The stenocaptioner uses a special shorthand keyboard and computer to type as many as 225 words per minute, working much like a court reporter. Within less than five seconds, caption viewers see the words on their TV sets at home. Stenographic captioning is also the method used for the nightly network newscasts, The Today Show, The Miss America Pageant, The Oprah Winfrey Show, sporting events, and many other live programs. Stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, Phoenix, and other cities caption their newscasts using the stenographic method. Costs of stenographic captioning There are two kinds of costs- equipment and personnel.
Equipment can run from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands.
Either the station or the stenocaptioner will need steno equipment and a computerized dictionary for converting steno into English. The station will also need to buy caption encoding equipment which converts English words into data ready for broadcast. Stenocaptioners are well paid professionals with years of training in steno. Few people have such highly specialized skills. Once a stenocaptioner is hired, that person trains several more months, and then spends several hours daily preparing for each broadcast.