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The way in which programmes for television are made has changed dramatically over the past decade, with broadcasters needing to include a range of ancillary data in order to address the needs of the widest possible web of viewers. It is not just a simple case of turning to subtitling in order to appeal to the hard of hearing. There is also a need to offer services that ensure television remains a necessary part of modern life, moving it beyond the traditional role of entertainment provider. There is no doubt that captioning software has been one of the most significant developments in modern broadcasting, as broadcasters seek to meet the challenges from the international aspect of the industry, for example. The trading of television programmes and coverage of international sport has created the need for caption extraction and reinsertion at a rate of near immediacy. Meanwhile, digital teletext is the latest generation of the long serving text service, but must now offer a greater range of functions to keep the public interested. Captioning is not as difficult and time consuming a process as it once was, with software that has effectively simplified the tasks of caption creation, insertion and transmission. These can now be done almost simultaneously, with interfaces that complete the task so quickly they have been described as quicker than real time in their operation. It means that whole management systems can be overseen easily. Of course, television broadcasters have an option on the extent of their captioning service, with either transcoded or uber captioning on offer. Transcoded provides the no frills option that is most prevalent, with words appearing in clear print on the screen, while the uber captioning process involves greater artistic creativity, such as font types and effects. Multi language captioning has also provided something of a headache in the past, but modern software has made the process much easier and faster, with integration between various file and video formats making it possible to extract and reinstert captions from a range of formats. It is now also possible to complete processing directly on the video server. Perhaps, the biggest challenge for any software is its ability to serve the demands of caption insertion on near to air or even live broadcast situations, where captions need to be created, encoded and transmitted within minutes or even seconds of the event itself. Obviously, the difficulty here has always been the pressure of time, and the risk of frustration for viewers caused by captions that are out of sync with the images. However, the whole process is now far simpler with software that allows broadcasters themselves to easily create and insert inhouse. The quality and efficiency of the interface itself, through which captions are applied, is designed to give users greater confidence to accomplish the challenges. Meanwhile, the ability of the latest software to draw from an archive of captions also helps to produce captions quicker. Teletext has become a standard feature for every television channel. Originally viewed by some as an unnecessary gimmick when it first was launched in the UK in the 1970s, its potential for product and service advertisement, and commercial and broadcasting promotions has been realised over the last four decades. Most people, after all, use teletext services to check on holiday weather, news headlines, sports results and even flight news from a local airport. Although now fast approaching its 40th birthday, the service has continued to reinvent itself, and despite the various other methods of information access it competes with, such as WAP content on phones, demand for this service remains high. The advent of the digital tv age has meant that channels must now offer a more sophisticated service, not only through tv screens but also on websites and phones. The latest software has been developed in partnership with Microsoft to allow more efficiency and greater accessibility via all of these channels. All three formats can be addressed in one go, through a three screen support system, while integration with other aspects of tv technology, such as captioning and audio describing, is also possible. The modern demands on television services has made the investment in captioning software and the expansion of functions to meet this new era of digital tv and its digital teletext services. Meanwhile, the international market where subtitling programmes and sports events of foreign origin has become equally essential, but equally catered for by the latest software. Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Softel, one of the leading global providers of key TV and video technologies, offering an extensive range of pioneering solutions such as subtitling and captioning, MEG stream processing as well as digital teletext. Softel subtitling and captioning software can be used with different file formats, are suitable for the web, mobile, DVD as well as traditional TV broadcasting, and can be used for simultaneous multi-language playout.
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