28 CFR Parts 35 and 36, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations - Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description (NPRM)

1. Captioning and Audio Description for Analog Movies

It is the Department’s understanding, based upon independent research and the comments received in response to the 2010 ANPRM, that because of the major movie theater companies’ commitment to the transition to digital cinema, research and investment into ways to deliver closed captioning has shifted away from analog movies to digital cinema.  As such, there is only one product currently available on the market for providing closed captions for analog movies: Rear Window® Captioning (Rear Window® or RWC).  RWC, when combined with audio description provided by DVS-Theatrical® (DVS), is called MoPix® systems.¹⁹

Unlike open captions that are burned onto the film itself, Rear Window® captions (and audio description) are generated via a technology that is not physically attached to the film and does not require that a separate copy of the film be made.  The Rear Window® and audio-description systems work through a movie theater’s digital sound system using Datasat Digital Entertainment’s media player with captioning subtitling system (formerly DTS Digital Cinema).²⁰  The Datasat™ player sends the captions to a light-emitting diode (LED) display in the rear of the movie theater.  A clear adjustable panel mounted on or near an individual viewer’s seat reflects the captions correctly and superimposes them on that panel so that it appears to a Rear Window® user that the captions are on or near the movie image.  This technology enables a movie theater that has been equipped with a Rear Window® Captioning system to exhibit any movie that is produced with captions at any showing, without displaying captions to every moviegoer in the theater.  Thus, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may enjoy movies in a movie theater equipped with such a system alongside those who do not require captioning and who would not see the captions being displayed.  Movie theaters can also exhibit movies with open captions for analog movies by using the same Datasat™ system, with a second projector to superimpose the captioned text directly onto the movie screen. 

Audio description makes movies more accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision by providing narrated information about key visual elements of the movie, such as actions, settings, and scene changes.  The audio description is sent by the Datasat™ media player to infra-red or FM listening systems, then on to movie patrons wearing headsets.

According to comments from the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), as of mid-2010, MoPix® systems had been installed in more than 400 screens in the United States and Canada.²¹  Once a movie theater is equipped with a MoPix® system, captioning and description data are supplied on data disks, which arrive in advance of the film’s debut.  According to NCAM, virtually every major Hollywood studio participates in captioning and description of their A-title feature analog movies in one form or another, and many of the major exhibition chains, as well as many smaller chains, provide captions and descriptions regularly in some of their theaters. 

The Department understands that while the industry is rapidly moving to digital cinema, some theaters, particularly very small independent movie theaters, may continue to exhibit analog movies as long as such a product remains available.  The Department also understands that with the transition to digital cinema, a secondary market for closed-captioning equipment for analog movies may develop because some movie theaters may choose not to retain this equipment, thereby making the analog equipment cheaper to acquire.

Question 1a: Availability of Analog Film Prints

The Department is interested in any recent data available about the likelihood that analog film prints will be available after 2015 either from the major studios, from smaller independent studios, or from small independent filmmakers.  What is the likelihood that analog film prints will be available in five years?  Will analog versions of older movies continue to be available for second or third run showings?  How many movies will continue to be produced in both analog and digital formats?

Question 1b: Availability of Movies with Captions and Audio Description 

What percentage of currently available analog films has been produced with captions or audio description?  How many movies will be produced with captions and audio description in both analog and digital formats?  What is the likelihood that existing analog movies that currently do not have captions or audio description will be converted to digital formats and then only the digital format would have those accessibility features?  Will those older analog movies that are currently available with captions continue to be available with captions?

Question 1c: Economic Viability of Analog Theaters

How many analog theatres currently show first-run movies?  If first-run analog movies are no longer produced, will analog theaters be economically viable and what types of movies would these theaters rely on to generate revenue?  How many analog theaters are likely to close as the result of these changes in the market?  Will this rule affect the pace by which analog theaters convert to digital cinema?  If so, how?  Will analog theatres converting to digital cinema convert all screens at the same time?