
Closed captioning is specifically designed for the hearing impaired in order to communicate as much of a scene as is practical so that the viewer can gain maximum enjoyment from it. Subtitles are designed for those who have trouble understanding the language or need a visual translation of the words being spoken. The idea is to add a lot more information to the viewer in order to engage more with any important content that might be missed when sound is not present. Closed captions will also distinguish between which characters are saying which lines, and if a character speaks off-screen, this will be noted in the captions. You should see descriptions of any background noises, as well as key sound effects and any audio within the scene. Look at closed captions, and you will still see text dialog, but you will also see more. It is mainly designed for people who don’t understand the language, not for those with hearing impairment, even though it can be used by both. It is designed for anyone who cannot use the original audio and for TV shows or movies that don’t have dubbed versions to still follow what’s going on and enjoy the TV show or movie.

A subtitle is a transcription of all dialogue within the scene being shown.
