The following is an account of a couple's experience using the new "Descriptive Audio" service at the Regal Stadium 14 Cinema at North Hills Mall in Raleigh (excerpted from an email from Arts Access president Fred Brack and his wife).  It addresses only audio description, not the associated open caption service, which was not experienced, nor does it apply to the White Oaks or Beaver Creek cinemas.

 
Last evening Kathy and I were the first patrons, apparently, to take advantage of the newly installed DTS Access system at the Regency Stadium 14 Cinema at North Hills Mall in Raleigh, which offers audio description for first-run movies.  I thought I would share the details with you, my local friends who might personally be interested in taking advantage of this new service.
 
First, a few background notes.
  1. The DTS Access system varies from the MoPix system only as it applies to the presentation of captions for people who are deaf, so it doesn't apply to you.  DTS Access presents OPEN captions, while MoPix uses CLOSED captions presented on a chair mounted reflector.
  2. You DO need to be aware that Regal (at the corporate level) has chosen to project the open captions only at selected performances in the theater equipped with the DTS Access equipment, but the audio description is available at all performances in that theater.  (I believe the reason for this decision is that sighted people with normal hearing would prefer not to have the captions on the screen, so they limit the number of presentations with captions, varying the show times to accommodate everyone's preferences.)
  3. Regal has done a nice job of listing all accessible shows in all states on one web page.  However, the listing is so big, it takes awhile to load!  The page address, including a jump to the North Carolina section, is:  http://www.regalcinemas.com/movies/open_cap.html#NC.  Page down to get to Raleigh.  You may notice that the words "open_cap" are part of the URL.  That's because the listing is designed to show the specific times that open captioned movies are shown -- generally twice a day out of the 4-5 performances a day.  So the trick for you folks who want to take advantage of the audio described performances is to "read between the lines" and figure out what other times the show is being projected in the same theater, so you can include those show times in your options!  For example, we wanted to go to the early evening show on 5/28, but the show times listed were 12:15 and 10:40.  By looking ahead one day, we saw there was a 7:20 pm show the next day, so we knew there would be a 7:20 pm show on Sunday -- audio described but with no captions projected.
  4. The specific term Regal uses to denote audio described movies is DA, for Descriptive Audio.  Keep in mind that not all accessible films available have audio description:  they may have just captioning, so you may find a movie listed without the DA notation.
  5. At the top of the Regal listing they define the notation DA this way:  "DA - Descriptive Audio (available for every show time in DTS equipped auditoriums, please contact theatre to confirm show times). "  This validates what I said above, though it behooves you to double-check with the theater regarding the "assumed" show time for DA only.   
  6. I have been told that the DTS Access system (which presents the audio) starts automatically, so it should not be necessary to have anyone notify the projectionist to start the system for you.
  7. The theater equipped with DTS Access is Cinema 3.  When you ask about a show, remember that number; and when you ask for or buy a ticket, check for that cinema number (it will appear on your ticket) -- otherwise you won't be able to receive description!  Cinema 3 is on the left hand side of the lobby, and after passing in your ticket, you turn right, and it is the first cinema on your left.
  8. Regal North Hill's office number is 786-4494.  I give this number as opposed to the general line because you need to ask about Cinema 3 (if you are calling about a show time not listed on the OC list).  The same motion picture may be playing in multiple screening rooms.
Our Personal Experience: 
 
When we arrived at the box office, we double-checked that the 7:20 performance was in Cinema 3 and asked for an audio description headset.  Knowing that this service is brand new, we anticipated and experienced confusion on this point.  At first, the ticket lady told us that the open captioned performance was not until later in the evening.  (I felt this was a good sign that she knew this!)  We explained that we wanted the audio description, not open captions, and she handed us a headset.  Suspecting it was the Assistive Listening Device headset, I questioned her and found that indeed it was.  She said she would call the manager to get the correct headset.
 
We met the manager, who commented that we were the first people to ask for a headset.  He went off somewhere and returned with two of them.  I noticed that they were Williams Sound 4-channel headsets, with the description coming in on channel 1.
 
In the theater, there was a 20 minute behind-the-scenes presentation of upcoming shows before the official start time.  Then there was 10 minutes of previews.  Neither of these shows were described, nor would I have expected them to be, and no sound came through the earphones at this point.  The description began with the titles of the feature film.  The sound quality and description quality were excellent.  Only the description comes through the headsets, not the motion picture's sound.
 
An over-the-head set of double earphones was used, not the single over-the-ear single earpiece used by Arts Access.  I found that this muffled the sound of the main picture slightly, but, as usual, the picture volume was so loud it didn't much matter!  Kathy was OK with this point, although after awhile the earphones were a bit uncomfortable, which she attributed to a less than perfect fit on her smaller than average head.  It would certainly be possible for you to bring and substitute a personal set of earphones or an earpiece that you prefer.  Adjustment of sound volume was the same as on the Arts Access units:  a single control on the top of the unit turns it on and increases the volume.
 
Kathy commented, as expected, that she never would have been able to follow the film without the description.  Overall, the experience was wonderful ... and we now have to increase the budget to attend movies more often!
 
Bottom line:  Make sure you are attending a presentation in cinema 3, and make sure the headset they give you is attached to a separate receiver, not self-contained.  Longer term, I'll have a concern about batteries that fail in the middle of a show, so you might want to bring along a spare.  I didn't check (sorry), but I think these are the receivers that take 9V batteries, the alternative being a couple of AAs, and I hope the cases open without a screwdriver! 
 
Fred and Kathy Brack
May 29, 2006

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