There are still only a few RWC-equipped theaters today, in contrast to the number of open captioned showings taking place across the country. Also, an increase in RWC installations in movie theaters nationwide may not fully satisfy those who have already expressed a strong desire for open captioned access. Benefits of Open Captioned Access Virtually all the feedback we have received about open captioned movie showings has been positive. Studios and theaters alike are now learning that captioning benefits many other people including baby boomers and seniors who are losing their hearing, English speaking individuals seeking to improve their reading literacy, and those who speak other languages and are in the process of learning English. This translates to at least 100 million people in America who would benefit from captioned access to first-run movies.
Museums nationwide have a head start on provision of captioning access.
In Europe, where multilingualism is the standard, there is an abundance of captioned films as well as broadcast shows that are shown in open captioned format. Studios and movie theaters could do well to learn from such examples. Digital Technologies in the Future Digital video technology, which is coming to filmaking, will permit satellite, cable and broadband distribution of movies to theaters worldwide. Digital movies likely will have specific tracks for audio or text in various languages, so we can very well expect a track that is specifically set for open captioning through the flick of a switch. The NAD intends to work through CMC to ensure captioning access to such future technologies.