iTunes Store: Closed captioning

Summary

Learn how to find movies and TV shows on the iTunes Store that have closed captioning, and find out how to enable captions on Apple products.

Products Affected

Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, iTunes Store

Find iTunes Store content that supports closed captioning on your:

Mac or PC

iTunes 11 or later

  1. Open iTunes and go to the iTunes Store.
  2. In the search bar, type in a specific title or a keyword.
  3. Click the TV Episodes or Movies media type in the column on the right.
  4. Click the With Closed Captioning tab.
    Search by media type for closed captioning

You can also browse to a movie or TV episode's description page and look for a closed caption logo next to the title of the video or in the language section.

Video description page

Video description language section

iTunes 10.7 or earlier

  1. Open iTunes and go to the iTunes Store.
  2. In the search bar, type "closed caption".
    iTunes Store search field
  3. Click Power Search.
    Power search button
  4. From the pop-up menu, choose Movies, TV Shows, or iTunes U.
    Power search media selector
  5. Enable the option to "Search only for movies that contain closed captioning," and then click Search.
    Power search fields
    Videos that support closed captioning will display a closed caption logo on the left side under the movie details.
    Closed caption logo in language section of product description

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

  1. Tap iTunes.
  2. Tap Search.
  3. Type "closed caption".
    iOS iTunes Store search field
    Video that supports closed captioning will display a closed caption logo in the movie details section.
    Video description detail

Apple TV

  1. Browse to or search for a movie or TV show.
  2. On the movie or episode description page, a closed caption logo will appear if closed captioning is supported.
    Apple TV Media Description

Enable closed captioning on your:

Mac or PC

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. For Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar.
    Mac iTunes preferences
    For Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences from the menu bar.
    iTunes Windows preferences
  3. Click the Playback tab.
  4. Enable the checkbox next to "Show closed captioning when available." Click OK.
    iTunes playback tab

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

  1. Tap Settings > Video.
  2. Tap the On/Off switch next to Closed Captioning.
    iOS closed captioning setting ON

iPod nano

  1. Go to Preferences in iTunes on your Mac or PC.
  2. Click the Playback tab.
  3. Enable the checkbox next to "Show closed captioning when available." Then, click OK.
  4. On your iPod nano, tap Settings > Video.
  5. Enable Captions.
    iPod nano closed captioning setting

Apple TV

  1. To enable Closed Captioning for all video content (when available) select Settings > Audio & Video, and then select Closed Captioning.
    Apple TV closed captioning setting
  2. You can also selectively toggle closed captions on or off during playback by pressing and holding the Select button on your Apple TV remote.
  3. Navigate to the Closed Caption tab to select the language you want.
    Apple TV video setting

Additional Information

 Note: Closed captioning availability varies by country.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
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