Differentiating CART and Closed Captioning

CART and closed captioning are often mistaken by consumers. In order to understand the difference between the two terms, first it’s important to understand that there are different methods for providing spoken word to individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Captioning involves displaying spoken word through an encoder onto a television or projection screen for a live or recorded event. According to experts, more than 100 million Americans a year utilize closed captioning to follow the audio portion of TV broadcasts. Captioning is used by the deaf or hard of hearing people as well as the general population in noisy settings such as a gym or restaurant.

CART Captioning, on the other hand, is capturing spoken word and displaying it for view by consumer (s), either on a laptop computer or projected on a large screen. CART provides a verbatim translation of every spoken word including environmental sounds, and it’s up to the consumer to decide what information is relevant to them. CART on a larger screen is ideal for group settings whereas a laptop is ideal for smaller settings, e.g. high school, college classes and other small gatherings.

It’s important to note that both methods use the same basic process, involving a stenographer taking notes on a stenography machine that is connected to a laptop for projection on an overhead projector for view.