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?
