DTV4All
Workshop
Background Information:
The
Audiovisual Media Services Directive aims to make audiovisual content
increasingly accessible for sight and hearing impaired persons. Under Article
7, governments must encourage media companies under their jurisdiction
to adopt suitable measures towards that end, e.g. by subtitling and audio
description (access services).
As Europe is passing from analogue
television to digital broadcasting, offering a barrier-free watching experience
is essential for ensuring the participation of all citizens in the information
society. At the same time, this transition is what makes rendering the
services necessary to achieve this technically possible. The solutions
initially designed to enable hard of hearing or sight impaired people to
gain access to information, entertainment, services through TV have a wider
social value by also benefitting older people with age related difficulties,
migrant or minority communities or persons with low literacy. Subtitles
are also useful for language learning. Audio description, a voice-over describing
the scene on the screen, is welcomed by people who want to 'listen' to
their favourite program in the background while doing something else.
Nevertheless, the challenges in
delivering barrier-free digital television remain manifold – whether it be for broadcasters, equipment manufacturers or policy
makers.
- Ensuring the widespread adoption of mature access services for first
generation digital television
- Identifying, assessing and promoting emerging access services for
second generation digital television
The most valuable contribution
DTV4All can make is to identify the enabling factors that will allow a
core set of access services to be offered in all EU member countries in
the near future.
The workshop disseminates
the results of the DTV4All Project – results from the Pilots and the
Recommendations for mature access services on Digital TV and emerging services
and allows for the practical exchange of views among stakeholders
that are necessary for delivering access services in
reality: broadcasters, manufacturers, users and relevant
policy makers.
The DTV4All Project is a Policy
Support Project co-financed by the EU Competitiveness and Innovation Programme,
Project Web Page: http://www.psp-dtv4all.org
Agenda
Centre Borschette, Rue
Froissart 36; Room 1C,
Brussels
Wednesday 25 May,
9:30 am – 1:00 pm
Introduction by the
European Commission (Commission representative)
Outline
of the project (DTV4All Project Co-ordinator,
Dr Takebumi ITAGAKI – Brunel University)
Results
from Pilots (DTV4All Project Pilot Co-ordinator,
Prof Pilar ORERO – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Recommendations for mature and
emerging access services (DTV4All Project WP4 Leader,
Mr Peter LOOMS – Looms Consulting)
Case
study "How subtitles
for Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) should look like? How text service
can be made barrier-free on Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television (HbbTV)?" (DTV4All Project, Ms Bettina HEIDKAMP-TCHEGLOFF
– Rundfunk
Berlin-Brandenburg)
Invited speakers
– accessible DTV value chain
- Manufacturers perspective (Mr Frank KAMPERMAN,
Philips Consumer Lifestyle Advanced
Technology, on behalf of DigitalEurope)
- Users perspective (Ms Mia AHLGREN, Swedish Disability
Federation, on behalf of European
Disability Forum)
- Broadcasters perspective (Mr David WOOD, European Broadcasting Union)
UK digital switchover support scheme (Mr Nick TANTON,
BBC Switchover Help Scheme)
Questions and Answers
Session
Conclusions (workshop rapporteur)