FCC: Closed Captioning over IP (IPCC)

2012/5/14 1Confidential

Summary of Report & Order for IPCC• FCC Requirements for content delivered over IP:

– Content Providers/Distributors shall provide and distribute Closed Captioning data with quality equal to Television Closed Captions (CEA-608 and 708)

– Devices shall render or pass through Closed Captioning data to consumer devices through their video outputs, while maintaining the quality of the captions.

• “Full-length” video programming shown on television only– Rules do not apply to “clips” or “outtakes”

– Rules do not apply to “consumer generated media”

– Rules only apply to programming shown on television inside the U.S.

•  Released:  January 13, 2012 - Compliance Date (for devices):  January 1, 2014

2012 2013 2014

Final Rules released 13 January 2012

Compliance Date (for devices): 1 January 2014

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Influence to BDA licensees• BDA Licensee Requirements

– BD-Live content providers/distributors:• Will be required to provide Closed Caption data in text format (not bitmapped PG format).

– BD-Live players:• Will be required to render or pass-through Closed Caption (equivalent to CEA 608 and 708 requirements) for BD-Live

content, after 1 January, 2014.– HDMI interface may need to be updated to support Closed Captions pass-through delivery (FCC concluded that HDMI is

capable of rendering open captions rendered by the source device, and will not require an update to the specification).

• Liability– If a user files a complaint to the FCC that “Full-length” video programming over BD-Live does not comply

with IPCC regulations, the liable parties would be:• the video programming owner, for failure to provide the programming with captions

• the video programming distributor, for failure to deliver the programming with captions, or

• the device manufacturer, for failure to support IPCC rendering in the device

– Penalties:  $10,000 Forfeiture for Violations of the IP Captioning Rules:  

– BDA should not be found liable by the FCC, because it is a technology licensor and not a video programming owner, distributor or device manufacturer.

2012/5/14 3Confidential

Proposal• Study if BD-Live has sufficient technical means to deliver Closed Caption data to

the Device in the form of Text Subtitles or Closed Caption data embedded in video elementary streams.

• Notify licensees of the FCC IPCC regulations, and upon conclusion of the above study, provide a guideline of the technical means to deliver Closed Caption data to the Device over BD-Live.

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