New Caption and Hearing Assist Systems at Ambler
Update: Due to many requests, we now also have cupholder caption readers in addition to the eyewear. Both the cupholder and eyewear options are available at the concession stand.
The Ambler Theater is proud to announce the installation of new closed captioning eyewear and assistive listening headsets. These upgrades were generously underwritten by a number of donors, but spearheaded by the enthusiastic support of Ken and Linda Regan.
These new systems make use of our digital projection systems to provide more comprehensive accessibility to our films for those patrons with hearing or vision difficulties. This upgrade has been a couple of years in the works and we are thrilled to announce that the system is now installed and operational. The new headphones and closed caption eyewear are currently available at the concession stand.
How does it work? What should patrons wishing to use the equipment expect?
Hearing Enhancement — We have new headphones that are more comfortable and have better volume control. These headphones provide amplified sound for all of the content that we show, including main attractions, special events, Hollywood Classics, National Theatre, Operas and Ballets, and trailers.
Closed Captioning — Certain films include closed captions. We have a set of eyewear from USL which projects a personal overlay closed caption display on the screen. Look for the Closed Caption logo (CC) on our website for details regarding which films have closed captioning available.
Visually Impaired Narration — Certain films have a descriptive audio track which can be accessed through the our new headphones. Please request the descriptive audio track from a staff member when collecting your headphones if you are interested in having this channel. Films with Visually Impaired Narration available are listed on our website with the DVS logo.
Why do only some films have Closed Captioning or Visually Impaired Narration? In order to have captioning, the filmmakers need to include a caption or narration file in the digital file we are provided. Most of the main attractions have captioning and narration, but the majority of our special event screenings do not.
Thank you Donors! We would like to thank the following donors for their support to make this upgrade a reality: Ken & Linda Regan, Annemarie Regan, Alan & Sandra Conway, Christopher and Jamie Williams, Jen and Bill Yohnka, and Tara Graefe.
We will be installing these systems at the County Theater and Hiway Theater in the near future.