During its recent meeting at the IRT, the EBU Group on subtitling ( EBU-DFXP ) has divided its work into three profiles: one for legacy / STL exchange, one on live subtitling and one that allows for a more advanced way of authoring subtitles with the so-called 'annotation' profile. The division marks an important step in the maturing of the Group's work.
Enthusiasm
Larissa Goerner (IRT), chair of the Group, is very happy with the spirit and progress of the last meeting: "The enthusiasm was so large, we hardly took time to pause. Although we maximise the use of 'virtual meetings', getting together around a table to hammer out the detail on key points clearly still is very important."
Going live
Some of these key points cover live subtitling, a practice that is more and more used by broadcasters. Brendan Mallon (BBC) explains: "In the UK for example, the BBC is providing 100% subtitling, using respeaking technology. So we need support in the file format for our this, including 'snake subtitles', and ways to efficiently archive and replay the subtitles created live. That's why the live subtitling profile is so important." |  Live subtitling workflow illustration |
Work until the Beep
The Group will now have to chew out proposals for a list of items we have identified, before its next meeting end of June, which will be held at the BBC. Larissa jokes: "So we will work until the Beep and then resync on what is left to do."
If you are interested in the EBU's Subtitling in XML format work, you are welcome to join the meeting at the BBC and to participate in the Group's online work. Simply go here to register or send an e-mail to: Frans de Jong (EBU) .