexibility needs to be built into ATV closed captioning. Also, as people become more and more computer literate, they become more used to being able to control the font, the size and other characteristics of what they are reading. (Out of 26 participants in this test, only 8 reported that they don't use a computer regularly. These participants also tended to be more forgiving when rating each caption feature.)

However, it is not necessary to include an exhaustive number of features or for viewers to be able to control each of the tested features. What follows are recommendations for each feature based on viewer ratings and comments.

SIZE

The participants overwhelmingly preferred the size defined as "medium," which is similar to the size of today's captions. Larger captions were their second choice. More than half of the participants stated a desire to be able to control caption size. Adjustable caption size should be a feature of ATV.

FONT

The participants strongly preferred the Helvetica font. Participants were not particularly interested in having many different fonts from which to choose. Many expressed confidence that whatever was chosen as the "standard" font would be readable. However, a third of participants indicated they would like to have the ability to adjust the font, so it would be desirable to have a few font options available. Again, as viewers become more computer savvy, they may become more particular about fonts.

It would be wise to offer both a proportional and a monospaced font. If a single font is offered, it should be a proportionally spaced sans-serif font. Although Helvetica was highly rated in this test, some participants did remark on the "boxiness" of the letters. It would be worth exploring other sans-serif fonts to find an optimal choice. If a sans serif font is offered, Times Roman is not recommended. "Busy" fonts should be avoided.

SPACING

The spacing is directly related to the font. If the font is readable, the style of spacing becomes irrelevant. It is not important to viewers to have a separate control for spacing.

COLOR

Although the participants tended to favor white captions, blue and yellow also received high ratings. Green is not recommended as a caption color. Two-thirds of participants expressed a desire to be able to change caption color. It is advisable that different caption colors be available and that users are given control over this feature.

CAPTION WINDOW (caption background)

The traditional black background scored the highest with our participants. The translucent window was also rated favorably. Few participants noticed a difference between the window style which adjusts to fit each row of captions and the rectangular-shaped window until it was pointed out to them. However, once they became aware of it, they expressed a preferences for the "shrink-to-fit" style, to avoid covering the picture unnecessarily.

Nineteen of 26 viewers want the ability to adjust the caption window. Based on their comments, most would use this option not to change the color or the shape of the window but to control its saturation or eliminate it altogether. The rectangular shape and various color options are probably unnecessary.

Although eliminating the window completely (no caption background) did not test well, this may be because of the colors that we used for the captions themselves. Based on the desire expressed by several participants for the captions to not "cover up" the picture, this would be a nice option to include if the captions could still be presented in a readable way. The color of the captions would need to be carefully chosen. Pale yellow or white was unacceptable, but a brighter yellow might work well.

CHARACTER EDGING

Only one participant wanted the ability to control character edging (e.g. outline, drop shadow). Edging is not necessary with white captions on a regular black background. The edging did not appear to help in the examples with no caption window. Again, this may be because of the colors chosen for the captions themselves (see WINDOW above). The research was inconclusive on this feature.

PRESENTATION METHOD

Many participants did not notice the difference between pop-on and fade-on captions. Those that did, preferred the pop-on style.

Almost half of the viewers want the ability to shrink the screen temporarily and move the captions to the bottom.

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