Making Your Streaming Media Both Accessible and Searchable

1. Making Your Streaming Media Both Accessible and Searchable Brent Robertson, MASc, MBA Kevin Erler, PhD Automatic Sync Technologies www.automaticsync.com/caption June 2006

2. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

3. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

4. About AST • AST is a leading provider of synchronization and voice recording search tools to the animation and gaming industries • Work on our core technology began in 1990 • We have applied our speech processing and pattern identification software to captioning • We are partly funded by the Department of Education. Our primary focus is on captioning for education.

5. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

6. Why Caption? • Compliance: web video content is subject to ADA / Section 508 • Universal Access: make your content as usable as possible by as many people as possible • Improving Comprehension: captioning improves comprehension for all viewers, especially for those with English as a second language • Search and Navigation: captioning allows the streaming material to become searchable with traditional text searches • Provide Viewers with More Access Options: institutions can improve the quality and range of methods through which viewers can access their products

7. Captioning Applications • In-Class Video: content used right in the classroom as part of the teaching material • Distance Education: course content transmitted as broadcast television, IPTV, videotape, DVD, and/or streaming media • Virtual Campus Tours: streaming media video tours of a campus to inform prospective students and parents • Remote Conferences/Seminars: conference presentations and seminars are increasingly archived on the web for later viewing

8. Captioning Applications • Web-based Course Content: supplemental course content or lecture material presented on a course website • PR / News Service: streaming media content generated by the public affairs department • Special Events: guest lectures, convocations, letters from the president archived on physical media or the web • Podcasts: downloadable audio for any of the aforementioned items

9. Streaming Media Captions More flexible fonts, colors, and line lengths. Text in a separate pane.No obscuring the video.

10. Podcast Captions With M4A and M4B it plays directly in iTunes. and/or With MP3 files it can play in a number of media players with more flexibility in fonts, colors, lines, etc.

11. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

12. AST Video Search • For streaming media, it is possible to randomly access the media (instead of watching the video from start to finish). • AST’s search data makes it possible to perform text-searches on the content. • Powerful benefit for entire viewer community; allows viewers to access material of interest without scanning hours of video. • Once the text of interest is located, viewers can jump to the precise point on interest in the video.

13. AST Video Search

14. AST Video Search

15. AST Video Search • Visit some of our deployments: • Stanford:  (needs QuickTime with Ensharpen codec installed) • http://acomptesterg4.stanford.edu/proteus/vs_search.php • UC Berkeley:  (needs Real Player 10 installed) • http://rodan.berkeley.edu/ast/vs_search.php • Apple/NASA:  (needs QuickTime Player installed) • http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000919/

16. Google Video • Google Video (video.google.com) offer similar functionality and is currently adding educational material. • The key to making the search work is the timed-stamped transcript file which accompanies your video. • AST offers this Google Video timed-stamped transcript files at no additional charge with your other captioning results. • Or conversely, if you are obtaining funding to add video along with the timed-stamped transcript file to the Google Video archive, why not get it captioned at the same time for no additional cost?

17. AST Video Search

18. Video Search • Consider the benefit of allowing text searching of all of your video (or audio) content • Extremely cost effective -- the search data files are no additional cost when you caption the webcast • Very accurate –- clicking the search result gets you to the precise point of interest

19. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

20. AST’s Goals • Speed • Turnaround time for a submission: about 10 minutes • Much lower costs than manual captioning • Convenience • Simple to use website available when you need it • No special software or tools required • Directly upload your webcast media with no special processing needed

21. The AST Captioning Process • Service is entirely electronic; submit your program and receive caption results minutes later • Input is the program media file (.rm, .wmv, .mov, .m4a, .mp3, etc) and program transcript (.txt), submitted through a web interface • Output is caption files for any of the major streaming players (Real, QuickTime, WMV) and iTunes. Flash caption output is coming as soon as Adobe finalizes their caption XML format. Caption files are also for DVDs and legacy videotapes • Output also available for video search

22. The AST Captioning Process • The user submits the media file to AST (electronically) • The system • manages the transcription process (if required) • parses the transcript and breaks it into captions • aligns the timing of each caption to the media file itself, • positions each caption according to your instructions, • creates the final caption file for your specific media type.

23. Transcription • If you already have the transcript, AST can provide formatting guidelines. • If you have internal transcription resources, have them transcribe the audio to a simple .txt file. • Or you can use AST’s bundled transcription service. Simply submit the media file and our system will automatically manage the transcription process. • System can also work with your external transcription vendors; vendors can interact directly with AST system.

24. Where is it appropriate? • Automated captioning can save you significant time and money, and enable you to caption substantially more content. • Automated captioning is suitable for you if: • material is largely narrative with minimal sweetening • program transcripts are available or show can be transcribed • you are captioning archival material (ie: not real time events)

25. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

26. Demo • Log into secure website

27. Demo • Submit a Program • Description • Text File (if available) • Media File More detail on this in a moment

28. Additional Features • Advanced Settings • Output Files • Font • Character Case • Window Size • Colors • Line Length • Justification • Naming

29. Demo • Get Results Back • Returned via email in about 10 minutes • Subject line: “Caption Results” • Body contains tracking number and other info

30. See Some Results • SJSU SLIS: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/sections/aboutus.htm • SJSU: http://www.sjsu.edu/vtour/streaming_media.htm • UCB: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses/archive.php?seriesid=1906978227 • Apple/NASA: http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000919/ • CSUN: http://www.abletv.net/html/csCSUN2004.html • UW: http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/TVI/ • Ryerson: http://www.ryerson.ca/tour/video.html

31. Agenda • Backgrounder on AST • Captioning Video and Podcasts • Google Video and Other Video Search • An Automated Solution • Demos • User Feedback

32. Feedback on Captioningat San José State University Students: • Diversifies Delivery of Video Media • “I was able to ‘read’ at my desk without having the audio turned on so that others in my office wouldn't be bothered.” • “Captions also allow you to view videos when you are in a situation where you are not able to use sound.”

33. Feedback on Captioning at San José State University Richard Jackson, SLIS Part-Time Faculty (User with Hearing Impairment) • Responsibility of the Educational Media Producer • “I naturally regard captioning as essential for this kind of communication, and if it isn't already required by law for public universities to provide this, I think it should be.” • “If I had had to deal with video without captions when I was in library school (not many years ago), it would have made things unnecessarily difficult.”

34. Feedback on Captioning at San José State University Richard Jackson, SLIS Part-Time Faculty (User with Hearing Impairment) • Broad value of captioning • “I don't think one has to be as hearing impaired as I am, or a non-native speaker of English, to benefit from the captions.” • “Many speakers can be somewhat difficult to understand, and the captions help.” • “My wife, who has normal hearing, watches the TV with captions even when I'm not around, because she realized she was able to catch more things being said.”

35. Some parting words… • Our goal is to make captioning accessible: • Convenient • Simple • Inexpensive • Fast • Flexible • While regulations help encourage captioning, compliance can only become universal if captioning itself is made easily accessible

36. Brent Robertson (brent@automaticsync.com) 1-877-AST-SYNC Visit www.automaticsync.com/caption