Why are captions missing from programs? Why are they garbled?
Captioning problems can occur for a variety of reasons and the problems can stem from different sources depending on the type of broadcast, such as network, syndication or cable. The captions are delicate, and they travel from the caption company to the broadcaster through the phone lines, go through the encoding equipment, then get bounced to the satellites, local stations and cable companies, and finally pass through the home receiver, so there are many opportunities for them to encounter interference that impairs their quality. Since the caption data is inserted directly into the television transmission signal, anything blocking the signal path will cause the captions to become garbled or disappear altogether. A weak transmission of a television signal, poor reception of the television signal as it travels into the home, or cable problems in the home can also garble captions or cause white boxes to appear within captions. Words with pairs of letters missing, such as “I msd y” for “I
