The main objective of this project is to investigate and determine user preferences in minimizing the speed/ accuracy/ delay trade-offs that are required in fast-paced live media where speaking rates are faster than caption reading rates, and/or caption production rates. A secondary goal is to investigate and determine the impact on the distribution technologies and logical flow for that content in live and on-line settings.
Project Objective
Rationale
The speed/accuracy/delay trade-offs in live captioning pose considerable challenges in providing high quality and meaningful captions. The result is often low-quality captions that interfere with Deaf and hard-of-hearing users’ comprehension, enjoyment and equitable access to the content
This prompted the need for further research into what changes in captioning processes and technologies can and must be made to live captioning to improve the user experience in ways that are considered acceptable to the user communities
It will be important to explore how those changes can influence the current live captioning standards.
It is anticipated that this research project will provide evidence-based recommendations for modifications to closed captioning standards in Canada. Specific standards/policies include Broadcast regulatory policy CRTC2019-308, WCAG2.1, Criterion 1.24, and the Accessible Canada Act, among others.
Tradeoffs in Live Captioning Research
December 2020
Inception
The Tradeoffs in Live Captioning (TLC) Research Project was awarded to Ryerson University as a result of a grant application to the Federal Government's Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization under their Advancing Accessibility Standards Research Fund. It builds on three prior research projects into live captioning that were funded by the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund. The TLC grant was awarded in October 2020 and spans five research objectives spanning a three year period. The project end date is March 2023.
January 2021
Advisory Committee Kickoff Meeting
A Project Kickoff Meeting was held with Advisory Committee members and the project team to launch the project officially and outline the path forward.
October 2021
Captioner Study 1
The purpose of this study is to assess the mental workload on live captioners under different captioning methods and standards. The study will be international in scope and draw on participants from jurisdictions comparable to Canada.
March 2022
Tradeoff Study 1: Users Responses to Factor Adjustment
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which adjustments to four key factors will affect viewer comprehension and preferences when viewing fast-paced live programming. Differences will be monitored between groups in different hearing categories and by genre.
August 2022
Captioner Study 2: Evaluation of Tools and Processes
The purpose of this study will be to evaluate the usability and use of new captioning software, tools, tool enhancements and processes that allow captions to be generated according to the objectives established in the prior studies in this project.
December 2022
Tradeoff Study 2: Longitudinal Study on Perceptions of Different Captioning Styles
The purpose of this study is to assess changes in attitude, user experience, acceptance of caption style, and content comprehension over time.
March 2023
Recommendations for Standards and Regulations
The purpose of this phase will be to prepare and finalize recommendations for standards and regulations on closed captioning of fast-paced programming to inform policies of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the CRTC and Standards bodies.