About CPC

Since 1985, we have been the industry leader in closed captioning, subtitling & teleprompting software. To keep up with the newest technology, we have added DVD, Webcasting & HD closed captioning and subtitling software to our list.

CPC is the choice. Ask any of our thousands of satisfied customers. CPC has also been operating an award winning closed caption/subtitle service since 1989.

CPC is located in Rockville, Maryland. Directions to CPC.

NAB 2011 - CPC Crew

NAB Convention 2011

From left Giovanni Galvez, Sidney Hoffman, Jason Livingston,
Dr. Dilip K. Som, John Fowler, Jeffrey Schriebman, Bob Murphy

CPC Closed Captioning/Subtitling Milestones

2011:

  • CPC releases an optional add-on called Auto Time Stamp (ATS) for our post production closed captioning software.

This add-on is a huge time saver for organizations who need to caption a large volume of videos for which transcripts are available. In the past, synchronizing captions was a labor-intensive, time consuming process.

  • CPC releases YouCaption™ Real-time, speech recognition based closed captioning software.

YouCaption’s advanced approach to speech recognition captioning provides accurate results with minimal lag or buffering time.

Now you can subtitle 3D videos at multiple depths.

2010:

CPC adds Avid® to the list of video editing systems with which it captions HD video. Now CaptionMaker and MacCaption can be used to caption HD video for virtually all digital and tape formats.

2009:

CPC goes beyond captioning MPEG-2 HD video, and covers virtually all HD digital and tape formats, without requiring an HD hardware encoder, which costs $7,600 and up. Plus, since the captioning is all done with software, work flow is enhanced, allowing for greater productivity.

2008:

  • CPC releases closed captioning software in Asian Languages for DTV broadcasting
  • CPC releases subtitling software for Blu-ray Discs
  • CPC releases version 4 of MacCaption and CaptionMaker which includes closed captioning/subtitling for:
    • Flash (including Timed Text DFXP (.xml)
    • QuickTime (.mov) with CEA-608
    • iTunes, iPod and iPhone
    • EBU data exchange format (.stl)

Professional captioning software for virtually all web formats is a reality – two years before the passage of the “21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010” – which will require captioning of a vast number of webcast videos.

2006-2007:

MacCaption-HD is the first commercially available software to produce true CEA-708 HD closed captions for MPEG-2 HD video. As an added bonus, it saves users big money, since it does not require an HD hardware encoder, which costs $7,600 and up. Plus, since the captioning is all done with software, work flow is enhanced, allowing for greater productivity.

2005:

CPC eliminates the need to purchase hardware closed caption encoders, which cost thousands of dollars. Our patented software encoder also enhances work-flow, since the entire caption job could be completed on the computer. Furthermore, the software encoder eliminates the need to go down a generation when adding closed captions (required by hardware encoders). This enhances the quality of closed captioned video.

2003-2004:

MacCaption is the world's first complete professional closed captioning software on a Mac. This allows professional Final Cut Pro® users to caption on the Mac – no hardware encoder is needed!

2001-2002:

Video and audio were typically transmitted through the web at a much slower rate than captions, and the rates varied further depending upon the type of internet connection you have. This often resulted in captions appearing prior to the segment of video that they were associated with. CPC devised a method of web caption transmission that overcame this problem, allowing perfect synchronization of closed captions with the audio.

1999-2000:

The V-Chip program rating software is integrated into CPC captioning software, which encourages organizations to caption and insert V-Chip ratings at the same time.

The TV Crossover Link software was integrated into CPC captioning software, which encourages organizations to caption and insert TV Crossover Links at the same time.

1997-1998:

This makes it affordable to caption and subtitle DVDs in-house; increasing the availability of captioned and subtitled DVDs.

When video is time compressed, the captions are lost. By developing software that could reinsert closed captions into compressed video, CPC again increases the availability of closed captioned video.

This allows low-end caption users with a real-time need to meet their captioning requirements.

1995-1996:

  • CPC's closed captioning and subtitling service is certified by the US. Department of Education’s Described and Captioned Media Program.
  • CPC is awarded one of the first General Services Administration (GSA) contracts for closed captioning software.

This makes it easier for Federal Agencies to purchase closed captioning software.

1993-1994:

  • CPC interfaces the CPC-700 to the Chyron Codi character generator, giving it the capability to do broadcast quality subtitling in over 21 languages.
  • CPC opens a multi-language subtitling service.

This brings down the cost of doing broadcast quality subtitling.

1991-1992:

  • CPC greatly enhances the closed captioning capabilities of the CPC-500, including introduction of a time code simulation feature (CPC-600 CaptionMaker).
  • CPC develops one of the first commercially available time-code based closed captioning software (CaptionMaker CPC-700). (It may be the first – but the actual ship date of a competitor’s product is murky, so we will settle for one of the first).

The CPC-700 CaptionMaker produces a sea change in the closed captioning field. This software allows television stations, post-production facilities, colleges and other organizations to do their own time code accurate closed captioning for the first time. They no longer have to rely on captioning services to caption their videos in order to get time code accuracy.

The software also spawns the creation of a new industry: closed captioning services that could provide time code accurate captioning. This makes the caption service field much more competitive, and vastly drives down the cost of closed captioning service.

1989-1990:

This adds competition to the closed caption service industry, which was still in its infancy, and helped to lower caption service prices.

1987-1988:

  • CPC develops the first low cost, easy to use post-production closed captioning software (CPC-500 CaptionMaker).

The CPC-500 allows schools for the deaf and many other organizations to do their own closed captioning for the first time.

Back in 1987 caption services charged in the $2,000/hour range! The CPC-500 software sold for $1,495, and the SoftTouch encoder computer card it interfaced to cost $1,895, so you could buy a CPC captioning system that produced broadcast quality closed captioned video for $3,390.

Admittedly, it was roll-up captions that were not time code based – but they were broadcast quality. Considering the $2,000/hour cost of using a service, this was a major breakthrough in bringing broadcast quality closed captioning into the affordable range.

1986:

As of 2010, most television stations use simultaneous teleprompting/closed captioning software to caption their television news. CPC is proud that we were the first to develop and ship this type of software.

Founders

(For the interesting story on how the company began, click here.)

Dr. Dilip K. Som, Ph. D. Physics. Co-Founder, President & CTO

Dr. Som has been the world’s leading closed captioning software developer since 1986. He has earned a reputation in the closed captioning community as the “guru of closed captioning” for his vast knowledge of the closed captioning field.

He has made innumerable software breakthroughs in the closed captioning field beginning in 1986 with the design, development and launching of the first PC based teleprompting/closed captioning software.

His other “firsts” in the closed captioning field include:

  • Release of the first commercially available closed captioning software in 1986
  • Release of one of the first time-code based professional closed captioning software in 1992
  • Release of Realtime Webcast closed captioning software with total synchronization between the closed captions and audio in 2003

Dr. Som earned his Ph. D. in Physics from the City University of New York. He co-founded CPC with Sid Hoffman in 1985.

Sidney Hoffman, M.S. Computer Systems, M.A. Audiology. Co-Founder and Vice President

Sid has over 30 years of experience in the closed captioning and teleprompting field. Sid earned a Master’s degree in Audiology (testing hearing and doing therapy with the hearing impaired), and a second Master’s in Computer Information Systems.

While in graduate school, he moonlighted as a hands-on teleprompter operator, working on shows such as the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, and the soap operas One Life To Live and All My Children.

As a teacher of the speech and hearing handicapped he realized the vast need for closed captioning for both the profoundly deaf and those with moderate and mild hearing losses. As a practical visionary, he has been instrumental in directing, developing and marketing CPC’s closed caption products, suitably combining his academic knowledge in Audiology and Information Technology to serve the hearing impaired community.

Sid’s Master’s thesis (which was published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America) focused on the hearing problems of the elderly.

Sid has also received a U.S. patent for his development of a new method of teaching speech reading to the hearing impaired.



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