(Inter BEE 2013 TV) ALVIX exhibits an on-air subtitle and loudness monitoring system, the first in the industry; subtitling in response to the growth of 1seg data broadcasting and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' policy of expanding the use of subtitles in the broadcasting of commercials; responding to an age of diversification

2013.11.22 UP

The ALVIX on-air subtitle and loudness monitoring system
The ALVIX booth

The ALVIX booth

ALVIX developed and exhibited the industry-first "on-air subtitle and loudness monitoring system," which receives broadcast RF signals and logs the broadcast's subtitles, loudness, chapters (commercial and main program), and PID.

* Support for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' policy of expanding subtitled broadcasting of commercials
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is promoting the use of subtitles in TV commercials, primarily for the sake of people who have impaired hearing. ALVIX, responding to an age where it is expected that subtitling will gain momentum and become more diversified and widespread, has developed a system which can automatically check the main program's subtitles for errors and give a warning by means of an alarm.
The company's sales manager Mayumi Kawasaki says, "Currently, the use of subtitles in TV programs is quite widespread, but, with some exceptions, subtitling has not been adopted for commercials very much so far. However, for the sake of people whose hearing is impaired, the movement towards also using subtitles in commercials will grow in strength. So we have developed a monitoring system which automatically checks the subtitles of a program, and gives a warning if there is a problem with them, such as running over into a commercial break. With this system, subtitle logging and display can be done in real time. Also, by clicking on an EPG (electronic program guide) it is possible to check on data relating to a program's subtitles, detection of commercials, and loudness."

* Developing products that anticipate the needs of the age, and the increasing importance of monitoring subtitles as 1seg grows
It's not only for people who have hearing difficulties. With the recent growth of 1seg data broadcasting for mobile phones, there is more and more demand from people who want TV broadcasts that only use subtitles. "If there is further expansion of subtitling, including in commercials, then I think there will be greater demand from broadcasters for on-air, real-time subtitle monitoring. Full-scale adoption of subtitles in commercials is still in the future, but we are always developing and bringing to the market products which anticipate the needs of the age. In bringing our product to this exhibition, we hope to use the opportunity to get the opinions of many people and improve the product further, and then market it in earnest," Ms. Kawasaki concluded enthusiastically.