Captions on film or television that are invisible except to people with special captioning decoders, as opposed to captions superimposed on the picture for all to see. The technique, which is encouraged and partly subsidized by government funding, allows people with ear and hearing problems to have readier access to news, arts, and entertainment programs. Decoders are expensive, but current legislation aims at having computer-chip decoders available on most new television sets at the touch of a button by the mid-1990s.