The MoPix website provides information to consumers, industry members and others interested in learning more about motion picture access. View background information about these systems and the Media Access Group's efforts in this area.
Motion Picture Access (MoPix®)
In 1972, WGBH, Boston's public broadcasting station, revolutionized television and video for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing by providing program dialogue as text or "captions" on the lower third of the television screen.
WGBH then worked to develop a technological tool to enable people who are blind or visually impaired access to visual images. The result was the introduction of Descriptive Video Service® or DVS® in 1990. DVS provides narrated descriptions of key visual elements during pauses in the soundtrack of a program. Together these two technologies enable thirty-six million people to fully enjoy television programming independently.
Building on its past success in pioneering access solutions, in 1992 WGBH began researching captioning and description in movie theaters to enable independent access to films. WGBH successfully developed two innovative technologies that make it possible to provide closed captions and descriptive narration for deaf and blind patrons, without the need for special prints or screenings or altering the experience for the general audience. Collectively these systems are known as Motion Picture Access or MoPix. Early development and evaluation of MoPix systems was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, under grant #H133G40048.
How it Works
The patented Rear Window® Captioning System displays reversed captions on a light-emitting diode (LED) text display which is mounted in the rear of a theater. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons use transparent acrylic panels attached to their seats to reflect the captions so that they appear superimposed on the movie screen. The reflective panels are portable and adjustable, enabling the caption user to sit anywhere in the theater. The Rear Window System was co-developed by WGBH and Rufus Butler Seder of Boston, Mass.
DVS Theatrical® delivers descriptive narration via infrared or FM listening systems, enabling blind and visually impaired moviegoers to hear the descriptive narration on headsets without disturbing other audience members. The descriptions provide narrated information about key visual elements such as actions, settings, and scene changes, making movies more meaningful to people with vision loss.
DTS Digital Cinema, now Datasat Digital Entertainment, enabled WGBH to bring these technologies to conventional movie theaters. A reader attached to the film projector reads a timecode track printed on the film and signals the Datasat player (XD20, XD10 or CSS) to play the audio synchronous to the film. For the Motion Picture Access efforts, Datasat adapted its technology to include the caption and descriptive narration tracks on a separate CD-ROM, which plays alongside the other discs in the Datasat player. In turn the player sends the captions to the LED display and the descriptive narration to the infrared or FM emitter.
Debut of Rear Window and DVS Theatrical
In November 1997, closed captions and descriptive narration were available for the first time, as part of a regular feature film presentation in a movie theater. The Rear Window Captioning System and DVS Theatrical made their debut at the General Cinema Theater in Sherman Oaks, California, during the November 1997 presentation of the Universal Pictures film, The Jackal. General Cinema Theatres, Universal Pictures, Digital Theater Systems, and WGBH collaborated to make this historic event possible. This pioneering effort has led to accessible presentations of hundreds of major motion pictures in time for their theatrical release. These technologies are also available in speciality theaters such as IMAX theaters, National Park Visitor Centers and Disney Theme Parks and Resorts.
FOR AN UP TO DATE SEARCH FOR MOVIES AVAILABLE & CINEMAS IN YOUR AREA, PLEASE VISIT:
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
PLEASE ALSO VISIT MoPix WEBSITE FOR RESOURCES, INFORMATION, ADVOCACY SUGGESTIONS:
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
Motion Picture Access (MoPix®)
In 1972, WGBH, Boston's public broadcasting station, revolutionized television and video for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing by providing program dialogue as text or "captions" on the lower third of the television screen.
WGBH then worked to develop a technological tool to enable people who are blind or visually impaired access to visual images. The result was the introduction of Descriptive Video Service® or DVS® in 1990. DVS provides narrated descriptions of key visual elements during pauses in the soundtrack of a program. Together these two technologies enable thirty-six million people to fully enjoy television programming independently.
Building on its past success in pioneering access solutions, in 1992 WGBH began researching captioning and description in movie theaters to enable independent access to films. WGBH successfully developed two innovative technologies that make it possible to provide closed captions and descriptive narration for deaf and blind patrons, without the need for special prints or screenings or altering the experience for the general audience. Collectively these systems are known as Motion Picture Access or MoPix. Early development and evaluation of MoPix systems was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, under grant #H133G40048.
How it Works
The patented Rear Window® Captioning System displays reversed captions on a light-emitting diode (LED) text display which is mounted in the rear of a theater. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons use transparent acrylic panels attached to their seats to reflect the captions so that they appear superimposed on the movie screen. The reflective panels are portable and adjustable, enabling the caption user to sit anywhere in the theater. The Rear Window System was co-developed by WGBH and Rufus Butler Seder of Boston, Mass.
DVS Theatrical® delivers descriptive narration via infrared or FM listening systems, enabling blind and visually impaired moviegoers to hear the descriptive narration on headsets without disturbing other audience members. The descriptions provide narrated information about key visual elements such as actions, settings, and scene changes, making movies more meaningful to people with vision loss.
DTS Digital Cinema, now Datasat Digital Entertainment, enabled WGBH to bring these technologies to conventional movie theaters. A reader attached to the film projector reads a timecode track printed on the film and signals the Datasat player (XD20, XD10 or CSS) to play the audio synchronous to the film. For the Motion Picture Access efforts, Datasat adapted its technology to include the caption and descriptive narration tracks on a separate CD-ROM, which plays alongside the other discs in the Datasat player. In turn the player sends the captions to the LED display and the descriptive narration to the infrared or FM emitter.
Debut of Rear Window and DVS Theatrical
In November 1997, closed captions and descriptive narration were available for the first time, as part of a regular feature film presentation in a movie theater. The Rear Window Captioning System and DVS Theatrical made their debut at the General Cinema Theater in Sherman Oaks, California, during the November 1997 presentation of the Universal Pictures film, The Jackal. General Cinema Theatres, Universal Pictures, Digital Theater Systems, and WGBH collaborated to make this historic event possible. This pioneering effort has led to accessible presentations of hundreds of major motion pictures in time for their theatrical release. These technologies are also available in speciality theaters such as IMAX theaters, National Park Visitor Centers and Disney Theme Parks and Resorts.
FOR AN UP TO DATE SEARCH FOR MOVIES AVAILABLE & CINEMAS IN YOUR AREA, PLEASE VISIT:
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
PLEASE ALSO VISIT MoPix WEBSITE FOR RESOURCES, INFORMATION, ADVOCACY SUGGESTIONS:
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
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