Features, settings & updates

[clearsky1]

I keep trying to watch TV shows on my Roku Express 4K+, but the closed captions keep moving around the screen according to who is talking. It's like trying to play whack-a-mole with my vision. If there are multiple people, and the conversation is fast, there is no way to anticipate where the CC will show up, and by the time my eyes get there, it's gone and I try to move to the next one, and on and on. Try watching an episode of Friends this way, and it will drive you insane. I lose most of the conversation, because it's impossible to find the text in time, not to mention the lost time actually looking at the scene to see what's going on. It's like running a f*cking marathon with my eyes, and after one TV show I'm completely exhausted.

Is there a way to stop this closed caption insanity? I'm watching the shows on Peacock, Paramount+, MAX, and Hallmark+ on the Roku Channel.

[RokuReynan-L]

Hi, @clearsky1.

Welcome to the Roku Community!

Thanks for reaching us about having an issue with closed captioning. We're here to help.

The issue is likely caused by the channel you are watching having its own caption settings, which may not match your Roku's overall settings. To adjust this, you can press the "star" (*) button on your Roku remote while watching content. This will bring up the channel's options menu, where you may be able to change the caption positioning.

If the issue persists, please let us know.

Thanks,
The Roku Community Team

[clearsky1]

Hi. Thank for your suggestion. I tried what you said...playing content on Max, Paramount+, Hallmark+, and Peacock. When pressing the * it brings up turn CC on or off, volume mode, and accessibility & language. Accessibility then has options to select the CC track, audio track, screen reader, speech rate, and screen reader volume. There is no option in any of them to modify the position of CC. Do you have any other suggestions? I will try whatever you think might help.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Hey there! Thanks for keeping us in the loop. 

Do you have any sample of content inside the mentioned channel where this is happening? This will help us take a closer look and investigate further. 

Looking forward to your prompt response!

Best,
The Roku Community Team

[clearsky1]

I keep trying to reply to this thread with a specific CC example and pictures of my screen, but I keep getting error messages like "maximum flood limit reached" and "this reply was marked as spam and has been removed". I don't know how to get you the information, if this website keeps preventing me from posting.  

[clearsky1]

Sure, I'm happy to provide an example. In Max on my Roku Express 4K+ I was watching an episode of Friends (S10E5: The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits) and at 13min 25sec into the show, you can see how the closed captions jump around the screen so quickly. Sometimes even without the scene or person changing. This CC fiasco happens on all the episodes of Friends on Max, but in this example it's very noticeable. The images below are a sequence that only takes 2 seconds in the show, but the closed caption box moved to 3 DIFFERENT locations in that short period of time. The CC box went from the very top center of the screen to the lower left, and then shifted to the right towards the bottom middle. It is very hard to follow and anticipate where the CC will appear next, before jumping somewhere else when the next dialog occurs.

[clearsky1]

When the CC box moves so much, it really fatigues my eyes unnecessarily and makes me not want to watch TV anymore. It feels more like work than entertainment. If you can imagine a 20 minute TV shows, which equals 1200 seconds and the extreme real world example I provided of closed captions changing 3 times every 2 seconds, that equals 1800 potential movements of the closed captions in that single episode. That doesn't even include the work my eyes have to do to watch what's actually going on in the show itself. I hope this example helps. I have other examples from content on other channels and shows if you need more.

[clearsky1]

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Thank you for the additional details, @clearsky1!

We really appreciate your effort to supply this information!

Please note that the behavior of captions and subtitles may vary from app to app and from one content to another. They may move around to avoid obscuring important elements such as text or credits that are on screen. If you notice the captions moving, it is because that is how they have been programmed for that particular content.

For further assistance, we would recommend contacting the channel provider for additional information on this. 

We hope this clarifies everything! Let us know if you need more help. 

Best,
The Roku Community Team