Rebecca A Withey: Review of the WatchWord smart glasses technology (BSL)

Earlier this year QUAD cinema in Derby announced that they would be the first cinema in the UK to participate in a trial of WatchWord, a new technology which aims to make film more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people.

Trials of the WatchWord closed captioning solution moved onto Chesterfield’s Cineworld in March and they now continue at the Odeon Cinema at Milton Keynes Stadium.

I went along to a screening of Migration at the Cineworld in Chesterfield to try out the WatchWord smart glasses for myself.

The glasses in question have been developed principally for deaf and hard of hearing cinema goers. It’s an add-on, free of charge accessibility service that aims to ensure people who need captions can attend any movie screening they want with friends and family and simply wear the glasses to access the films captions.

As a hearing aid wearer and someone who wears glasses to read captions, it was reassuring to find out that the WatchWord smart glasses have been designed to be worn over normal glasses and alongside hearing aids and cochlear implant processors.

The glasses were slimmer than I expected but with slightly heavy processor packs on each side. Whilst the WatchWord glasses sat comfortably in front of my own glasses, the weight of the technology did mean I found myself adjusting or pushing up the smart glasses throughout the film.

What was really fascinating for me to discover was how the actual captions appear on the glasses lens instead of being fixed on the screen. You can even look away from the screen and still see the captions on your glasses!

Accompanying the WatchWord glasses is a small controller which you can use to adjust the captions’ size, location, colour and brightness depending on your own preferences.

This personalisation feature is fantastic and really offers the wearer an individual experience based on their own likes and dislikes. I chose a simple white font in the middle of the screen and opted for a slightly larger size.

The controller is incredibly easy to navigate and can be worn comfortably on a strap around your neck so that you’re not hunting for it in the dark.

Admittedly it did take time for my eyes to adjust to this new technology, as I wasn’t used to captions that move along following my own head movements. But if you’re able to stay still throughout the film, the captions will remain in the same place as you’re viewing the film.

The captions themselves were superbly accurate with all songs and background noises included too. There was no time delay or jilting at all and overall it felt like this was a very reliable piece of technology to use.

On the whole, I was impressed to see how easy to use and accurate the WatchWord glasses were and I can really see this benefitting a whole range of deaf and hard of hearing people who enjoy subtitled cinema.

I must add, however, that there is a slight chance these glasses won’t suit everybody. After 20 minutes of watching the film I felt my eyes begin to feel tired and my head became sore – it was the familiar disorientation I personally feel when wearing 3D glasses.

So if you’re anything like me, you may not take too well to wearing these glasses for long because of how close the captions are to your actual eyes and the constant refocusing of your eyes to not only read the captions but also watch the action on screen.

But you might be one of the lucky ones!

After the trials at Derby Quad, the general feedback was that 74% of respondents “strongly agreed” that they wanted to use the glasses again and 84% “strongly agreed” that they would prefer to use the glasses than not be able to see a film at all.

The fact that WatchWord are offering deaf and hard of hearing people the option of watching a movie at a time of their own choosing is really to be applauded. The company believe that closed captions should always be offered alongside rather than instead of open captioned screenings, but their goal is simply to provide more choice.

Regarding the comfort issue I described with the glasses slipping slightly, WatchWord have reported back that they are communicating with EPSON about how the experience can be improved and they are also looking into adjustments that they can make to the glasses that might improve the weight distribution.

The development and success of WatchWord relies greatly on the feedback of those who have trialled the smart glasses for themselves. During a trial you will be able to choose from many screenings of different films every day. You can then customise your experience by choosing the colour, size, and position for the captions to suit you perfectly.

WatchWord told me:

“There is a lot of work still to do, of course, and we won’t stop in our pursuit of a better audience experience, but for the people who get on well with the glasses, we are pleased that WatchWord will offer them something which they have been missing out on for too long.”

WatchWord closed captions will be available on most screenings at Milton Keynes Odeon during the trial period of Friday 8th March – Sunday 24th March.

There are over 170 screenings with closed captions across 9 titles at Milton Keynes during the first week.

If you’d like to participate please contact the venue using the link below for further information: 

https://www.odeon.co.uk/cinemas/milton-keynes-stadium/