Spec new home AV system with both line 21/CC & 608/HD captions
November 29, 2015 2:23 PM Subscribe
Our just-dead entertainment system was a 1999 moderate-price set-up. We don’t need to understand why something is the best system; if it meets our needs (details coming right up) and it costs around $1500 we’d be delirious with joy. We're willing to buy an entirely new system, and/or happy to reuse the currently working bits. We're not audiophiles (we have mild hearing impairments). We'd like something that will still work in a decade.
What I Already Know
The HDMI interface doesn't carry line 21/CC (closed captions in their original format). Our current setup connects the TV to the receiver twice: HDMI for streaming & newer DVDs; three-cable component connection for the library DVDs with only line 21 captions. AVSForum says newer HD TVs don't support analog inputs for DRM reasons.
I've read the hometheater, home, theater, entertainment and caption tags here. I’ve checked numerous deaf-interest forums, hearingloss.org, NAD, NCI, NCAM and FCC. I searched CNET and the Wirecutter, but didn't see anything answering my line 21 CC issue. Visited AVSforum.com where my eyes quickly crossed. I did learn that receivers and soundbars are now available with AirPlay, and I do have Mac computers.
I'm hoping you geniuses can suggest a better approach. Can you name me a box which transcodes line 21 captions to SDH-style and combines them with a video signal over HDMI? Do you know the make of a DVD player with a built-in decoder which imprints the line 21 captions over the video signal before it's sent along the HDMI connection? Line 21 captions look fine in Quicktime, iTunes, DVD player and VLC. Could I use my MacBook Pro’s Airplay to a receiver/soundbar, taking the Roku out of the loop?
Our goals:
a. Watching TV with all captions: both CC/Line 21 and SDH/708
TV: 2007 Sharp LC32D43U, only 720i but that's OK. Its multiple inputs:
Speakers: pair of ADS L470 8 ohm, and pair Radio Shack 8 ohm, uses (what was then standard) clear-cover two-wire copper speaker cord.
Airport Extreme router (supports Airplay)
Laptop: MacBookPro5,5 "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 Mid-2009 13" El Capitan capable. Has Gigabit ethernet, Mini Display port, FireWire 800, SD slot. The web says there's a $40 Mini Display Port to HDMI connector.
What I Already Know
The HDMI interface doesn't carry line 21/CC (closed captions in their original format). Our current setup connects the TV to the receiver twice: HDMI for streaming & newer DVDs; three-cable component connection for the library DVDs with only line 21 captions. AVSForum says newer HD TVs don't support analog inputs for DRM reasons.
I've read the hometheater, home, theater, entertainment and caption tags here. I’ve checked numerous deaf-interest forums, hearingloss.org, NAD, NCI, NCAM and FCC. I searched CNET and the Wirecutter, but didn't see anything answering my line 21 CC issue. Visited AVSforum.com where my eyes quickly crossed. I did learn that receivers and soundbars are now available with AirPlay, and I do have Mac computers.
I'm hoping you geniuses can suggest a better approach. Can you name me a box which transcodes line 21 captions to SDH-style and combines them with a video signal over HDMI? Do you know the make of a DVD player with a built-in decoder which imprints the line 21 captions over the video signal before it's sent along the HDMI connection? Line 21 captions look fine in Quicktime, iTunes, DVD player and VLC. Could I use my MacBook Pro’s Airplay to a receiver/soundbar, taking the Roku out of the loop?
Our goals:
a. Watching TV with all captions: both CC/Line 21 and SDH/708
- from over-the-air via antenna TV signal
- from streaming services (currently have Roku 2 and Airport Extreme)
- from DVD (don't need Bluray, but will buy if only option)
- from iPad/Mac
- from music CD
- from Roku radio
- from Roku video
- from DVD video
- from over-the-air via antenna TV signal
- from iPad/Mac audio
- one remote
- one app for iPad or Mac
- more than one remote
- headphone listening for sources 5-10
- HD radio nice but not deal breaker
- Don't need Bluray
- Don't care about 4K
TV: 2007 Sharp LC32D43U, only 720i but that's OK. Its multiple inputs:
- 2 — RCA composite cable: Yellow video / White L / Red R
- 2 — component cable: Y green / PB blue / PR red
- 2 — HDMI inputs
- 1 — S-video (5 pin)
- 1 — coax (we use external antenna)
Speakers: pair of ADS L470 8 ohm, and pair Radio Shack 8 ohm, uses (what was then standard) clear-cover two-wire copper speaker cord.
Airport Extreme router (supports Airplay)
Laptop: MacBookPro5,5 "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 Mid-2009 13" El Capitan capable. Has Gigabit ethernet, Mini Display port, FireWire 800, SD slot. The web says there's a $40 Mini Display Port to HDMI connector.
Best answer: Ok, just to clairfy:
So, for #4, you're going to need an Apple TV. I'm not sure if the combination of AirPlay video and closed captions works or not, but you don't have any other options. The Apple TV also supports several streaming services; it may or may not suffice as a replacement for your Roku, depending on which services you care about. I don't have any personal experience with one, so I can't speak to the selection or how well captions work on those.
For #3, I can second the recommendation of the PlayStation 3 as a good DVD and Blu-ray player. I'm pretty certain that it will indeed decode any and all closed captions locally and superimpose them on the HDMI output. Maybe you can bring one of your older discs with VBI/Line 21 captions to a GameStop or a friend's house and test the theory? The PS3 does Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu well, and also does captions for those services. As far as other streaming services go, the PS3 is pretty limited; you will not find the same breadth of selection that you'll see in the Roku channel store. Also note that as far as your purposes go, the PlayStation 3 is a much more capable machine than the PlayStation 4; the 4 is a better machine for playing games but its media capabilities are severely limited compared to its predecessor.
The downside of the PS3 is that it is pretty expensive; it looks like a new one is going to run you at least $200. I'm reasonably sure that pretty much any modern name-brand DVD or Blu-ray player with an HDMI output will do what you want as far as captions go; again, I think the best strategy would be for you to bring one of your old discs to the store and pop it into demo units until you find a model that you're satisfied with.
More later, when I have some time. As far as headphone listening goes, is wired acceptable or would you prefer Bluetooth?
posted by jordemort at 6:25 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
- Watching TV from antenna w/ captions: Do you already have this covered? Is your antenna hooked into the coax input on your TV? Does it get all the channels you want, and decode/display the captions from them?
- Watching streaming services w/ captions: Do you already have this covered as well? Is your Roku hooked into an HDMI input on your TV? Does it get all the streaming services you want, and decode/display the captions?
- Watching DVDs w/ captions: It sounds like you definitely don't have this covered. I don't see anything in your list of working gear that has a DVD drive. Correct?
- Watching iPad/Mac video w/ captions: You don't have a way to get video from your iPad or Mac to your TV in your current setup either, as far as I can tell. Correct?
So, for #4, you're going to need an Apple TV. I'm not sure if the combination of AirPlay video and closed captions works or not, but you don't have any other options. The Apple TV also supports several streaming services; it may or may not suffice as a replacement for your Roku, depending on which services you care about. I don't have any personal experience with one, so I can't speak to the selection or how well captions work on those.
For #3, I can second the recommendation of the PlayStation 3 as a good DVD and Blu-ray player. I'm pretty certain that it will indeed decode any and all closed captions locally and superimpose them on the HDMI output. Maybe you can bring one of your older discs with VBI/Line 21 captions to a GameStop or a friend's house and test the theory? The PS3 does Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu well, and also does captions for those services. As far as other streaming services go, the PS3 is pretty limited; you will not find the same breadth of selection that you'll see in the Roku channel store. Also note that as far as your purposes go, the PlayStation 3 is a much more capable machine than the PlayStation 4; the 4 is a better machine for playing games but its media capabilities are severely limited compared to its predecessor.
The downside of the PS3 is that it is pretty expensive; it looks like a new one is going to run you at least $200. I'm reasonably sure that pretty much any modern name-brand DVD or Blu-ray player with an HDMI output will do what you want as far as captions go; again, I think the best strategy would be for you to bring one of your old discs to the store and pop it into demo units until you find a model that you're satisfied with.
More later, when I have some time. As far as headphone listening goes, is wired acceptable or would you prefer Bluetooth?
posted by jordemort at 6:25 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: @infinitewindow, a PS3! thanks! never would have thought of that.
@jordermort, sorry I was vague, and thanks for answering!
re #3, we do have to buy a DVD player, but I don't know how to find a brand with a caption decoder. Write to the manufacturers? Great idea to bring a disk, which could be quicker than waiting for mfr answers.
Bluetooth for headsets, but another advantage of the PS3 route is their headsets seem to be priced lower than the audio market.
I succeeded Mac to Roku playing the DVD in my Mac drive. Both DVD Player and VLC have software caption decoders. I used AirParrot 2 to mirror my screen via the Roku (also claims to work with Chromecast.) I don't know how to coordinate my Mac window/resolution to make the right size for my Sharp TV. I already use Airfoil to send audio to my Airport Extreme.
But a PS3 would be simpler, and we'd be able to play games, too.
posted by Jesse the K at 8:49 AM on November 30, 2015
@jordermort, sorry I was vague, and thanks for answering!
re #3, we do have to buy a DVD player, but I don't know how to find a brand with a caption decoder. Write to the manufacturers? Great idea to bring a disk, which could be quicker than waiting for mfr answers.
Bluetooth for headsets, but another advantage of the PS3 route is their headsets seem to be priced lower than the audio market.
I succeeded Mac to Roku playing the DVD in my Mac drive. Both DVD Player and VLC have software caption decoders. I used AirParrot 2 to mirror my screen via the Roku (also claims to work with Chromecast.) I don't know how to coordinate my Mac window/resolution to make the right size for my Sharp TV. I already use Airfoil to send audio to my Airport Extreme.
But a PS3 would be simpler, and we'd be able to play games, too.
posted by Jesse the K at 8:49 AM on November 30, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:37 PM on November 29, 2015