New closed-caption glasses for Regal Cinemas

Regal Cinemas plans to have new closed-caption glasses distributed to over 6,000 of their theaters across the country by the end of this month. These new closed-captioning glasses are Sony Entertainment’s Access Glasses. While the Access Glasses appear to be 3D glasses, their purpose is to provide closed-captioning for those who are deaf or hard of hearing for either 2D or 3D movies.

What it looks like for the user is that the captions are projected on the glasses and appear to float about 10 feet away. The same system comes with audio tracks that describe what is happening on the screen for the blind, or it can be used to increase the audio levels of the movie for those who are hard of hearing. The current system widely in use utilizes bulky, “handheld” devices that are distracting to other movie-goers and closed-caption screenings are not a common occurrence.

The chief executive officer for Regal Cinemas, Randy Smith Jr. has said that he has been working for more than a decade to find a solution to this problem. He also said that since 1998 it was his goal “to develop a technology that would allow accessibility to the deaf and blind for every show time, for every feature.”

Check the video below for a better look and understanding about how Access Glasses works.