Set accessibility options with the Xfinity Stream portal

Learn how to set closed captioning (CC) and audio description options for the programs you watch and record through the Xfinity Stream portal.

Looking for Secondary Audio Programs (SAP)? See Set audio language with the Xfinity Stream portal.

Accessibility options: CC and audio description

CC, similar to subtitles, is a text transcript of the audio portion of a program as it occurs. While originally designed for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a hearing disability, CC is useful any time the program dialogue is difficult to hear or understand. See the Closed captioning (CC) overview to learn more. 

Audio description is a special soundtrack for people who are blind, have low vision, or who have a visual disability.

Audio-narrated descriptions describe what is happening in the program video, like actions, facial expressions, costumes, scene changes, and more. See What is audio description? to learn more.

Turning CC on or off while watching a program

You can easily turn CC on or off while watching any program that includes CC. From anywhere inside the player, press the letter C on your keyboard to toggle CC on or off.

Or, you can go into the Language Settings:

1. On the program playback page, scroll over the Language Settings icon (the chat box icon) and click it.
   • You can also press the letter G on your keyboard while inside the player. 
     
     
     
2. Click the switch to turn CC on or off. (If Closed Captions isn’t shown, CC isn't available for this program.)
   • This setting applies to the video player, so this turns on CC for all programs, not just the one you're currently watching.
     
     
     
3. If you want to change how captions appear, click the settings icon () and go to Closed Captioning, then click Customize Display.
   
   

That's it! Now whenever you watch a program that offers CC, captions will be displayed.

Setting up CC

To set options for CC:

1. On any Xfinity Stream portal page, click the Settings icon (the gear icon ) at the right side of the menu bar at the top of the page.
2. On the Settings page, click Accessibility.
3. On the Accessibility page, click the On/Off switch to turn on CC.
   
   
   

That's it! Now whenever you watch a program that offers CC, captions will display.

Changing the appearance of captions

To customize how caption text looks on the screen while you're watching a program:

1. On the Accessibility page, click Closed Captioning Options (CC must be turned on to open the Options page).
2. In the Closed Captioning Settings window, select the CC text options you want (e.g., Font Size, Font Style and Font Color).
   • As you select different options, the preview at the top of the window updates to show how the captions will look on screen.
   • Don't like how the preview looks? Click Reset to Default.
     
3. Click Update to keep the new settings, or X to discard your changes.

Did you know? You can also turn CC on/off and access CC settings while watching any program that includes CC.

Turning audio description on or off while watching a program

You can easily turn audio description on or off while watching any program that includes it.

1. On the program playback page, scroll over the Language Settings icon (the chat box icon).
   • You can also press the letter G on your keyboard while inside the player.
     
     
     
2. Expand the drop-down menu to the right of Audio Options. This option only displays if audio options are available.
   
   
   
3. Click on Audio Description. (If Audio Description isn’t shown, it’s not available.)
   • This setting applies to the video player, so this turns on audio description for all programs, not just the one you're currently watching.
     

That's it! Now whenever you watch a program that offers audio description, you'll hear the audio description soundtrack.

Turning audio description on or off in settings

To turn audio description on or off in the portal settings:

1. On any Xfinity Stream portal page, click the Settings icon (the gear icon ) at the right-end of the menu bar at the top of the page.
2. On the Settings page, click Accessibility.
3. On the Accessibility page, click the ON/OFF switch to turn on audio description.
   

That's it! Now whenever you watch a program that offers audio description, you'll hear the audio description soundtrack.

Did you know? You can also turn audio description on/off while watching any program that includes descriptions.