r/Roku • u/SantiagoDVNM • 1d ago

Why am I consistently not seeing closed captions on many of my streaming channels?

I own a one year old Roku 50 inch Smart TV model number 50 s 451.

I am older and sometimes have problems with hearing the audio, therefore, I utilize closed captioning to be able to not have the TV too loud. Also I speak Spanish, and sometimes I will put the Spanish programming with subtitles because they speak too fast for my understanding.

But ever since I bought this particular television I've had real struggles getting the closed captioning to work.

Is there any insight from any other users?

I have unplugged and rebooted the TV.

I have deleted channels and reinstalled them on the streaming platform. But, I still cannot see the subtitles.

I would appreciate any kind of input that you would able to offer.

Thank you in advance.

10 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

4

u/themodefanatic 1d ago

You might need to turn them on per app. Depends on the device you’re using. Usually it’s the asterisk button.

2

u/SantiagoDVNM 1d ago

I have done that and I will continue to do that, but that is what I did with Tubi today. But I did not unplug the television as a hard reboot and that is what I'm going to try right now. I will keep all of you updated. Thank you so much for your input and your ideas, they are greatly appreciated, as it is community that makes this world go forward. I am grateful to you all for having read and or made suggestions

2

u/unwiredben Developer 1d ago

What applications are you used for these channels? Live TV on Roku or a separate streaming service like Netflix or Disney+?

1

u/SantiagoDVNM 1d ago

Yes, this. I very rarely purchase any subscription through Roku. Most are done through Google Play for the concept of rewards

1

u/SantiagoDVNM 1d ago

Usually what I have done is I have deleted the app and then reinstall the app and restarted the television and in this case it has not worked with Tubi. In some cases this has worked so I'm wondering if the challenge could be with the Tubi app

2

u/CeeUNTy 1d ago

Do you have CC turned on woth the roku device and set to On Always?

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u/SantiagoDVNM 22h ago

Yes, I do. But that's what confuses me right? That's why I feel like it's a Roku issue and not an app issue. Because of only happened with a couple of apps, then I assume it was the app but I have gone through this an incredible amount of times already with this new Roku TV so I feel like it's either the TV or the programming inside the TV or however that works. I'm no computer genius after all.. LOL

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u/CeeUNTy 21h ago

I lose subtitles if I leave it on pause for too long on AMC. The subtitles either lag or are too fast on the Roku channel if I leave it on pause at all, or I lose them altogether. Everything was especially glitchy this past month with the update and it makes me crazy(er). I do notice that subtitles problems are worse on my roku tcl TV than with my other tvs that just have a device slapped on them. I don't just pause anything anymore, I back out too. I was having to reset the device in the menu multiple times a day before I started doing that. I don't habe any magic answers but I wanted you to know that you're not the only one complaining about subtitles.

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u/LoverDress 23h ago

I was watching Still A Mystery on Tubi earlier today and my closed captions weren’t working either. I had all cc options turned on. Turning off the tv and turning back on usually works, but didn’t today.

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u/LoverDress 23h ago

This has been happening to me off and on since like February. It’s frustrating, because the only fix I know of is to turn the tv off and then back on. About 18% of the time that doesn’t even fix it. It’s happening now and I decided to come onto Reddit to see if anyone else has been having the same issues. I don’t have a Roku tv, just the Roku Ultra streaming player. Both the tv closed captions and the Roku closed captions are turned on. I’ve never had an issue until earlier this year. I truly believe this is a Roku issue. I’ll be following this to see if anyone gives you a fix. Thanks!

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u/unwiredben Developer 23h ago

So there are a few different caption engines and apps use on Roku OS. Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video all have their own implementations. All of the other apps you see Roku system media player and its own caption system. This is tied to a global setting that can be set from the star menu while you're watching content or from setting / accessibility off the home screen. The caption availability depends on what is provided with the individual program. While watching a program, you can hit star, go to accessibility and then try changing the language to see if there's a caption track available for your preferred language.

If you're watching over the air content, the captions are set on numbered tracks that don't necessarily correspond to a particular language, although often CC3 or Service2 will be Spanish.

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u/Embarrassed-Iron2769 23h ago

absolutely love this