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I heard about the new closed caption glasses from Sony and decided to give them a spin at a local movie theater. I don’t have a hearing loss, but usually watch TV with the subtitles on so I’m used to captioning. Although they’re great for the hearing impaired, captioned movies have traditionally been hard to find, offered at limited showings, and on only select movies. Now everyone can enjoy movies with their friends, whenever they want!
Using holographic technology, small projectors on each side of the glasses display the captions onto the clear lenses so that the captions appear to be floating in the air. The glasses were simple to adjust, with controls for brightness and perceived distance of the subtitles. The nosepiece height and lens angle can also adjust to each viewer’s preference.
I found the captioning experience to be quite similar to TV viewing, with the added benefit that if you turn your head (to grab your popcorn or soda, for instance) you can still see the captions. There’s also an audio jack on the battery pack, so if you have a remote such as Oticon’s Streamer, you can plug in for better audio streamed directly to your hearing aids (you’ll need an adapter for this). Regal Cinemas, where I tried these out, also offers telecoil neckloops so if you have a telecoil setting in your hearing aids, that’s an optional way to get better audio.
I definitely recommend these glasses, and hope to see them in more theaters soon. They’re currently in Regal Cinemas nationwide, so grab your popcorn and give them a try!
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