Am I missing something here?

[zenithfan1]

I also remember seeing '80s sets with a plug on the back that said closed caption adapter too, these are old memories as I never paid much attention to the '80s sets until now because they weren't old enough.....wait....if they're old enough now, that means I'm getting old....

[AUdubon5425]

I remember there was a CC Decoder for sale in the Sears catalogs in the eighties.

[AiboPet]

Isn't the CC part of the vertical sync or something? as in "already present in any picture" and just needs to be decoded from the existing vertical blanking or something. I sometimes think I see artifacts from it if you have vertical size too small...along the top.

[radiotvnut]

I think Sears marketed a knob-tuned 19" color TV in the mid '80's that had a built-in CC decoder; but, it was a very expensive TV and not many were sold. By '93, the popularity of knob tuned TV's had gone way down and the only people buying them were the elderly (who often didn't like change) and people who could not afford the more expensive remote/cable ready set. The CC mandate was the final nail in the coffin because manufacturers figured out that they could cheaply build a TV, with built-in CC decoder, that was based on a microprocessor and since the demand was already declining for knob tuned TV's, they just stopped making them. The only knob tuned TV's that I know of that were made after the CC mandate were 12" B&W sets and, of course, these had no built in CC decoder. The reason manufacturers were able to continue selling these sets was because the CC mandate didn't apply to TV's with a screen size under 13". Even at that, I don't think those 12" B&W sets were made after '95-'96. By then, one could buy a 13" cable ready/remote set for what a 12" B&W set would have cost during the mid '80's.

[YamahaFreak]

Originally Posted by AiboPet

Isn't the CC part of the vertical sync or something? as in "already present in any picture" and just needs to be decoded from the existing vertical blanking or something. I sometimes think I see artifacts from it if you have vertical size too small...along the top.

There are indeed artifacts at the edges of most screens when you truly can see the top and bottom edges, though what most of them are for, I don't know. They're also there on DVD discs, and I can see them on the signal from my Nintendo Wii when I hit the 'HV Delay' button on my Sony PVM-8042Q monitor.

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

The only knob tuned TV's that I know of that were made after the CC mandate were 12" B&W sets and, of course, these had no built in CC decoder. The reason manufacturers were able to continue selling these sets was because the CC mandate didn't apply to TV's with a screen size under 13".

It never occured to me that the reason the 12" B&W set became the standard and anything bigger and B&W simply disappeared from the market was because of this (the fact that no one wanted B&W anymore didn't help either)

[YamahaFreak]

This thread has taught me a few things I never knew. Thanks, guys!

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by YamahaFreak

This thread has taught me a few things I never knew. Thanks, guys!

Truly amazing stuff I have always wonered about my self.

[old_tv_nut]

The digital version of vertical blanking interval data is called VANC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanc

The analog vertical blanking space carries closed captions, and possibly test signals and network data (back when analog network signals were used).

VCR and DVD outputs can contain Copyguard (TM) anti-copying pulses in this area. The anti copying pulses vary in amplitude and cause the automatic video level control in VCRs to go up and down in the opposite variation when recording. They also drive vintage TV set owners crazy because they show up in the retrace as white lines that come and go in the picture. Perhaps no-one on this thread is old enough to remember when video tape rental stores carried two versions of each title, so if you complained of lines on your TV, they would pull out a non-Copyguarded copy to rent.

[Opcom]

It really does look like an AOC. Repaired and hated them. burned boards.

[Eric H]

You're not missing anything, the seller is.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

They USED to make a converter/adapter that did that in the '80s, IIRC. I don't remember if it worked on knob tuned sets, anyone know for sure?

I have one (now sitting in storage) that was a set top box that tuned the selected channel, decoded the CC, placed the captions on the video, and then modulated that onto channel 2 or 3, along with the sound. It could feed a knob tuned TV set, as the TV would see it as a regular TV signal that happens to have captions written onto the picture.

[zenithfan1]

Thanks, I thought so but wasn't 100% sure.

[Electronic M]

I've got a CC decoder as well only mine don't tune anything but CH3, but it makes up for that by having video inputs. Since none of my daily drivers are even 100% solid state let alone CC equipped I use my CC decoder for those times when I just got to know what the the folks on my favorite programs are poorly pronouncing(read mumbling).

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I use my CC decoder for those times when I just got to know what the the folks on my favorite programs are poorly pronouncing(read mumbling).

AMEN!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/IMG_0259.jpg