Summary of PA's "Show Us the Captions!"

I received this email with a summary of Pennsylvania's "Show Us the Captions!" from Alan Kutner. The organizers did a FABULOUS job putting our event together.

Hi,

With this e-mail, I would like to summarize the results of our “Show Me the Captions” event of last Sunday, December 2 at the UA King of Prussia 16 movie theater.

There were approximately 105 people who attended the event, including those with hearing problems and those without.  In all, thirty-nine captioned glasses were used. Regal went out of its way to provide five dozen glasses just for us.  ASL, Looping and CART were available during a short presentation describing the use of the glasses and how captioning is finally becoming a reality, with all four of the largest movie chains in the USA committed to converting all of their digital movie houses to closed captioning by 2013.

There were eight movie titles to choose from so everyone got to see a picture of his/her choosing. Refreshments were served for those waiting to see their movie. Everyone said the experience was a positive one and that they planned on seeing more captioned movies in the future.

Some compared the glasses with other devises like CaptiView and Rear Window Captioning. The convenience and ease of use of captioned glass won by a landslide.  The following adjectives were heard: Wonderful, Exceptional experience, A Pleasure to Use, Exciting, Easy to use, Okay.

Some complained that the glasses were a little bulky or pinched their nose. Among the most common problems was that the words sometimes disappeared and then returned after a speech or two, and it was difficult for those wearing trifocal glasses to adjust to them without getting a stiff neck reading the dialogue. Also, many wanted to be able to test the glasses before the main feature, so that if there was problem it could be addressed before the film began.

For those of you who did not attend, it is worth repeating that closed captioning in movie theaters is now the law under the Americans with Disabilities Act. All movie theaters are required to convert all of their screens (in multiplex’s or smaller local venues) with few exceptions. Captioning must be displayed, every day, all day to give those who are Deaf or hard of hearing equal access to movies with our hearing friends and families.

A good place to find captioned movies is to go to www.captionfish.com. After putting in your locale, captionfish will display all captioned movies within  60 miles.

I am attaching a few photos that were taken by our photographer to help you remember our event.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything at all about our afternoon at the movies, just email me at www.kutner@hla-pa.org.

Yours for better movie captioning,

Alan Kutner

 Regal now has 13 theaters in PA. that are captioned and they expect to caption all PA. theaters by the end of next year's 1st quarter.  Below are the 13 theaters across the state That Regal has captioned to date.  (if you want to use this.)

                                    Alan

Plymouth Meeting 10	Conshohocken	PA
Edgemont Square 10	Newton Square	PA
King of Prussia Stadium 16	King Of Prussia	PA
Harrisburg Stadium 14	Harrisburg	PA
West Manchester Mall 13	York	PA
Hazelton Stadium 10	Hazelton	PA
Grant Plaza 9	Philadelphia	PA
East Whiteland 9	Frazer	PA
Carlisle Commons Stadium 8	Carlisle	PA
Riverview Plaza 17	Philadelphia	PA
Northampton Cinema 14	Easton	PA
Moraine Pointe Cinema 10	Butler	PA
Warrington Crossing 22	Warrington	PA