Subtitles have become a key issue for broadcasters. Some countries like the UK are aiming to have 100% of programmes subtitled within the next few years, others, like France, are aiming for at least 50%. Recent world events have proven that particularly in the news field, broadcasters cannot live without additional information provided in a crawl or via subtitles.

Digital broadcasting offers a whole new field of opportunities: new colours, more letters and more dynamic insertion are possible. But are they wanted, needed and – most of all – have they been standardized?

The EBU Seminar on Subtitling in Geneva on 20 June comes at a time when it is important to review the status of subtitling and to actively encourage its development among EBU Members. Also on the agenda are the opportunities for sign language and other broadcasting enhancements that DVB can offer.

Voice recognition has greatly improved the possibility of using live subtitles for sports and news. It was implemented several years ago and it needs to be evaluated. Case studies provided by ZDF and RTVE will provide an insight into whether the quality is of the required standard.

Another key issue of the seminar is funding: are there any other sources than licence-fee income? SRG SSR idée suisse has come up with creative solutions whereas in the USA commercial subsidies may be an example of a revenue source that has so far been untapped by EBU Members.

Finally, the seminar will define the type of standardization work that needs to be done in the near future. 

For more details, Members can contact:

Anne Brochot
brochot@ebu.ch
Tel: +41 (0)22 717 2888