High performance closed caption decoder for the NTSC and PAL systems. It is capable of processing and displaying all standard closed caption format transmissions--including the EIA-608 Extended Character Set--in the manner of a typical closed caption decoder. A stable input video source is required. Nine standard data channels are supported by the PDR-870, captions channels 1 through 4 (CC1-CC4), text channels 1 through 4 (T1-T4) and extended data services (XDS). The various decoding channels are selectable by four front-panel toggle switches. Additional front-panel toggle switches provide NTSC/PAL video standard selection, drop-shadow or box character keying, and internal/external video. The internal video function allows the PDR-870 to generate its own video as a medium for producing open captions. In addition, it can accept an RS-232 data stream and directly produce open captions, serving as a character generator decoder.