Are closed captions the same as subtitles?

No. Captions assume the viewer cannot hear and include sound information; subtitles assume the viewer can hear but not understand the language.

Can closed captions be styled by the viewer?

On most modern platforms yes — size, colour and background are viewer settings, which is a core advantage over burned-in text.

Which format carries closed captions?

Broadcast uses formats such as SCC or embedded caption data; streaming platforms generally accept WebVTT, SRT or TTML profiles.

Why do live captions lag the speech?

Live recognition has to emit text before the sentence finishes, and the caption then has to be encoded and transmitted. A delay of a few seconds is inherent rather than a fault.

Definition

What Are Closed Captions?

VideoText editorial team. Updated September 13, 2026.

Direct definition

Closed captions are timed text that can be turned on or off by the viewer. They encode the spoken words and, for accessibility captions, relevant non-speech sounds. They travel as a separate track, not painted into the picture.

The sections below explain how closed captions is used in transcription and subtitle work, what people often mix up, and which VideoText workflow applies when the next step is a file or review pass.

Key takeaways

Closed means the viewer can toggle the track.
U.S. television captioning is regulated in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1.
Closed captions travel as a separate track; open captions are painted into the picture.

Closed captions vs subtitles

In U.S. accessibility usage, captions assume the viewer cannot hear the audio and therefore include sound cues. Subtitles often assume the viewer can hear but needs another language. Everyday speech blurs the words; legal and broadcast documents do not.

Why they matter

WHO estimates that more than 1.5 billion people live with some hearing loss. Captions are one of the practical ways video remains usable for that audience — and for anyone watching without sound.

Why they are called closed

Closed means the caption data travels with the programme but is not part of the picture, so the viewer switches it on. Open captions are burned into the image and cannot be turned off.

Because the data is separate, the viewer’s device controls the presentation, which is what allows size, font and contrast adjustment on modern platforms.

Pop-on, roll-up and paint-on

Broadcast captions use three presentation styles. Pop-on displays a complete caption at once and suits scripted content. Roll-up scrolls lines upward and is standard for live programming. Paint-on draws characters left to right.

The style is part of the caption data, which is why broadcast formats such as SCC can express it and plain formats such as SRT cannot.

Frequently asked questions

Are closed captions the same as subtitles?: No. Captions assume the viewer cannot hear and include sound information; subtitles assume the viewer can hear but not understand the language.
Can closed captions be styled by the viewer?: On most modern platforms yes — size, colour and background are viewer settings, which is a core advantage over burned-in text.
Which format carries closed captions?: Broadcast uses formats such as SCC or embedded caption data; streaming platforms generally accept WebVTT, SRT or TTML profiles.
Why do live captions lag the speech?: Live recognition has to emit text before the sentence finishes, and the caption then has to be encoded and transmitted. A delay of a few seconds is inherent rather than a fault.