The CCMA demonstrated innovative accessibility solutions in immersive content at IBC

The Catalan Corporation of Mitjans Audiovisuals presented the progress in European accessibility projects ImAc and EasyTV in which it participates.

The Catalan Corporation for Audiovisual Media (CCMA) was present in the Future Zone area of IBC 2019 in Amsterdam, presenting European accessibility projects ImAc y EasyTV in which it participates, both co-financed by the European Union within its H2020 program.

Jordi Mata, Francisco Mas y Jordi Fabregat, of the CCMA Engineering Department, were in charge of showing the progress in these projects.

The project ImAc works on the integration of accessibility services in 360º immersive experiences, meeting the needs of groups with vision, hearing, learning problems and older people.

At IBC, the latest version of its web player was presented on different devices (PC, connected television, smartphones, tablets and HMD virtual glasses) with the different types of presentation and customization developed, such as, for example, synchronized content playback between the HbbTV television and a tablet. At the same time, the different professional tools for editing accessibility content have been shown.

The project EasyTV, based on the hybrid television standard HbbTV, shows a second screen application that offers accessibility solutions that complement the content on the main screen. It was also possible to see a screen reader for HbbTV applications that allows people with visual difficulties to more easily access the desired content and a multilingual solution to create content such as subtitles or sign language through a collaborative “crowdsourcing” platform.