Subtitles, closed captions and alternate audio tracks are carried inside the stream when a channel provides them, and your player app decides whether you can turn them on. Look for a subtitles or audio option while a channel is playing. If nothing appears, the channel doesn't carry them or the app can't read that format.
Turning on subtitles or captions
- Start playing a channel.
- Open the player's on-screen menu (often by pressing OK, Menu or the options button).
- Look for Subtitles, CC or Captions and choose a track.
Many US channels carry closed captions embedded in the video. Some player apps show them; others only display separate subtitle tracks. If your app can't show captions, try another player or your device's built-in caption setting.
Switching the audio language
Channels with more than one language or an audio-description track list them under Audio or Audio track in the player menu. Your choice may reset when you change channels; some apps let you set a preferred language in settings.
Device-level accessibility settings
- Most TVs and streaming platforms have system caption settings for size, color and background, which some apps follow.
- Accessibility menus may also include audio description and high-contrast options.
When options are missing
- Try the same channel in another player, such as VLC, to see whether the track exists.
- Switch the app's player or decoder setting; some engines read more subtitle formats.
- Report channels that should have captions but don't to your provider.
Voices out of step with the picture? See fix audio out of sync.