Television Decoder
The television decoder is a device that allows a person to watch what is being said on TV. Viewing closed captions is similar to watching a subtitled movie. When a closed-captioned program is aired, captions are broadcast but a decoder is needed to see the captions. Most prime-time TV programs are captioned.
The decoder is a device about the size of a small VCR and is connected to the television in a similar way a VCR is connected. It can provide captions and text. Captions appear on the screen as people speak. Text appears on a black background screen, and the sentences scroll down.
The 1990 passage of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act required that all 13 inch and larger TV sets sold in the United States after July 1, 1993, have built-in closed-captioning decoder circuitry. This eliminates the need for an external decoder on most new TV sets.
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