I recently bought a SONY FD Trinitron WWEGA Color TV, KV-32FS13. SETUP
is unresponsive, and I can't activate Closed Captioning service. Our
hookup is AT&T Broadband, and their instruction bookley does not
mention Closed Captioning. This afternoon, I went to the Cicuit City
where I bought the SONY and asked for help. 2 TV department employess
and the store manager were unable to activate Closed Captioning on any
Sony TV set. The manager told me to go home, activate Closed
Captioning on my Sony TV set, leave it activated, and then use ATT&T
connection to watch programming. I did so, and it didn't work as
desired. Now neither SONY or AT&T turn on any picture at all. What
should I do? I can't phone because I'm almost deaf and cannot use a
voice phone.

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Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 01 Jun 2002 20:24 PDT

Dear deaftvviewer:

My parents actually own that exact same model, KV-32FS13 without the
XBR image filtering. Can you clarify your question for me? What did
you mean specifically by "SETUP is unresponsive?" Also, what did you
mean by "Now neither SONY nor AT&T turn on any picture at all?" Does
this mean that the TV doesn't work at all anymore?

Best Regards,
blader-ga

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Clarification of Question by deaftvviewer-ga on 01 Jun 2002 21:33 PDT

Yes, it does mean that pressing SETUP, RESET and other appropiate
buttons causes no display to become visible, or otherwise cause any
visible effect.

Yes, after the result of my efforts at analysis and trying to activate
Closed Captioning -- including my strict adherence to the instructions
given by the Circuit City manager in Tustin -- neither TV shows any
picture at all, but only garbage non-verbal and non-numeral gray
static, with the words NO SIGNAL only.

No, I made no change to the actual cables, or to any other settings. 

If AT&T provides no Closed Captioning feature, I will cancel my
service. That would be unfortunate, because I can't understand the
sound track music, sounds, or human voices, even with headphones or
louder volume.

I have tried both Sony and AT&T online. Both technical help
subroutines are poorly constructed and probably contain some problems,
if not glitches. Sony accepted my question, with the implication they
might answer within a week. I answered AT&T, but couldn't get the site
to accept my question.

Thanks for your help so far. Thanks, larrega. I'll try that site now.

Good morning, deaftvviewer.

I've spent many years selling electronics at retail, and BOY!- I
understand your frustration.  I'm sure by this point you can imagine
what it's like to try setting up one of 30-TV displays....all
different models... all different remotes...

To turn to your dilemma, I'm pretty sure from your description that I
understand where your difficulties arise.  I've seen numerous
variations on this theme over the past several years, and I'm going to
lay out for you the various steps that are necessary to hammer this
out.

First, let's take a look at your remote.  At the upper right, directly
beneath the power button, you will find a button marked TV.  Press
that, before doing anything else.  Your remote is designed to operate
numerous devices, and sometimes (because you've sat on it, or
something) it will be set to run your VCR or satellite dish instead. 
When your TV does not respond to the remote, that is the problem 99
times out of 100.  Otherwise it might be your batteries (a brand new
remote is seldom defective out of the box).  Get into the habit of
pushing this button when you sit down to watch TV, and you'll save
yourself a recurrent irritation.

Now, let's find you a channel to tune.  The "no signal" message you
quoted means that the TV is looking for its signal on the wrong
connection.  This is all too easy on these new Wegas, which typically
have five or more inputs. Look for the TV/Video button, 4th down from
your power button.  With the TV turned on, press that button six or
seven times, or until you get a picture.  The on-screen display at
that point will probably say "cable 1" or "CATV 1."

Now, we need to get into your setup mode.  Below the ring of grey
arrow keys, on the right-hand side, is your menu button.  Press that
now, and you should find that the setup screen appears, as it is
supposed to.  If not, try this from the control panel concealed under
the flip-up panel on top of your TV set.

Once your display has popped up, you should be able to navigate the
menus as directed in your TV's manual.  I haven't set up a Sony for a
year or so now, and so I can't give you precise instructions from this
point, but if I recall correctly you move around with the ringed arrow
keys and make your selection with the oblong key in the middle of the
ring.

Once you have found the Closed Captioning selection, there is one
final complication.  You will find that there is more than one "closed
captions" setting, usually indicated as "CCTV 1" or "CCTV 2" etc.  The
signal is delivered differently from area to area, if the first one
doesn't work try the second.

I hope that these instructions are not too confusing.  As I say, I've
done this many times before, but usually in my store with the
customer's remote in my hand and a TV in front of me.

If you are unable to get your CC working by follwoing these
instructions, please post a response.  I'll visit my former
colleagues, commandeer a Sony, and write the instructions down for you
step-by-step.

Good luck, and I hope this is helpful.  Please ask for any further
clarification necessary.

I can't help you specifically with the answer to this, but I can point
you to a forum where somebody might be able assist you:

http://www.agoraquest.com/topics.php

Agoraquest calls itself: The Complete Unofficial Guide to Sony
Products

Sorry to hear of your frustration in obtaining closed captions which
are so valuable for the deaf. I just checked the ATT Broadband Cable
Television Web-site:
www.attbroadband.com/services/products/TVFeatures.html
There is no mention of a Closed Caption Service in the list of
features. Can you double-check in some way that currently the Closed
Caption data is being transmitted by ATT Broadband Cable Television in
your area?

I hope it is available and that a solution to your difficulty is
found.

Unless I'm not understanding something, the problem is with the TV (or
its operation) rather than the cable provider.  The captioning
information is carried on a subcarrier that is an inherent part of the
TV video signal, so the captioning should be unaffected by the cable. 
It should be noted that many channels, particularly some cable-only
channels, don't carry closed captioning.  To test closed captioning,
it would be best to use programming from one of the Big Three networks
or a show that carrries the closed-captioning logo.

I'm pretty sure that AT&T is legally obligated to carry
closed-captioning on programs that have it, and I know that all new
TVs these days have to be able to display it....  so I'm absolutely
certain it's going to be possible to turn on closed captioning....

My guess is that somehow you've switched the TV to try to get a
picture from a different jack than your cable box is hooked up to;
it's a difficult thing to fix without being in the room,
unfortunately.  Do you have a teenager in the neighborhood who can
come over and set it up for you?  :-)

chromedome's answer looks as though it should do the trick. Good
stuff!

Just a point regarding mvguy's belief that Closed Captions are
"...carried on a subcarrier that is an inherent part of the TV video
signal". This is true for Open Captions that can be seen on any TV
set. However my understanding is that Closed Captions are carried by
bursts of data inserted in unused lines that carry no video. Such
lines are always blanked out and therefore are not seen in the
displayed picture. An appropriate decoder is needed to extract, store
and process the data bursts into text and/or graphics. In such a
system it is simple for the broadcaster to not transmit Closed Caption
data even if it is present in the source material.
I have not heard of a broadcast or cable televsion system where a
subcarrier is used for Closed Captions.
Regulators are requiring broadcasters to transmit Closed Captions when
they are present in the source material and are also requiring an
increasing proportion of programs to have Closed Captions.

I am hard of hearing myself and while closed captioning is not
absolutely necessary for me, it sure enhances my enjoyment of certain
programs. I absolutely hate it when they have lighting or body
positioning that reduces my ability to lipread. Here's AT & T
Broadband's website. Contact Customer service and tell them your
problem. Aren't the Internet and email great for the deaf!
http://www.attbroadband.com/services/other/ContactUs.html

You mention going to the Circuit City in Tustin. Assuming this is
Tustin, California, and you are using AT&T Broadband cable also in
Tustin, their service does transmit closed captioning. (I've seen it).
I'm sorry I can't help with the problem, but hopefully this will help
you narrow it down to a problem with the TV set rather than the cable
service.