Transcript IGF Blog: 13-16 November

The Power to Change Lives
The place of ‘audio descriptions’ in the special
needs landscape.
David Wood
Head of Emerging Media, EBU
Athens, January 2008
The Accessibility of Public Service Media
 Broadcasting plays a critical role in social infrastructure
 Important for contented lives and social activities – to provide
entertainment, news, identity.
 Important sometimes for lives – survival.
 Public service broadcasting should be ‘Universal’.
 Anywhere in the country – city or country - should be able to
access public broadcasting, to the extent practical.
 Anyone in the country – rich or poor, with or without handicap
should be guaranteed accessibility, to the extent practical.
More Accessibility – More Content.
 Those with Special Needs need tools to help them get the most from the
media.
 The need is not just for tools to help to get more for conventional
programming. Those with special needs need two things; to be part of
the common media experience, and to understand their identity.
 They deserve both tools to help them with conventional programming,
and their own content that shares their lives.
 The size of the community served, and the benefit it brings them, should
help to establish priorities.
 We need to be continually looking for the most cost effective ways to
serve those with special needs.
 The cost of providing the service should be proportional to the benefits it
brings.
 We need to be pro-active and positive; “how can we do this” not “this
can’t be done, because...”
Provision today for ‘Special Needs’
 Broadcast Services




Subtitles
Audio Descriptions
Signing overlay
Audio local language sub-titles
 Web services
 Transcripts and playback – ‘script mining’ (HH, elderly)
 Receiver features
 User-friendly receivers program (Special Needs)
 Audio expanders (Japan, elderly)
 Future concepts
 Braille terminals and tactile display for audio track, audio descriptions,
programme guides, etc.
 ‘Agents’ to help handicapped users
What is Your verdict?




How are we doing today?
What should we be doing today?
What should be working on?
What should we do tomorrow?
The NHK situation in Japan
 Subtitles available for 42% of programmes
 Audio descriptions for 3.7% of programmes, mainly drama.
Digital TVs allow up to four audio streams
 Signing for 2.4% of programmes, mainly educational.
 NHK plan 100% subtitling by 2017
 NHK plan for 15% audio decriptions by 2017
IRELAND
80%
How much television today in Europe includes
‘access services’?
Which amount of access services do you provide, per channel,
as a percentage of your total programming (in hours)?
SWEDEN*
100%
FINLAND*
85%
NORWAY
9%
LITHUANIA
5%
IRELAND
80%
UK
POLAND
92%
IRELAND
BELGIUM (Fl)
80%
65%
4%
13%
CZECH REP.
SLOVAKIA
75%
FRANCE
60%
UKRAINE
9%
GERMANY
28%
AUSTRIA
SWITZ.
25%SLOVENIA
8%
50%
ITALY
CROATIA
25%
40%
BULGARIA
15%
SPAIN
TURKEY
100%
GREECE*
1%
70%
*W hen several channels, highest % taken. See table for more
details.
MALTA
CYPRUS*
0.5%
25%
How much sub-titling?
- Does your TV channel provide SUBTITLING?
- Do the commercial broadcasters in your country provide subtitling?
Only PSBs provide this Access Service
Both PSBs and commercial broadcasters provide this Access Service
This Access Service is not available in the country
- According to the regulations for Access Services in your country,
what is the corresponding quota, as a percentage of your total
programming (in hours), for subtitling?
FINLAND
19%
NORWAY
50%
SWEDEN
65%*
LITHUANIA
IRELAND
100%*
UK
POLAND
100%
53%
BELG. (Fl)
65%
GERMANY
25%
UKRAINE
CZECH REP.
70%
SLOVAKIA
AUSTRIA
FRANCE
60%
8.3%*
25%
25%
SWITZ.
SLOVENIA
CROATIA
40%
BULGARIA
ITALY
15%
23%
SPAIN
TURKEY
32%
GREECE
70%*
* See table for more detailed explanations on data.
ALGERIA
CYPRUS
What technology for sub-titling?
Which delivery techniques do you use for SUBTITLING?
in-vision (burnt-in)
analogue teletext
DVB teletext
DVB subtitling
CYPRUS
Who does ‘spoken’ subtitling? (text-voice
conversion)
- Does your TV channel provide SPOKEN SUBTITLING?
- Do the commercial broadcasters in your country provide spoken subtitling?
Only PSBs provide this Access Service
Both PSBs and commercial broadcasters provide this Access Service
This Access Service is not available in the country
FINLAND
NORWAY
SWEDEN
LITHUANIA
IRELAND
UK
POLAND
GERMANY
UKRAINE
BELG. (Fl)
CZECH REP.
SLOVAKIA
AUSTRIA
FRANCE
SWITZ.
SLOVENIA
CROATIA
BULGARIA
ITALY
SPAIN
TURKEY
GREECE
ALGERIA
CYPRUS
Who does signing?
- Does your TV channel provide SIGNING?
- Do the commercial broadcasters in your country provide signing?
Only PSBs provide this Access Service
Both PSBs and commercial broadcasters provide this Access Service
This Access Service is not available in the country
FINLAND
3%
- According to the regulations for Access Services in your country,
what is the corresponding quota, as a percentage of your total
programming (in hours), for signing?
NORWAY
0%
SWEDEN
LITHUANIA
IRELAND
UK
5%
POLAND
1%
BELG. (Fl)
GERMANY
UKRAINE
4%*
CZECH REP.
0%
SLOVAKIA
FRANCE
1%
SWITZ.
0.3%
1%
AUSTRIA
0.95%
SLOVENIA
CROATIA
0%
BULGARIA
0.6%
ITALY
0.4%
SPAIN
TURKEY
GREECE
54%*
* See table for more detailed explanations on data.
ALGERIA
MALTA
CYPRUS
Audio Descriptions – Helping the Visually
Handicapped Community
 A second sound channel is provided which explains what is
happening in the picture.
 Listening to the two together allows the visually handicapped
viewer to follow the programme.
 There is growing appreciation and use in Europe.
 But there are some barriers...
Audio Descriptions – Helping the Blind Community
 TV Drama – ‘The Bill’ – without
audio descriptions.
 Try closing your eyes to
experience what the blind do.
Audio Descriptions – Helping the Blind Community
 TV drama, ‘The Bill’ WITH
Audio Descriptions.
 Try closing your eyes to
experience what the blind do.
Audio descriptions – helping the visually
handicapped
 A current problem – where to include the audio description
signal?
 If a second ‘total’ audio channel is used, this consumes a large
bandwidth, costs a lot, and slows down interactive data
carousels.
 A low bandwidth, mono audio channel can be broadcast, and the
two can be ‘mixed’ in the receiver. Much more efficient.
 But, we have not been able to persuade set top box
manufacturers to include two audio tuners and the audio mixer,
in receivers.
Who does ‘audio descriptions’?
- Does your TV channel provide AUDIO DESCRIPTION?
- Do the commercial broadcasters in your country provide audio description?
Only PSBs provide this Access Service
Both PSBs and commercial broadcasters provide this Access Service
This Access Service is not available in the country
FINLAND
- According to the regulations for Access Services in your country, what is
the corresponding quota, as a percentage of your total programming (in NORWAY
hours), for audio description?
0%
5%
SWEDEN
LITHUANIA
IRELAND
UK
10%
POLAND
BELG. (Fl)
0%
FRANCE
0%
GERMANY
4%
CZECH REP.
0%
SWITZ.
0.2%
UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA
AUSTRIA
0.4%
SLOVENIA
CROATIA
BULGARIA
5%
ITALY
1%
SPAIN
TURKEY
GREECE
0%
ALGERIA
CYPRUS
What is the big picture?
Number of countries (% of the respondents to the questionnaire) in which the following type of Access Services is provided (see previous table)
Subtitling
Subtitling
Public
Commercial
92%
58%
Spoken Subtitling
Public
Commercial
23%
4%
Audio description
Public
Commercial
Signing
Public
Commercial
Audio description
42%
92%
42%
8%
74%
19%
Amount of access services
as a percentage of total programming
commercial: less than public
83%
same amount
9%
more
4%
45%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
40%
58%
35%
30%
25%
20%
8%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Public
Commercial
Public
Spoken Subtitling
Commercial
Signing
23%
74%
80%
25%
70%
20%
60%
50%
15%
40%
4%
10%
19%
30%
20%
5%
10%
0%
0%
Public
Commercial
Public
Commercial
New opportunities with Internet to serve those with
special needs.
 Streaming or downloading media can be provided by Internet.
 This gives us a chance to serve those with special needs directly.
 Special needs communities are small to medium size, which
makes them ideal for Internet delivery.
 Such services may use the new ‘P2P’ technologies.
 There are currently limitations of picture quality and size
displayed with web sites, though that will change.
 Audio descriptions can be provided (RAI) by web streams (and
radio)
 A new idea - ‘script mining’ - is also available (RTVSLO).
‘Script mining’ – a new idea with low costs and
useful features.
Audience Communities with Special Needs
 VH
 HH







Motor impairments
The Elderly
Attention Deficit Disorder
Autism
Dyslexia
Charge syndrome
Cued Speech







FAS
Fragile X syndrome
Spina Bifida
Stuttering
Traumatic Brain Injury
Mental Handicap
Gifted
Today we have a range of media delivery tools..







Normal (SDTV) broadcasting
HDTV broadcasting
Interactive broadcast applications
Broadband VoD
Broadband interactive applications
Mobile phones
Broadcasting to handhelds
How can a Caring society best serve the Special
Needs community?
 The VH and HD are important communities with special needs.
 But is it time to ‘enlarge’ our policy as broadcasters and media
providers?
 Is it time to analyze ALL communities with Special Needs?
 Is it time to analyze ALL delivery media – broadcast, mobile,
web...
 Audio descriptions will be among the most valuable tools.
The School Report...
 PSBs play a (justifiably) leading role in providing access
services. But it is not enough.
 The situation in different European countries is diverse. It goes
from 0.5 to 100% (offered access services per channel as a
percentage of total programming in hours).
 In regulations and quotas, the situation is very different from
country to country, but also depends on the type of Access
Service
 Subtitling has the highest quota.
 Audio descriptions are ‘on the map’, but are far from
covering it.
 We need to do more.
 We need to do it now.
Technology has the power to improve lives! Let’s use it.
Thank you for listening
[email protected]
skypename: davidinnov