EC move to improve access for HbbTV takes step forwards

The European Commission-funded HBB4All project has started work on improving accessibility services for audiovisual content delivered to multiple devices using the HbbTV standard by announcing four pilot test projects.

The HBB4All project will include expert testing of new production workflows, benchmarking of the quality of access services from a user point of view and the delivery of content to PCs, tablets and smartphones.

The four pilots will focus on multi-platform subtitle workflow, alternative audio production and distribution, automatic UI adaptation for accessible smart TV applications and sign language translation.

According to the EBU, the poroect will benefit from its own subtitling format work, including the EBU-TT-D delivery specification, which was published last month. The latter is set to be referenced in the upcoming HbbTV 2.0 and DVB-DASH standards.

The HBB4All project runs for 36 months and is led by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. EBU Members RBB, IRT, RTP and SRG (SwissTXT) participate in the project.