Depositions, Inc

21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

2010-10-30T08:39:00.000-04:00

Article from NCRA

October 6, 2010 (Vienna, VA) When President Obama signs the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act into law on Friday, millions of citizens who are deaf or hard of hearing ultimately will have new-found access to video programming on the Internet through closed captioning. Working behind the scenes to make captioning of live Internet broadcasts possible will be realtime court reporters who serve as broadcast captioners, translating speech to text at speeds of 225 words per minute or faster.

This new law will require any and every video that, first, is broadcast on television and, then, distributed via the Internet to include closed captioning. Additionally, devices that display video such as smart phones, mp3 players, and DVRs must be capable of closed captioning and displaying video description and emergency alerts. For the large and growing amount of video content that will be broadcast live in the years ahead—on television and over the Internet—there will be a growing need for, and appreciation of, stenographic court reporters who work as broadcast captioners. That is one reason the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that the court reporting profession will experience major growth in the years ahead, estimating that the profession will grow by 18 percent in the next eight years.

“Most people don’t think twice about how closed captioning of live events takes place,” said Melanie Humphrey-Sonntag, President of the National Court Reporters Association. “They might be in a restaurant or an airport and see text appearing across the bottom of a television monitor during a live newscast or sports program. They never have to think about the fact that somewhere those words are transformed from speech to text by human beings. And those human being are realtime court reporters.”

Indeed, it has been stenographic court reporters, using realtime technology, who have worked hand in glove with the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities to ensure that captioning of live television programming has been possible over the past three decades. Using a sophisticated system of symbols and abbreviations, known generically and simplistically as “shorthand,” broadcast captioners enter shorthand into their realtime stenographic machines, which then filters instantaneously through an individualized computer translation program and simultaneously appears on a video screen or monitor in English for users. This sophisticated system ensures that those who are reading the proceedings—rather than listening to it—never miss a moment of the action. Stenographic court reporting not only requires a mastery of shorthand and its associated technology (which, itself, requires intense and ongoing training), but also demands an uncompromising knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and linguistics.
In an August statement on S.3304, as the Act was known during the legislative process, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), sponsor of the partner bill in the House of Representatives, said, “Two decades ago, Americans with disabilities couldn’t get around if buildings weren’t wheelchair accessible; today it’s about being Web accessible. The ADA mandated physical ramps into buildings. Today, individuals with disabilities need online ramps to the Internet so they can get to the Web from wherever they happen to be."

While closed captioning on television serves as the most prominent application of realtime court reporting, its use in courtrooms and depositions has allowed those who are deaf or hard of hearing to have fair and equal access to legal proceedings in courtrooms and depositions. This includes everyone from plaintiffs to defendants, jurors, judges, attorneys, and the public. Realtime court reporting also is gaining popularity in classrooms and other venues through what is known as “Communication Access Realtime Translation,” or “CART,” allowing people who are deaf or hard of hearing to enjoy equal participation in day-to-day activities that people without hearing impairments take for granted.

“When you envision the amount of live-broadcast events that will be streamed to the Internet so that people can watch them on their computers, smart phones, and iPads and then the corresponding need for realtime court reporters to provide captioning services, this is a significant event for the court reporting profession,” said Humphrey-Sonntag. “The country will be relying more than ever on the skills of stenographically trained realtime captioners to meet the demands of the marketplace, and we are more than ready for the challenge.”

“The stenographic court reporting profession has a long and storied history, and we take great pride in ensuring that an accurate record is taken and maintained,” continued Humphrey-Sonntag. “In recent years, we have been able to harness technology and use our skills for the benefit of society outside of the legal arena and our impact has been profound. What excites me most about the new 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act is not just that there will be new opportunities for court reporters, though that certainly is true, but also that we will be able to use our skills to ensure that everyone has access to the information and resources that are shaping our future.”

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Schwarzenegger Terminated

2010-10-30T08:16:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqSUxuoXOOo

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Timestamping @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-27T08:42:00.009-04:00

For videotaped depositions, we can print timestamps on the deposition transcript that match the timestamps on the video for quick and easy cross-referencing.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Realtime @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-27T08:41:00.005-04:00

Realtime reporting allows you to hook your laptop to the reporter’s laptop and view testimony while the deposition is taking place. Please notify us when booking the deposition if you require realtime so we can assign a court reporter who is capable of providing that service.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

SBF file with linked exhibits (Summation) @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-27T08:40:00.005-04:00

We can bundle the final transcript and exhibits in one compact Summation Briefcase Format (SBF) file that can be e-mailed to you and "dropped" into your Summation software.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Rough Draft/Dirty ASCII @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-26T12:01:00.007-04:00

Rough drafts, while not perfect, can be delivered at the end of the deposition, allowing for immediate review of the transcript. This can be particularly helpful when preparing for an upcoming deposition or to send to your expert for immediate review, at a fraction of the cost of expediting the final, certified transcript. Please notify us when booking the deposition if you require a rough draft so we can assign a court reporter who is capable of providing that service.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Expedited Delivery @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-25T15:57:00.007-04:00

With advance notice, we can provide expedited delivery of your transcript. Let us know what date you need the final transcript, and we'll assign a court reporter whose schedule can accommodate your deadline.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

Electronic Transcript @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-25T15:46:00.010-04:00

We can provide you with an electronic transcript of the deposition in the following formats:

E-transcript, Word, PDF, SBF (Summation), and ASCII. Exhibits can now be hyperlinked to the E-transcript file and SBF file!

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions

E-transcript Bundle @ www.NCDepo.com

2010-08-25T15:09:00.007-04:00

We can scan and link the deposition exhibits to the E-transcript file to create an E-transcript Bundle (.ptz file). The Bundle can be updated with subsequent depositions in the same case taken by Depositions, Inc., also with the exhibits linked. This is a great way to keep all of your depositions and exhibits for a particular case together.

Depositions, Inc.
Court Reporting Agency
Website: www.NCDepo.com
Serving North Carolina: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville & Wilmington
Keywords: Court Reporter, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions