My name is Frieda and I am hearing impaired. Here, you will find stories of my life growing up and what it is like for me to be a wife, a mom of two boys, and hearing impaired.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

CaptiView in Cinemark Theaters!


I rarely go to the movie theater. 

Why?  It's too hard to listen and understand.  Even with the headsets that are available, I still miss out on important details.

Narration?  Forget it.  Who's talking?  Where's it coming from?

Accents?  Straining to listen and understand, it's like squinting to see.

Action?  Sure, I can see what's going on, but background noises/explosions/music can get in the way of understanding the dialogue.

Good luck trying to lip read an actor whose back is turned or is off-screen.

I usually can understand about 50% of the movie, but at the end, I'm left with a ton of unanswered questions.  I try to ask questions to my hubby, but realize quickly that he is also missing out when he is trying to answer my questions.

Why did they break up?


Who is that again?


I didn't catch the last thing they said....

I'm fine with watching a DVD at home, now that there is captioning available on most movies, but feel left out of watching the newest movie release with my family.

Want to watch Tower Heist?  Sorry, too much action/noise. 
Harry Potter?  Ummm....can't understand the accents. 
How about The Muppets?  Nope, can't lipread 'em. Because of this, I didn't grow up watching Sesame Street.

Then I read this post over at SayWhatClub and I could almost hear a choir singing in the background....

Introducing ...  CaptiView!



Captioning in the theaters?  Really?  Not the reflective captioning, which I have used in Disneyland ~ EVERYONE can see it and it can be distracting.

No, this looked like something I really wanted to try.

Where to start?

If you live in Utah, you can go to the UCAN (Utah Communication Access Network) for the 3 major theaters in your area.  I chose Cinemark, as it is only a couple of miles from my house.  I called the theater to make sure they had the CaptiView equipment. 

Want to try this?  Here's how:

First, locate the theater online.

Chose a movie you wish to see.

Make sure it says DIGITAL in the movie showtimes.

Find a link on the page that has movies that are on a CC list.

If it's there, it is CAPTIONED!

Go to the ticketing booth and request a CaptiView.  You may need collateral (driver's license) to give to the ticket agent.

When you choose your seat, you may want to sit towards the back of the theater.  If you are sitting too close, it is hard to look at the BIG screen and "jump" down to the captions below the screen.

Ask the ticket agent to "push the reset" button and make sure the CaptiView is on and set to the correct theater room.

It was a Monday afternoon.  No one was in the theater ... 

Put the CaptiView into the cup holder.  You have to push it pretty hard to get it to stay in place. 


Then twist the flexible metal arm and adjust the view finder to put it in a comfortable position.  Make sure you don't touch any of the buttons on the bottom of the viewfinder, or you will turn it off, reset it, or I'm not sure what else.

Be patient and wait.  Of course all the previews will not be captioned.

Hey, it works!!


Yes, I watched The Muppet Movie, enjoyed it thoroughly, and can't wait to see another movie!

The CaptiView did freeze up about 2/3 into the movie.  Fortunately, it was during a song/dance number and hubby took it out to the ticket agent, who swapped it out for another one, which worked fabulously.  I only lost about 5 minutes of the movie, which is not a whole lot compared to being able to understand about 50% of the movie without it!

Isn't that great?

6 comments:

  1. It's wonderful! I'm so glad you went out and used the CaptiView. The more of us that go, the better! I haven't been able to watch the Muppet Movie yet but yesterday asked my daughter to go with me on Monday. I can't wait!

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  2. I had the privilege...and joy, of using CaptiView for the first time last month, at a Century Cinema theater in Monterey, CA. It was WONDERFUL!! I am a 'late-in-life' profoundly deaf woman. I was afraid to get my hopes up too much, and my family didn't want me to be disappointed if it didn't 'work'...but, after setting it up,getting it positioned right,and waiting for previews to be over...WOW!! IT WORKED! I had to refrain from yelling out loud in the theater! I was so excited! I had no problems with it at all..and thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie! Tomorrow, MOVIE DATE with my husband...it's been YEARS since we've been able to do that! No more waiting months for a movie to come out on dvd! I hope that ALL movie theaters will soon have CaptiView available for their deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons! I feel like I've been given the key to a door that's been locked for a very long time. Next week...Lincoln! And can NOT WAIT for Les Mis on Christmas day!!

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    1. Yay for Movie Dates!! I'm so glad you had a great time! Hubby and I are now going to the movies more often, on days that he has off (Mondays). It's so nice to go into a nearly empty theater during the day and enjoy a movie! We recently saw the new Bond movie "Skyfall" and enjoyed every minute of it.

      It's nice to be able to talk to other people who have also recently seen a movie and not have to say, "I need to wait for the DVD to come out." I agree, all movie theaters, especially if they are digital, SHOULD have this capability.

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  3. I've been using it a lot at our local theater and it is wonderful. I'm in the process of calling other theaters to encourage them to acquire captiview knowing it will increase patrons to their facility. It's awesome!!!

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  4. Thanks for this post. I just found out about CaptiView last week. I've tried Rearview and it wasn't a great experience. I'm looking forward to trying this. Thanks to your post, I was able to find a Cinemark theater near me offering it. Going to try it tomorrow. (I live in Utah by the way. Do you as well? I ask because I'm seeking to meet some hearing impaired people like myself nearby and get more involved)

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  5. I got to use that device in Ohio. It's really cool

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