Broadcasters' subtitling approaches are facing three main changes:
HDTV allows for the presentation of subtitles in an improved way, including the use of higher resolution text. This has led to discussions regarding the design and transport of subtitles. Are the methods used still up-to-date?
Another change taking place is the introduction of a more Internet-oriented set of distribution platforms, such as HbbTV. This requires broadcasters to provide subtitles in a growingly diverse set of output (file) formats.
Thirdly, broadcasters are switching from videotape-based to file-based workflows for the production of content. Thus also in the production domain file formats supporting subtitling are increasingly requested.
The EBU ECI-DFXP Group is evaluating the applicability of the W3C DFXP format (TTML) for professional subtitling applications. The EBU Group does this on behalf of several of its Members, such as the ARD and the BBC, and several manufacturers. The goal is to provide an EBU Recommendation for a follow-up format of the ageing EBU STL (EBU Tech 3264) format.
This webinar, presented by Larissa Görner (IRT), provided an overview of the advanced features of the XML-based format, the usage of EBU-DFXP in current workflows and the future replacement of STL.
For more information, contact Larissa Görner (IRT) or Elisabeth Ecoffey (EBU).
