Name the required presentation
Write down whether the viewer needs subtitles, audio description or a visually signed version. These serve different needs and can be separate programme objects. STV’s official help points to dedicated categories for described and signed programmes and separately identifies subtitle symbols.
Use the actual episode and programme version as the unit of the check. A series appearing in an accessibility category does not establish that every episode or live showing has the same presentation. Record the episode number and version so a later search does not accidentally return the ordinary copy with matching artwork.
Open the version from the appropriate category
STV says selecting a title in its described or signed categories opens the relevant version. Follow that route, then inspect the playback result on the intended device. If the viewer relies on description, listen to a representative non-dialogue sequence; if visual signing is needed, check the actual signed presentation rather than only the text label.
For subtitles, inspect the programme’s symbol and the player control. STV describes a speech-bubble button on some connected-TV routes and an S control in other players, with live subtitles qualified by programme. Use the current device instructions rather than assuming the same button appears on every screen.
Make the chosen version easy to repeat
Check readability or presentation from the viewer’s normal position. Close and reopen the ordinary viewing route, then confirm that the household can return to the same episode version. A successful one-time search is less useful than a repeatable path that does not depend on someone remembering which of several similar results was correct.
If the required version is absent, record that as a title-and-presentation question. Keep it separate from an inactive account, a region restriction or a general network fault. Provide the programme, episode, desired presentation, device and exact observed option in any support request. This gives the service a specific issue to investigate without promising that every STV programme or territory has every accessibility version.
Keep separate results for a live showing and the selected on-demand version. The fact that one presentation works does not establish an identical track on the other source.
Related questions
Are a signed version and a subtitle track interchangeable?
No. STV documents them as distinct presentation routes. Verify the actual version the viewer needs.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
- STV accessible programme categories — Separate described/signed programme routes.
- STV subtitles — Programme symbols and player-specific controls; live qualification.
