Let Me Describe Something For You

My office looks out onto a city park with a big hill. A week ago I was watching boys and girls bundled up like the Michelin Man screaming down the hill on their sleds, bouncing like badly-thrown bowling balls before they inevitably tumbled out of their sleds. Three days later, I’m watching city crews on John Deere tractor-ettes mowing the fresh grass. It’s bizarre how fast it changes here, and it’s even more bizarre how Minnesotans are obsessed with keeping things clear and low. Snow plows come out and hit the roads before there’s any accumulation. In the spring the plows are converted to lawn mowers. There’s a job in the city for a person to literally watch the grass grow and send out an all-call and cross-check upon one nanometer of growth.

On the boulevard between the park and my office is a huge sign with the word CaptionMax on it, and the name is a good reason why most people know of us as a captioning company. What you may not know is that we’re also a major provider of audio description services. We have described thousands of hours of television and DVD programs for the benefit of persons with vision loss. We’re continually reminding consumers and teachers that the description is there. All they have to do is turn it on.

Don’t know how to do that? Then please read on.

Described Television Programming

Do you realize that there are lots of audio described programs available on television? Most PBS programs are described, including children’s programs, documentaries, and other series. Activating audio description (AD) will make those programs easier for blind students to follow and enjoy.

If you’re not sure how to activate AD on your television, try our handy web guide:

• Overview of AD
• Activating AD on your TV

Follow the menu links for additional hints on activating AD on cable, VCRs, and DVDs.

Check here for a list of television series that we describe.

In addition to series, we also do lots of documentaries and other programs.

Described DVDS

What about programs such as DVDs? CaptionMax is the largest producer of audio description services for non-broadcast educational media. Here’s a list of the programs we’ve described so far, and we’re adding to it every week.

One of the coolest features of our educational DVDs is that the menus are auto-described. That means all you have to do is pop in the DVD, and you’ll start hearing the menu options. You can control everything with the forward and enter buttons. Another of my favorite features is expanded description, in which the video freezes to allow more detailed description of an object or scene.

“How do I get these programs?” you may ask:

Free loan: If you’re a parent or student, visit our page at the Described Captioned Media Program (DCMP) website. Once you register on the DCMP site, you can obtain via download or DVD (including free shipping) any of our programs. There are just two requirements to be eligible for the service: 1.) You must be a parent of, teacher of, or student with a hearing or vision loss, and 2.) You must fill out a short evaluation form after use. To register visit DCMP’s registration page.

Purchase: If you’re a teacher or librarian, we encourage you to follow the links on our website to the program distributors, where you can buy and learn about our described programs and more.

If you’ve listened to one of our described programs, please send us a note and let us know what you think! We read every email that comes in, and answer every question. We are also proud to say that consumer feedback is an integral part of how we do what we do. Please send us your thoughts and input, so that we may continue to make all media accessible to all.

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