Red Bee demos live sign language translation for broadcast TV

Red Bee Media has showcased its work in live sign language translation for broadcast TV this week to coincide with UK Council of Deafness Annual Conference.

The company claims it is combining technical innovation and translators to deliver a sign language service for live news and event broadcasts, providing a solution it has developed over a period of eight years.

Red Bee said the set-up will allow deaf translators to work on live programs for the first time, with sign language translation traditionally being provided by hearing interpreters.

“Speed and accuracy have been our focus in perfecting this setup,” said says Matt Simpson, Red Bee Media’s head of portfolio for its access services division.

“By combining our systems in an innovative way, we have been able to utilise the skills of our captioning and translation staff together with the speed and reliability of our platforms – enabling our deaf translation team to provide a service that was previously only possible via a hearing interpreter.”

Red Bee Media’s signing general manager, Lesley McGilp, added: “As the only national provider of live British sign language services in the UK, we are proud to be able to offer this unique setup where Deaf translators can provide translations for live broadcasts.”