Dish and Closed Captions

[FloridaRick]

I'm not on the forum very much, and this is old news (since Dec. 8?), but a personal thanks from me to Dish for adding a Closed Caption button with the recent Hopper software upgrade! I hope the addition of CC control is available on all Dish remotes, regardless of system configuration, not just Hopper. I've hated the lack of a dedicated CC button on the remote ever since I signed up for Dish over a decade ago.

It's not a big deal to most people, but as hard of hearing I really rely on closed caption for TV. Having to run thru the menu layers just to turn CC off when somebody was over and I didn't want to impose CC on their viewing was annoying. Now, when the brother-in-law is over and the tube is tuned to NASCAR or NFL, one green button and done.

In a nutshell; Green button is Closed Caption Off/On, without going into menu.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Yes, I am glad that they took my suggestion about using the green button for one on/off captions, I made months back. It has been really nice for my wife. She can't hear crap and one push of the green button and the show has captions. Even she ,who is technologically challenged, can easily remember this trick.

 

[FloridaRick]

Yes, I am glad that they took my suggestion about using the green button for one on/off captions, I made months back. It has been really nice for my wife. She can't hear crap and one push of the green button and the show has captions. Even she ,who is technologically challenged, can easily remember this trick.

Well, MikeD-C05, thanks for that. When I realized the software update made the green button CC On/Off I thought, "Why didn't they do this years ago?"

 

[Tampa8]

Something that should have been done from the start, but nice to see they did make it as it should be.
And it is a big deal, CC is mandated for a good reason, it should be easy to get to.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Well, MikeD-C05, thanks for that. When I realized the software update made the green button CC On/Off I thought, "Why didn't they do this years ago?"

I have no idea, but I 'm sure that if we keep suggesting ideas on this site like the captions feature, they will eventually get around to implementing them. As much as we as a group gripe about glitches and bugs, DISH is committed to making the hopper the best damn receiver that DISH has ever made. We just have to keep the ideas coming , because DISH does read them and obviously they use them.

 

[TheKrell]

I'm not on the forum very much, and this is old news (since Dec. 8?), but a personal thanks from me to Dish for adding a Closed Caption button with the recent Hopper software upgrade! I hope the addition of CC control is available on all Dish remotes, regardless of system configuration, not just Hopper. I've hated the lack of a dedicated CC button on the remote ever since I signed up for Dish over a decade ago.

I have been wishing for that as well (e.g. VIP receivers), but I worry that it's not feasible with the earlier remotes.

 

[Hall]

I have been wishing for that as well (e.g. VIP receivers), but I worry that it's not feasible with the earlier remotes.

Change the MUTE button to MUTE/CC. Pushing the button cycles through mute-on, mute-off, CC-on, CC-off, and so on... No, it's not a single-button press, but at least there's no navigating through menus and different button presses required.

 

[TheKrell]

Change the MUTE button to MUTE/CC. Pushing the button cycles through mute-on, mute-off, CC-on, CC-off, and so on... No, it's not a single-button press, but at least there's no navigating through menus and different button presses required.

Right, but... The mute button is already used to mute the TV and frankly I don't see how you could use that button for CC as it was with NTSC televisions. So I think another button would have to be used; one which is not needed but still sends out receiver codes and not TV codes.

What really burns me up about this whole debacle is that it worked well on NTSC TVs to use the mute button and let the TV mute and put up the CC'ing itself. The CC signal is always on in the vertical blanking interval. Why couldn't the CC stream be put on the HDMI cable and let the HDTV do this as before?

 

[Hall]

Yeah, now that I re-think it, you'd be limited with that one button. For instance, you can't mute sound *and* turn on CC.

 

[old-guy]

Wishing for that on my 722 also with the ability to move to another position, IE top / bottom of screen.

 

[lfp302]

I would trade the * (format) button for cc, as zoom modes are also controlled by page up page down?

 

[TheKrell]

I would trade the * (format) button for cc, as zoom modes are also controlled by page up page down?

Excellent idea, though only my 612's currently use the page up/down buttons. But for my 722, I don't think the page up/down buttons do anything, so those might work to turn on/off CC.

 

[MikeD-C05]

My 722k remote control on my 2nd account for my dad and mom, has the color buttons just like the hopper : red/green/yellow/blue. I don't see why DISH can't write software that enables these color buttons to do the same thing as the hopper does: Green for captions and the other buttons for menu short cuts. Makes more sense than trying to write all new ways to accomplish it on the Vip series of receivers. Simplify and consolidate the remote controls instead of complicating them.

 

[lfp302]

Excellent idea, though only my 612's currently use the page up/down buttons. But for my 722, I don't think the page up/down buttons do anything, so those might work to turn on/off CC.

Yeah 211k and 222 here. I suppose there are too many variations for only one solution.

 

[TheKrell]

My 722k remote control on my 2nd account for my dad and mom, has the color buttons just like the hopper : red/green/yellow/blue. I don't see why DISH can't write software that enables these color buttons to do the same thing as the hopper does: Green for captions and the other buttons for menu short cuts.

Do you happen to know if the colored buttons issue a single IR or UHF code, or a sequence of codes? If single, then color be damned! I'll take the page up/down buttons any day, or the * button, on our existing remotes to turn on CC.

 

[Jim5506]

Any and all of the buttons on any remote do just what the programmers tell it to do. It can issue one command or it can issue a series of commands, it's all a matter of code writing.

It may have been possible for individual users to program in the sequence to toggle CC before Dish put it in the latest downloads, I think the color buttons will do macros, but I could be wrong.

Theoretically the color button for closed caption should be available on any device with a remote that has the colored buttons, I believe they are programmable.

I have programmed the buttons on my Hopper w/s to control my HDMI switch in Aux mode - very handy.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Do you happen to know if the colored buttons issue a single IR or UHF code, or a sequence of codes? If single, then color be damned! I'll take the page up/down buttons any day, or the * button, on our existing remotes to turn on CC.

No, I don't know if they color codes are in ir or uhf. But if that is a problem, they could always come out with a remote control version ,similar to the one for the hopper, except for the 722k. But the truth is that if DISH had it's way, I'm sure that they would rather subs upgraded to the more expensive hopper/joey setup, rather than try to keep the 722k around.

 

[Bobby]

The color buttons work with either IR or UHF. The Dish remote is UHF and my Harmony is IR. It works either way....

 

[TheKrell]

What I was wondering is whether the colored buttons on the superior remote (to the ones I have) issue a macro of several IR or UHF codes.

 

[ChadT41]

I wonder if Dish doesnt activate the color buttons on the 20.x and 21.x remotes, because you can(and they do send out still) the 5.x and 6.x series remotes for 622 family receivers. It would require completely different sets of software for each remote, compared to each remote acting the same currently, depending if it is IR or UHF.