[dbaust] Audio Description Trial - Questions
- From: Erika Webb <erikaweb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Erika Webb <erikaweb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:16:38 -0700 (PDT)
Audio Description Trial
- Questions
Hi All,
Below is a set of Questions and Answers.
1. 1. Audio description trial FAQs - Dept for
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
2. 2. AUDIO DESCRIPTION TRIAL FAQS - Media Access
Australia
Audio description trial FAQs - Dept for Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy
http://www.dbcde.gov.au/television/audio_description_trial
Audio description is an additional verbal commentary that
complements the underlying soundtrack of a program. It is narration that
explains what is happening visually during television programs, movies, DVDs or
live performances. Currently in Australia no television broadcasts include
audio description.
The Media Access Review final report included a recommendation
that the Australian Government commissions a technical trial of audio
description on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
On 22 February 2012 the Minister for Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy announced a 13-week technical trial of
audio description would occur during 2012 on ABC1.
The limited technical trial is intended to generate a
greater understanding of the technical and consumer issues associated with
establishing and delivering audio description services.
The ABC has now commenced preliminary work for the trial and
will provide a report to the government on the audio description trial in late
2012.
Further details on the public broadcast component of the
trial will be made available on this website as they become available.
Media release: Audio description trial on ABC in 2012
http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2012/020
Media access review
http://www.dbcde.gov.au/television/television_captioning/media_access_review
FAQs
1. What is audio description?
Audio description improves access to electronic media for
people with a visual impairment. It provides an additional verbal commentary
that complements the underlying audiovisual program soundtrack. It is narration
that explains what is happening visually during television programs, movies,
DVDs or live performances.
2. What is the intended outcome from the audio description
trial?
The government intends that the technical trial will
generate greater understanding of both technical and consumer requirements
associated with establishing and delivering audio description services in
Australia. The trial will encompass testing of the broadcast delivery path from
capture (acquisition or commissioning) to transmission and distribution.
3. What are the main parts of the trial?
The technical trial will run for 13 weeks and involve the
broadcast of drama, documentary and other content with audio description on
ABC1 for 14 hours per week during prime time.
4. What is the geographic coverage of the audio description
trial?
Audio-described programs will be broadcast on ABC1 and
available across the ABC1 free-to-air digital terrestrial footprint. It is
intended to make the audio description trial available nationally; however, the
government is aware of potential concerns with the re-transmission of ABC1 on
Foxtel, TransACT, AUSTAR, VAST and in some local council areas. The government
is working with the ABC to achieve the widest possible reach for the trial.
5. When is the public broadcast component of the trial
expected to occur?
The public broadcast component is expected to commence in
August 2012. The timing of the public broadcast component will depend on the
time taken by the ABC to commission content and to procure, test and install
equipment.
6. Who has been consulted?
The government has consulted with a range of stakeholders,
including the ABC and Australian Communications and Media Authority and with
external stakeholders including the Australian Human Rights Commission.
7. Why is the trial using receiver-mixed audio description
rather than broadcast-mixed audio description (that New Zealand is trialling)?
Audio description is delivered as a second audio stream to a
television or set-top box, and can be either 'receiver-mixed' or
'broadcast-mixed'. With receiver-mixed audio description, the normal audio
stream for the program is broadcast, while the second audio stream consists of
the audio description narration only, along with signals that lower the sound
level on the primary audio stream so that the descriptions can be heard. With
broadcast-mixed audio description, the second audio stream contains both the
original soundtrack and the descriptions mixed into it. Receiver-mixed is
considered preferable for viewers because it allows them to control the volume
of the audio-described content, and it can be fed to headphones so the viewer
can hear it while others in the room hear only the original soundtrack.
Broadcast-mixed does not have this functionality.
8. When will the results of the audio description trial be
available?
The ABC will provide a report to the government on the audio
description trial following the completion of the technical trial in late 2012.
9. Will the government mandate audio description on
broadcasters?
The government will consider the implications of introducing
minimum levels of audio description on broadcasters in light of the final report
from the trial. The ABC is to provide a report to government in late 2012.
10. Why will the ABC digital radio services not be broadcast
on digital television during the audio description trial?
The ABC has advised that, due to bandwidth capacity constraints,
it will be unable to continue to broadcast its digital radio services with
digital television services during the technical trial. The digital radio
services will continue to be available online and on digital radio during this
time and will resume at the conclusion of the trial.
11. Will trial participants receive any assistance in
setting up and using the associated equipment?
Australian Digital Testing has been commissioned by the
government to identify equipment (televisions and set-top boxes) that is
capable of receiving audio-described programs. Alongside accessible user
guides, this department will make the list of suitable equipment available to
assist people considering participation in the trial to identify whether their
existing televisions or set-top boxes can receive the audio-described content.
The final report of this consultancy is due in late March 2012.
Last modified: 15 March 2012, 11:35am
AUDIO DESCRIPTION TRIAL FAQS - Media Access Australia
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/television/audio-description-on-tv/audio-description-trial-faqs
The television audio description trial is scheduled to
commence in August 2012. It will last for 13 weeks, during which 14 hours of TV
will be audio described on ABC1 each week.
Here are some answers to questions that Media Access
Australia has been asked about the trial. We will update these as more
information comes to hand.
What is audio description?
Audio description is the narration of all the visual
elements of a TV program, movie, DVD, performance or other media allowing
access for the blind or vision impaired. First developed in the US in the
1908s, it is carefully scripted so that the descriptions fall within gaps in
the dialogue. For pre-recorded media such as television programs, when the
audio description is played, the background audio is automatically lowered so
that the description can be heard clearly.
Is there audio description in other countries?
Audio description is well established on television in the
US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, some other European countries,
South Korea and, since 2011, New Zealand. Audio description is therefore a
service long overdue in Australia.
What are the aims of the ABC audio description trial?
Audio description has never been broadcast on Australian
television, so one of the main aims of the trial will be to see how it can be
integrated into the ABC’s broadcast system. One of the contentious issues about
audio description within the television industry has been how much extra
broadcast spectrum will be needed to transmit the extra audio. The trial should
give a definitive answer.
The trial will also be used to determine what the audio
description production process should be. Creating and recording an audio
description track is more involved and labour intensive than creating captions,
so the trial will look at which programs are suitable for audio description,
and what the expected time frames for delivering it will be. The trial will
probably also involve importing audio described programs from overseas, chiefly
the UK, and testing these for usability here.
Finally, the trial will help raise awareness of audio
description, because many people in Australia who will benefit from the service
are probably not yet aware of it.
What equipment do I need to access audio description during
the trial?
Audio description is transmitted as a secondary audio track,
so you will need a digital receiver that can access that track to hear it. We
know that there are some TVs already on the market in Australia that are
capable of playing receiver-mixed audio description. In the lead-up to the
trial, the government has engaged Australian Digital Testing to investigate and
report on exactly which models will do this. The report is due in late March.
Another option is the Bush Talking Set top Box, a digital
set-top box with talking menus and other features, which also plays audio
description. It was developed as part of the Household Assistance Scheme run by
the government’s Digital Switchover Taskforce, and went on sale last year. It
is also likely that another ’talking box’ by a different manufacturer will be
on sale by the time the ABC trial starts.
What is ‘receiver-mixed’ audio description?
Audio description is transmitted as a secondary audio track,
and can be broadcast-mixed or receiver-mixed.With broadcast-mixed, the audio
description is mixed with the original soundtrack at the station’s end. With
receiver-mixed, the audio description is mixed with the original soundtrack
within the viewer’s digital TV or set-top box.
Receiver-mixed audio description has certain advantages over
broadcast-mixed. It’s good for broadcasters as it takes up less broadcast
spectrum. It’s good for viewers because the volume of the audio description can
raised or lowered against the background soundtrack. It is also possible for
someone to listen to the audio description through headphones, while others in
the room do not hear it.
The audio description for the ABC trial will be
receiver-mixed.
What programs will be audio described during the trial?
This has not been announced yet, apart from the programs
being screened during prime time (6pm - 10.30pm). One aim of the trial will be
to determine which programs are suitable for audio description. There may be a
mix of local programs and programs where the audio description has been sourced
from overseas.
Will the trial cover all of Australia?
It is the intention that the trial will be nationwide.
Will I be able to receive the audio description during the
trial if I have FOXTEL or AUSTAR, or receive television through the VAST
satellite service?
This is not known at the moment.
Have another question?
Get in touch via Facebook, Twitter (@mediaaccessaus) or
email and we'll see what we can do.
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/television/audio-description-on-tv/audio-description-trial-faqs
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