ISIS Exploratory Research 2001

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ISIS Exploratory Research 2001

• European Broadcasters
• Presentation to ISISs Scientific Committee
• by Giuliano Pirelli - 20th February 2001
• 1. Objectives
• Development and harmonisation of new multimedia
  applications for television broadcasters and DVD
  producers

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2a. Background - Demand

• 1/3 population
• languages/communication difficulties
• living in other countries (years)
• workers, managers, students
• travelling in other countries (weeks)
• workers, managers, tourists
• living in their countries, using other languages
• amusement and news TV, DVD, cinema
• educational video-tapes, distance learning,
  tele-working
• hearing impaired and elderly

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2b. Background - Solutions

• Helping European citizens overcoming languages gap

• Dubbing (and subtitling) in other languages
• very expensive and long delay
• perfect ? If Q gt Qmin (Titanic,
  Euronews)
• Subtitling in the original language
• useful, simple, quick, un-expensive
• best cost/effectiveness ratio ( language
  training)

• Subtitling is one of the most powerful learning
  and training tools of any language by
  reinforcing what is being learnt by hearing,
  enriching the vocabulary, in context

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3. Why JRC? European dimension

• There are technical solutions and pre-standards
• work to be done to get the best results of them
• and to promote them at a European multilingual
  level
• JRC role as a catalyst to encourage the market
• ensuring links to (or defences from) USA and
  Canada
• The problem existed with television
• but the push comes now from DVD and Web
• large distribution, translation easier by common
  formats
• Risk of missing an important opportunity FP6 ML
  MM
• now we are on time for creating the right
  competencies
• and we have the contacts and background

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4. Achievements so far
Subtitled videoconference

• voice_at_jrc.ithttp//voice.jrc.it

• 100 workshops, 5000 participants,Web Site and
  Associations Forum
• MOISE data base, NETDAYS, Net of Schools and
  Universities
• Broadcasts RAI, RTBF, TV5, overview TV Europe
  and Canada.
• Portable PC with spectacles

Subtitled workshop
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5a. Work to be carried out

• reinforce collaboration with RAI, TSI, BBC, RTBF,
  ORF, France2, NOS, SVT, subtitling firms in
  Italy, Belgium and Canada, schools, universities,
  education and training centres, tele-working
  establish new contacts with producers of CD-ROM
  and DVD
• organise meetings and workshops presenting
  activities, discussing rules and standards (?),
  information to newcomers
• collect information from USA and Canada
  encourage collaboration in Europe, underlining
  common points, more than differences
• results dissemination, to EC Services,
  broadcasters, producers and public, by workshops,
  Web Forum and television broadcasts
• audience statistics on teletext pages users
  advertising may pay back

• define user needs, through contacts with user
  groups and field tests
• prepare videotapes with extracts from different
  broadcasts, comparing approaches common points
  and main differences, best practice
• translate users needs into technical
  specifications (??)

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5b. Work to be carried out

• Multimedia
• television, digital television, digital radio,
  film/cinema
• video-cassettes, CD-ROM, DVD
• Synchronisation
• on line news, live broadcasts, sport
• off line films, documentaries, games time-code
  in out
• Style
• open caption (visible for all users)
• closed caption (teletext page with subtitles)
• full text or resumed/simplified text
• number and position of lines fixed or scrolling
• colours schemas and characters font and size
• Users
• normally hearing users subtitles only of voice
• hearing impaired subtitles of voice and of
  sounds (colours)
• Tools voice recognition, stenotype, manual
  keyboard

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6. Possible follow-up actions

• DGs
• DG-INFSO call
• DG-EAC call (WriteByVoice)
• DG-ENTR contract EBU normalisation
• DG-EMPL ISGD year 2003
• PE subtitled Parliament Sections

• Organisations RQST, CIPS, EDF
• Broadcasters RAI, TSI, BBC, ORF, RTBF, TV5, NOS,
  SVT
• Universities Linz, Klagenfurt, Milan (Brussels)
• Firms ISTI, ESIST, StudioEquipe, FBL, SCRIPSI,
  Canada

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7. Resources

• 8 person-months
• 30 keuro (hw/sw, tests and demos, TV parabola,
  contracts for specific video-tapes, user
  requirements

• 8. Conclusion
• background/experience from disability to design
  for all
• ready for multimedia-multilingual European
  challenges
• complementary to ABI
• means for spreading information on JRCs
  role/activities