[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 47, Volume 1] [Revised as of October 1, 2006] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 47CFR15.119] [Page 857-867] TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PART 15_RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES--Table of Contents Subpart B_Unintentional Radiators Sec. 15.119 Closed caption decoder requirements for analog television receivers. (a) Effective July 1, 1993, all TV broadcast receivers with picture screens 33 cm (13 in) or larger in diameter shipped in interstate commerce, manufactured, assembled, or imported from any foreign country into the United States shall comply with the provisions of this section. Note: This paragraph places no restriction on the shipping or sale of television receivers that were manufactured before July 1, 1993. (b) Transmission format. Closed-caption information is transmitted on line 21 of field 1 of the vertical blanking interval of television signals, in accordance with Sec. 73.682(a)(22) of this chapter. (c) Operating modes. The television receiver will employ customer- selectable [[Page 858]] modes of operation for TV and Caption. A third mode of operation, Text, may be included on an optional basis. The Caption and Text Modes may contain data in either of two operating channels, referred to in this document as C1 and C2. The television receiver must decode both C1 and C2 captioning, and must display the captioning for whichever channel the user selects. The TV Mode of operation allows the video to be viewed in its original form. The Caption and Text Modes define one or more areas (called ``boxes'') on the screen within which caption or text characters are displayed. Note: For more information regarding Text mode, see ``Television Captioning for the Deaf: Signal and Display Specifications'', Engineering Report No. E-7709-C, Public Broadcasting Service, dated May 1980, and ``TeleCaption II Decoder Module Performance Specification'', National Captioning Institute, Inc., dated November 1985. These documents are available, respectively, from the Public Broadcasting Service, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314 and from the National Captioning Institute, Inc., 5203 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041. (d) Screen format. The display area for captioning and text shall fall approximately within the safe caption area as defined in paragraph (n)(12) of this section. This display area will be further divided into 15 character rows of equal height and 32 columns of equal width, to provide accurate placement of text on the screen. Vertically, the display area begins on line 43 and is 195 lines high, ending on line 237 on an interlaced display. All captioning and text shall fall within these established columns and rows. The characters must be displayed clearly separated from the video over which they are placed. In addition, the user must have the capability to select a black background over which the captioned letters are displaced. (1) Caption mode. In the Caption Mode, text can appear on up to 4 rows simultaneously anywhere on the screen within the defined display area. In addition, a solid space equal to one column width may be placed before the first character and after the last character of each row to enhance legibility. The caption area will be transparent anywhere that either: (i) No standard space character or other character has been addressed and no accompanying solid space is needed; or, (ii) An accompanying solid space is used and a ``transparent space'' special character has been addressed which does not immediately precede or follow a displayed character. (2) [Reserved] (e) Presentation format. In analyzing the presentation of characters, it is convenient to think in terms of a non-visible cursor which marks the screen position at which the next event in a given mode and data channel will occur. The receiver remembers the cursor position for each mode even when data are received for a different address in an alternate mode or data channel. (1) Screen addressing. Two kinds of control codes are used to move the cursor to specific screen locations. In Caption Mode, these addressing codes will affect both row and column positioning. In Text Mode, the codes affect only column positioning. In both modes, the addressing codes are optional. Default positions are defined for each mode and style when no addressing code is provided. (i) The first type of addressing code is the Preamble Address Code (PAC). It assigns a row number and one of eight ``indent'' figures. Each successive indent moves the cursor four columns to the right (starting from the left margin). Thus, an indent of 0 places the cursor at Column 1, an indent of 4 sets it at Column 5, etc. The PAC indent is non- destructive to displayable characters. It will not affect the display to the left of the new cursor position on the indicated row. Note that Preamble Address Codes also set initial attributes for the displayable characters which follow. See paragraph (h) of this section and the Preamble Address Code table. (ii) The second type of addressing code is the Tab Offset, which is one of three Miscellaneous Control Codes. Tab Offset will move the cursor one, two, or three columns to the right. The character cells skipped over will be unaffected; displayable characters in these cells, if any, will remain intact while empty cells will remain empty, in the [[Page 859]] same manner that a PAC indent is non-destructive. (2) [Reserved] (f) Caption Mode. There are three styles of presenting text in Caption Mode: roll-up, pop-on, and paint-on. Character display varies significantly with the style used, but certain rules of character erasure are common to all styles. A character can be erased by addressing another character to the same screen location or by backspacing over the character from a subsequent location on the same row. The entire displayed memory will be erased instantly by receipt of an Erase Displayed Memory command. Both displayed memory and non- displayed memory will be entirely erased simultaneously by either: The user switching receiver channels or data channels (C1/C2) or fields (F1/ F2) in decoders so equipped; the loss of valid data (see paragraph (j) of this section); or selecting non-captioning receiver functions which use the display memory of the decoder. Receipt of an End of Caption command will cause a displayed caption to become non-displayed (and vice versa) without being erased from memory. Changing the receiver to a non- captioning mode which does not require use of the decoder's display memory will leave that memory intact, and the decoder will continue to process data as if the caption display were selected. (1) Roll-up. Roll-up style captioning is initiated by receipt of one of three Miscellaneous Control Codes that determine the maximum number of rows displayed simultaneously, either 2, 3 or 4 contiguous rows. These are the three Roll-Up Caption commands. (i) The bottom row of the display is known as the ``base row''. The cursor always remains on the base row. Rows of text roll upwards into the contiguous rows immediately above the base row to create a ``window'' 2 to 4 rows high. (ii) The Roll-Up command, in normal practice, will be followed (not necessarily immediately) by a Preamble Address Code indicating the base row and the horizontal indent position. If no Preamble Address Code is received, the base row will default to Row 15 or, if a roll-up caption is currently displayed, to the same base row last received, and the cursor will be placed at Column 1. If the Preamble Address Code received contains a different base row than that of a currently displayed caption, the entire window will move intact (and without erasing) to the new base row immediately. (iii) Each time a Carriage Return is received, the text in the top row of the window is erased from memory and from the display or scrolled off the top of the window. The remaining rows of text are each rolled up into the next highest row in the window, leaving the base row blank and ready to accept new text. This roll-up must appear smooth to the user, and must take no more than 0.433 second to complete. The cursor is automatically placed at Column 1 (pending receipt of a Preamble Address Code). (iv) Increasing or decreasing the number of roll-up rows instantly changes the size of the active display window, appropriately turning on or off the display of the top one or two rows. A row which is turned off should also be erased from memory. (v) Characters are always displayed immediately when received by the receiver. Once the cursor reaches the 32nd column position on any row, all subsequent characters received prior to a Carriage Return, Preamble Address Code, or Backspace will be displayed in that column replacing any previous character occupying that address. (vi) The cursor moves automatically one column to the right after each character or Mid-Row Code received. A Backspace will move the cursor one column to the left, erasing the character or Mid-Row Code occupying that location. (A Backspace received when the cursor is in Column 1 will be ignored.) (vii) The Delete to End of Row command will erase from memory any characters or control codes starting at the current cursor location and in all columns to its right on the same row. If no displayable characters remain on the row after the Delete to End of Row is acted upon, the solid space (if any) for that row should also be erased to conform with the following provisions. (viii) If a solid space is used for legibility, it should appear when the first [[Page 860]] displayable character (not a transparent space) or Mid-Row Code is received on a row, not when the Preamble Address Code, if any, is given. A row on which there are no displayable characters or Mid-Row Codes will not display a solid space, even when rolled up between two rows which do display a solid space. (ix) If the reception of data for a row is interrupted by data for the alternate data channel or for Text Mode, the display of caption text will resume from the same cursor position if a Roll-Up Caption command is received and no Preamble Address Code is given which would move the cursor. (x) A roll-up caption remains displayed until one of the standard caption erasure techniques is applied. Receipt of a Resume Caption Loading command (for pop-on style) or a Resume Direct Captioning command (for paint-on style) will not affect a roll-up display. Receipt of a Roll-Up Caption command will cause any pop-on or paint-on caption to be erased from displayed memory and non-displayed memory. (2) Pop-on. Pop-on style captioning is initiated by receipt of a Resume Caption Loading command. Subsequent data are loaded into a non- displayed memory and held there until an End of Caption command is received, at which point the non-displayed memory becomes the displayed memory and vice versa. (This process is often referred to as ``flipping memories'' and does not automatically erase memory.) An End of Caption command forces the receiver into pop-on style if no Resume Caption Loading command has been received which would do so. The display will be capable of 4 full rows, not necessarily contiguous, simultaneous anywhere on the screen. (i) Preamble Address Codes can be used to move the cursor around the screen in random order to place captions on Rows 1 to 15. Carriage Returns have no effect on cursor location during caption loading. (ii) The cursor moves automatically one column to the right after each character or Mid-Row Code received. Receipt of a Backspace will move the cursor one column to the left, erasing the character or Mid-Row Code occupying that location. (A Backspace received when the cursor is in Column 1 will be ignored.) Once the cursor reaches the 32nd column position on any row, all subsequent characters received prior to a Backspace, an End of Caption, or a Preamble Address Code, will replace any previous character at that location. (iii) The Delete to End of Row command will erase from memory any characters or control codes starting at the current cursor location and in all columns to its right on the same row. If no displayable characters remain on a row after the Delete to End of Row is acted upon, the solid space (if any) for that element should also be erased. (iv) If data reception is interrupted during caption loading by data for the alternate caption channel or for Text Mode, caption loading will resume at the same cursor position if a Resume Caption Loading command is received and no Preamble Address Code is given that would move the cursor. (v) Characters remain in non-displayed memory until an End of Caption command flips memories. The caption will be erased without being displayed upon receipt of an Erase Non-Displayed Memory command, a Roll- Up Caption command, or if the user switches receiver channels, data channels or fields, or upon the loss of valid data (see paragraph (j) of this section). (vi) A pop-on caption, once displayed, remains displayed until one of the standard caption erasure techniques is applied or until a Roll-Up Caption command is received. Characters within a displayed pop-on caption will be replaced by receipt of the Resume Direct Captioning command and paint-on style techniques (see below). (3) Paint-on. Paint-on style captioning is initiated by receipt of a Resume Direct Captioning command. Subsequent data are addressed immediately to displayed memory without need for an End of Caption command. (i) Preamble Address Codes can be used to move the cursor around the screen in random order to display captions on Rows 1 to 15. Carriage Returns have no affect on cursor location during direct captioning. The cursor moves automatically one column to the right after each character or Mid- [[Page 861]] Row Code is received. Receipt of a Backspace will move the cursor one column to the left, erasing the character or Mid-Row Code occupying that location. (A Backspace received when the cursor is in Column 1 will be ignored.) Once the cursor reaches the 32nd column position on any row, all subsequent characters received prior to a Preamble Address Code or Backspace will be displayed in that column replacing any previous character occupying that location. (ii) The Delete to End of Row command will erase from memory any characters or control codes starting at the current cursor location and in all columns to its right on the same row. If no displayable characters remain on the row after the Delete to End of Row is acted upon, the solid space (if any) for that element should also be erased. (iii) If the reception of data is interrupted during the direct captioning by data for the alternate caption channel or for Text Mode, the display of caption text will resume at the same cursor position if a Resume Direct Captioning command is received and no Preamble Address Code is given which would move the cursor. (iv) Characters remain displayed until one of the standard caption erasure techniques is applied or until a Roll-Up Caption command is received. An End of Caption command leaves a paint-on caption fully intact in non-displayed memory. In other words, a paint-on style caption behaves precisely like a pop-on style caption which has been displayed. (g) Character format. Characters are to be displayed on the screen within a character ``cell'' which is the height and width of a single row and column. The following codes define the displayable character set. Television receivers manufactured prior to January 1, 1996 and having a character resolution of 5x7 dots, or less, may display the allowable alternate characters in the character table. A statement must be in a prominent location on the box or other package in which the receiver is to be marketed, and information must be in the owner's manual, indicating the receiver displays closed captioning in upper case only. Character Set Table Special Characters These require two bytes for each symbol. Each hex code as shown will be preceded by a 11h for data channel 1 or by a 19h for data channel 2. For example: 19h 37h will place a musical note in data channel 2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HEX Example Alternate Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 [reg] See note\1\ Registered mark symbol 31 [deg] ............ Degree sign 32 \1/2\ ............ \1/2\ 33 [iquest] ............ Inverse query 34 \TM\ See note\1\ Trademark symbol 35 [cent] ............ Cents sign 36 [pound] ............ Pounds Sterling sign 37 [sung] ............ Music note 38 [agrave] A Lower-case a with grave accent 39 ............ Transparent space 3A [egrave] E Lower-case e with grave accent 3B [acirc] A Lower-case a with circumflex 3C [ecirc] E Lower-case e with circumflex 3D [icirc] I Lower-case i with circumflex 3E [ocirc] O Lower-case o with circumflex 3F [ucirc] U Lower-case u with circumflex ------------------------------------------------------------------------ \1\ Note: The registered and trademark symbols are used to satisfy certain legal requirements. There are various legal ways in which these symbols may be drawn or displayed. For example, the trademark symbol may be drawn with the ``T'' next to the ``M'' or over the ``M''. It is preferred that the trademark symbol be superscripted, i.e., XYZ \TM\. It is left to each individual manufacturer to interpret these symbols in any way that meets the legal needs of the user. Standard characters ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HEX Example Alternate Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 .......... Standard space 21 ! .......... Exclamation mark 22 `` .......... Quotation mark 23 .......... Pounds (number) sign 24 $ .......... Dollar sign 25 % .......... Percentage sign 26 & .......... Ampersand 27 ' .......... Apostrophe 28 ( .......... Open parentheses 29 ) .......... Close parentheses 2A [aacute] A Lower-case a with acute accent 2B + .......... Plus sign 2C , .......... Comma 2D - .......... Minus (hyphen) sign 2E . .......... Period 2F / .......... Slash 30 0 .......... Zero 31 1 .......... One 32 2 .......... Two 33 3 .......... Three 34 4 .......... Four 35 5 .......... Five 36 6 .......... Six 37 7 .......... Seven 38 8 .......... Eight 39 9 .......... Nine 3A : .......... Colon 3B ; .......... Semi-colon 3C < .......... Less than sign 3D = .......... Equal sign 3E