science

Text to speech in digital television

Text to speech in digital television is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Text to speech in digital television rather than just read about it. In short: Text to speech in digital television refers to digital television products that use speech synthesis (computer-generated speech that “talks” to the end user) to enable access to blind or partially sighted people. By combining a digital television (a television, set-top box, personal video recorder, or other type of receiver) with a speech synthesis engine, blind and partially sighted people are able to access inform…

Key takeaways

Text to speech in digital television belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Text to speech in digital television to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Text to speech in digital television from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Text to speech in digital television refers to digital television products that use speech synthesis (computer-generated speech that “talks” to the end user) to enable access to blind or partially sighted people. By combining a digital television (a television, set-top box, personal video recorder, or other type of receiver) with a speech synthesis engine, blind and partially sighted people are able to access information that is normally displayed visually in order to operate the menus and electronic program guides of the receiver.

User need Using an audiovisual medium causes problems for certain people with disabilities, notably individuals with sight or hearing loss. These problems can be split between interface accessibility barriers and impediments in using the content itself. Text-to-speech features in television products helps address interface accessibility barriers for blind and partially sighted people who may be unable to use the standard visual interface or even special features such as large fonts, magnifiers, adjustable color schemes, etc. Digital television solutions are often more complicated products compared to their analog ancestors. The ability to navigate many menus, to see on-screen program information, and to browse electronic program guides or on-screen content listings to find out what is available to watch, is essential to using digital TVs. Policy makers across the world have recognized the importance of access to (digital) television. Recital 64 of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS) states: "The right of persons with a disability and of the elderly to participate and be integrated in the social and cultural life of the Community is inextricably linked to the provision of accessible audiovisual media services." The initial report of a European Commission study "Measuring progress of eAccessibility in Europe" refers to television as one of a set of fields "that are now essential elements of social and economic life." The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities makes specific reference to television access in Article 30(1) ("Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport"): "States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities: [...] b. Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats."

History Text-to-speech software has been widely available for desktop computers since the 1990s, and Moore’s Law increases in CPU and memory capabilities have contributed to making their inclusion in software and hardware solutions more feasible. In the wake of these trends, text-to-speech is finding its way into everyday consumer electronics. In addition to text-to-speech solutions for computers, we now see talking watches and clocks, calendars, thermometers, kitchen aids, and many other products. Talking books and GPS navigation systems have become widely used as well. Organizations representing blind and partially sighted people are long-standing supporters of text-to-speech technology in consumer electronics. In the UK, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has been advocating for speaking radio and television products since the early part of the century and has supported manufacturers in creating such solutions. The Digital TV Group, the UK Industry association for Digital TV, first discussed the topic in 2007 and subsequently brought the industry together to write a technical specification for text to speech in the horizontal market in 2009. This collaboration formed part of the UK Government BERR Usability Action Plan. When complete, the plan was submitted to Digital Europe for ETSI standardization and also published as a white paper. Subsequently, the plan was incorporated in the U-Book - UK Digital TV Usability and Accessibility Guidelines including text to speech. In 2010, two talking products for digital television came into the market in the UK. The Sky Talker is an add-on for the Sky set top box. It provides talking features for program and channel information and play back control. The Sky Talker is operated through the standard Sky remote control. In the same year, the Smart Talk Freeview (terrestrial digital broadcasting) set-top box was also launched into the UK market. This is a Goodmans branded Freeview set top box, developed by a partnership between Harvard International Ltd and the RNIB. It was the first complete talking solution for digital television in the UK, including speaking of the Electronic Program Guide, menus, and providing spoken assistance during setup. In Japan, both Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric, have been producing television and Blu-ray products since 2010. According to information compiled by the Japanese blindness organization, Lighthouse for the Blind, there are some 70-odd products from Mitsubishi and Panasonic with talking features. Around 2011 in Spain a talking Linux-based set-top box solution, using the free Festival text-to-speech engine, was distributed to blind and visually impaired people free of charge by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. However, this product is no longer available. In 2012, Panasonic launched its voice guidance solution on the UK market. Voice Guidance is a set of talking features for their 2012 Viera range (and beyond). Voice Guidance announces on-screen information on the most important menus and has support for reminders, recordings, and playback functions. It is available for Freesat and Freeview receivers. In creating its solution, Panasonic took into account advice from RNIB experts. Also in 2012, TVonics, a former UK digital video recorder maker, launched its talking PVR solution: a twin-tuner Freeview HD recorder based on the Ivona TTS engine which is widely lauded by disability groups for its high-quality voice. The TVonics solution was essentially a software addition for its existing platform and can be deployed as a software upgrade to customers of existing products. TVonics went into production in June 2012. The RNIB acquired the core DVR IP including the text-to-speech system. The TVonics brand was bought by Peterborough-based Pulse-Eight.

List of possible text-to-speech enabled features

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Text to speech in digital television

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Text to speech in digital television claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Text to speech in digital television before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Text to speech in digital television ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Text to speech in digital television

In research: Text to speech in digital television appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Text to speech in digital television in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Text to speech in digital television is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital television, Speech synthesis, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Text to speech in digital television outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Text to speech in digital television in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Text to speech in digital television means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Text to speech in digital television out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Text to speech in digital television in simple terms?

Why does Text to speech in digital television matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Text to speech in digital television?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Text to speech in digital television.