Method and apparatus for control of closed captioning

Abstract

A system for performing closed captioning enables a caption prepared remotely by a captioner to be repositioned by someone other than the captioner, such as by a program originator. This capability is particularly useful when, for example, the program originator wishes to include a banner in a video but also wishes to avoid having a closed caption interfere with the banner. In one illustrative system, the program originator is a broadcast station that includes a conventional encoder and a broadcast station computer. In one arrangement, control data generated at the station computer is incorporated into the caption data by the station computer. In another arrangement, the control data is sent from the station computer to the captioner computer, which incorporates the control data into the caption data.

1 . An apparatus for enabling a user thereof to exert control of various closed caption display aspects of caption text, comprising:
 a user input component for generating a plurality of selectively operable control elements respectively representative of the closed caption display aspects;   a component responsive to selective operation of any of the control elements for generating first control data corresponding to at least one of the closed caption display aspects;   a first output for supplying the first control data apart from the caption text;   a first input for receiving external caption data comprising the caption text and second control data, the second control data including portions obtained from the first control data; and   a second output for supplying the caption data received at the first input in a substantially unaltered form.