EEG, the leaders in US closed captioning solutions, have made the iCap Alta™ live encoder available to broadcasters globally. Currently the market-leading live captioning solution for IP-video workflows in the US, Alta has been extended to fully support DVB subtitles and DVB teletext standards (ETSI EN 300 473 and ETSI EN 300 742).
Now with iCap Alta, live transcription operators and services are able to send any combination of CEA-608/708, DVB Subtitles, and DVB Teletext data directly into an MPEG transport stream. Likewise, pre-existing US caption formats can be converted to DVB formats for localization and distribution to English-speaking countries including the UK, Australia, or Ireland, or for many other supported countries and languages.
Alta was first introduced in 2016 to accommodate US broadcasters transitioning from hardware-driven workflows to software controlled IP video environments. Broadcasters using a traditional iCap hardware encoder can seamlessly transfer to the Alta platform under the same iCap account. iCap Alta technology has a flexible deployment model allowing use cases in an on-premises virtual machine, in the cloud, or as a software library for custom integration.
iCap connects video production facilities to a global network of live stenographers and voice writing operators who use EEG software to securely access a private program audio feed and return real-time text, often with 98% accuracy or more. The iCap workflow eliminates outdated analog phone lines, is easier to configure than customized VPNs, provides remote administration and monitoring features, and keeps a complete log of subtitle and connection data. Pioneered by EEG in 2007, iCap has since become the largest captioning / subtitling network in the world – offering a range of compatible hardware and software encoding products to accommodate customers in broadcast television, streaming, and live events.
“The market for video content has become global, and there is increasing scrutiny on IT security and accessibility requirements everywhere,” says Bill McLaughlin, VP of Product Development for EEG. “With its new support for DVB Subtitles and Teletext standards, Alta brings a proven solution to new markets, while also dramatically simplifying internationalization of content that starts out with American closed captioning.”