For the hard of hearing, public entertainment where listening is a key component can be challenging.

This is what prompted Alexa Schriempf, a hearing-impaired graduate student, to begin the State College branch of the Self Help for the Hard of Hearing (SHHH) organization last August.

"SHHH's purpose is to provide a network of hard of hearing and deaf individuals the information and technology to anyone interested and in need," Schriempf wrote in an e-mail message.

The current project SHHH is advocating is to provide a closed-captioning system with which movie patrons can view movies with subtitles at their choosing in the new Premiere Theaters, 125 Premiere Drive, located off of Shiloh Road.

The technology called MoPIX is a rear-window captioning system.

This allows hard-of-hearing movie patrons to have individual screens at their seats on which the captions would be displayed, said John Zenner, product manager for Premiere Theaters.

Currently, the theater provides equipment for the hearing impaired, however, Schriempf said she thinks it is not enough.

"They have audio assistive listening devices for folks who wear hearing aids and folks who don't wear hearing aids but can use amplification," she said.

"They have nothing that will work for the completely deaf who use captions."

Zenner said that Premiere is currently working to install an open-caption system.

"This will allow us to have special shows at certain times in which captions would be digitally projected onto the screen," he said.

Schriempf said patrons need to be able to have access to captions all the time through rear-window captioning.

Tom Frank, professor of communication sciences and disorders, said that the problem in technology availability is the different equipment required for various levels of hearing impairment.

"The completely deaf require captioning. The hearing impaired will use the rear-window captioning system less," he said.

Schriempf said that she believes there is another problem that inhibits patrons from access to the proper technology.

"We are finding out that while the theater manager and the corporate division can handle queries [about different technology for the hard of hearing], the ticket sellers are uneducated about the technologies and how to respond," she said.

The hearing-impaired community's best option is the newer Premiere Theaters, as the other theaters in the area do not have the capability to install the MoPIX system, Shriempf said.

She urges the hearing community in State College to call or e-mail Premiere Theaters to show an interest in SHHH's mission.

"Movie companies are worried about losing the consumer power of the hearing. These are the largest demographic and the largest money producer," she said.

"If they are showing an interest, then Premiere might work harder to set [MoPIX] up."

Zenner said he wants to assure the hard-of-hearing community that Premiere has their best interest in mind.

"We have been looking at different options very closely, as we want to do this right," he said.

Currently, Premiere is having difficulties installing the MoPIX system in the State College theater, Zenner added.

Frank said there is no law demanding that public sources of entertainment, like movie theaters, provide this kind of technology.

Schriempf said she is still hopeful that SHHH will get the system installed with the community's help.

"Premiere claims that it is working to make MoPIX technology compatible with their technology, but I haven't seen any substantial evidence to this effect," she said.