Ah.... "Subtitles." The very term harkens me back to those high-school days when an over-worked English teacher would show a sub-titled movie to the class (instead of a normal lesson) in order to catch up on paperwork... while yours truly would pick a seat in the very back of the class so that when the lights went out, I could try and entice Jill Caltigerone into a makeout session in the corner. Those were the days... (and Jill, if you're out there... call me, we gotta 'catch up.') 

I'm not sure that Uncle Hal had the same thing in mind (and if you did, Hal, shame on you... grin) but the advent of subtitles in Sportys DVDs should, none-the-less get your attention. Sporty's Complete Pilot Courses (Recreational, Private, Instrument) along with their two communications programs (VFR Communications, IFR Communications) have had closed captions since they came out, but now these programs have subtitles in addition to closed captions. Sporty's DVDs are designed to work in DVD players around the world, but because of different technical standards, closed captions do not work on most TVs outside of North America.

For this reason, Sporty's added subtitles to its courses and communications programs. Just like closed captions, subtitles display on screen the same words that the announcer is speaking. Closed captions allow viewers using North American standard televisions (and some computer software players in any country) to display the announcer's words on screen as he speaks. This can help with retention and comprehension, especially for students whose first language is not English. The main differences between subtitles and captions is that subtitles work around the world, and are controlled with the DVD player, while closed captions are turned on and off using the TV, and generally only work in North America. Also, subtitles work in more computer software players than closed captions.

FMI: www.sportys.com