5 ms·

National Theater in London Offers Glasses with Live Subtitles

73 points by ericlott 8y ago

sefrost 8y ago
All the way through the article it’s called The National Theater instead of The National Theatre.
- the_clarence 8y ago
  Americans.
  - sillyquiet 8y ago
    what a weird thing to notice
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
dx87 8y ago
These types of glasses seem like they've been around for a while. Here's an article where they were introduced 6 years ago, they've been available in US movie theatres for a while. Also, not sure if this article is behind the times, but here's another article from a year ago where they talk about The National Theatre unveiling these glasses. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/sony-subtitle-glasses/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/sony-subtitle-glasse... https://www.121captions.com/2017/10/20/closed-captions-movie-theatres/ https://www.121captions.com/2017/10/20/closed-captions-movie...
- slg 8y ago
  These glasses react to live speech and stage cues. The ones developed for movie theaters can be much simpler technology since the pacing of a movie never changes. You just have to sync to the subtitles once and then they are synced for the entirety of the movie. Theater performances can vary from show to show and therefore these glasses have to be able to continuously react and adjust in order to keep in sync.
  - ericlott 8y ago
    The software that this article talks about is the big deal in this context. Having set up and run open caption systems for live theatre before I can say it can be really hard to do manually, so having software be able to do this effectively really is a feat.
kopo 8y ago
I am deaf. Been waiting for something like this for a long time, that I can use day to day hooked up to google/bing speech rec api's. Right now getting people to speak into a phone and getting the text creates a pretty unnatural (and usually short) interaction.
- badwolf 8y ago
  Seems a pretty great use for Google Glass
- jstanley 8y ago
  That presents an interesting privacy conundrum. It would undeniably be an incredible capability for you to have, but pretty much all of your day-to-day interactions would be sent off to Google or Microsoft for processing.
  - kopo 8y ago
    Privacy issues aren't my number one priority. I have lost count of the number of times people misunderstand me thanks to not knowing I am deaf or believing it, or me misunderstanding them. And as a techie I am not too bothered by Google and MS using my data to sell me stuff. What bothers me much more about is the dark architectural decisions that misguide/divides people or get them addicted to their streams and devices screwing their lives up.
    - vkou 8y ago
      > Privacy issues aren't my number one priority. It's not your privacy that's the issue (Well, it is, as a user of the device) - it's also the privacy of the persons speaking with you. Single-party consent for digital recording of audio is a controversial topic.
      - ozim 8y ago
        But that should not be issue for kopo, he should have means of comfortable communication without giving up on his privacy. That is just basic human right, there is nothing about people he is going to speak with, that is secondary issue.
nsedlet 8y ago
In the last Off-Broadway show I saw here in NYC (I Was Most Alive With You), they had sign-language interpreters signing for their respective actors on an elevated platform. It was a cool effect that suited the subject matter (it was a play about deafness whose main character is deaf), but obviously not practical for every play. In another (Light Shining in Buckinghamshire) there were subtitles projected at the front of the room. You could get used to it, but it was somewhat distracting and not ideal. This approach seems much better! Both plays were incredible, btw. Light Shining in Buckinghamshire blew my mind and I highly recommend picking up a copy if you haven't read/seen it.
- vkou 8y ago
  My local theatre has ASL interpreters, available for select (?) shows, for patrons that are deaf or hard of hearing. They aren't up on a stage, though.
searine 8y ago
Thats an expensive and dirty solution to a solved problem. Many opera houses have subtitles in the backs of seats. While not as ideal as in your glasses, it is certainly more comfortable, cheaper to buy and maintain, and clean. I get that you have to glance down now and then, as compared to the glasses, but I really think that's a cost worth living with.
- eszed 8y ago
  Maybe.... Wiring up all the seats wouldn't be trivial, especially in a concrete building, like the National. Also, and I'm speaking from sad experience here, it'd be waaaay easier to persuade a sponsor to underwrite branded glasses than it is to solicit donations for an infrastructure project. Though they may be less robust, if the glasses break you can hand the patron another pair; when the seat-back LCD goes on the fritz you'll have to move them to another seat, which is always disruptive, and not always possible. Overall, I suspect the glasses end up being much cheaper.
  - MrLeap 8y ago
    I assumed the parent was referring to an asynchronous, staticly rendered offline protocol running over paper. The cellulose displays are hosted in marsupial pouches stitched into the seat in front of you. Perhaps I am mistaken and some theaters have gone full xzibit on all the seats.
eszed 8y ago
Does anyone know more about the underlying software? QLab[1] is the standard theatre light/sound/video/etc tool, and I can think of a couple of ways you could (in theory) build this in there. Is that what they did, or something else? [1] https://figure53.com/qlab/ https://figure53.com/qlab/
- ericlott 8y ago
  From what I can find and I believe it pretty much all custom right now. I would guess it has ether MSC or OSC to receive key cues from QLab or other show control, but actually being run by custom software.
andrewla 8y ago
The article touches on a lot of the software and UX issues, but I don't really see much about the hardware. > The theater has bought 50 pairs, at a cost of around $1,050 per pair So pricey, yes, but who is currently selling anything like this? Things like the privacy of the contents of the display and the bulkiness of the unit are interesting aspects of this technology as applied to other use cases. Searching for "heads-up display glasses" yields a bunch of actual products of varying appearence. I know AR is all the rage, and that's what most of these products seem to advertise, but even having some limited real-time data seems like it has enormous applications.
- ericlott 8y ago
  Looking into this more its using the Epson Smart Glasses,(1) and custom developed speech following software.(2) This is one of the first real practical applications of AR that I have seen available for the general public to use in public that would have a real impact on the users experience. To me this seems like something that the public could understand and widely accept as into in the the world of AR. 1. https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/blogs/blogs-enhancing-experiences-hard-hearing-patrons https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/blogs/blogs-enhancing-experi... 2. https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access/captioned-glasses https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access/caption... 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzFAO9r7eAo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzFAO9r7eAo
debt 8y ago
I'm a big believer in the idea that accessibility will be the driving force behind technological change into the future. The market for these type of cybernetic devices is driven primarily by people with accessibility needs; which is ironic, because only then the general population wants access to the same technology. The economics behind this is pretty straightforward. Firstly, in my states, accessibility is subsidized by the government and health insurance. Secondly, because demand is low, the costs are incredibly high which allows the accessibility solution, whatever it is, to contain high-priced components. Boston Dynamic's SpotMini is a recent example of a high-priced device designed for people with accessibility needs.
- rexpop 8y ago
  I wish this was how things worked. Snuggies are a good example.

73 points by ericlott 8y ago

sefrost 8y ago

All the way through the article it’s called The National Theater instead of The National Theatre.

the_clarence 8y ago
Americans.
- sillyquiet 8y ago
  what a weird thing to notice
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

dx87 8y ago

These types of glasses seem like they've been around for a while. Here's an article where they were introduced 6 years ago, they've been available in US movie theatres for a while. Also, not sure if this article is behind the times, but here's another article from a year ago where they talk about The National Theatre unveiling these glasses. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/sony-subtitle-glasses/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/sony-subtitle-glasse... https://www.121captions.com/2017/10/20/closed-captions-movie-theatres/ https://www.121captions.com/2017/10/20/closed-captions-movie...

slg 8y ago
These glasses react to live speech and stage cues. The ones developed for movie theaters can be much simpler technology since the pacing of a movie never changes. You just have to sync to the subtitles once and then they are synced for the entirety of the movie. Theater performances can vary from show to show and therefore these glasses have to be able to continuously react and adjust in order to keep in sync.
- ericlott 8y ago
  The software that this article talks about is the big deal in this context. Having set up and run open caption systems for live theatre before I can say it can be really hard to do manually, so having software be able to do this effectively really is a feat.

kopo 8y ago

I am deaf. Been waiting for something like this for a long time, that I can use day to day hooked up to google/bing speech rec api's. Right now getting people to speak into a phone and getting the text creates a pretty unnatural (and usually short) interaction.

badwolf 8y ago
Seems a pretty great use for Google Glass
jstanley 8y ago
That presents an interesting privacy conundrum. It would undeniably be an incredible capability for you to have, but pretty much all of your day-to-day interactions would be sent off to Google or Microsoft for processing.
- kopo 8y ago
  Privacy issues aren't my number one priority. I have lost count of the number of times people misunderstand me thanks to not knowing I am deaf or believing it, or me misunderstanding them. And as a techie I am not too bothered by Google and MS using my data to sell me stuff. What bothers me much more about is the dark architectural decisions that misguide/divides people or get them addicted to their streams and devices screwing their lives up.
  - vkou 8y ago
    > Privacy issues aren't my number one priority. It's not your privacy that's the issue (Well, it is, as a user of the device) - it's also the privacy of the persons speaking with you. Single-party consent for digital recording of audio is a controversial topic.
    - ozim 8y ago
      But that should not be issue for kopo, he should have means of comfortable communication without giving up on his privacy. That is just basic human right, there is nothing about people he is going to speak with, that is secondary issue.

nsedlet 8y ago

In the last Off-Broadway show I saw here in NYC (I Was Most Alive With You), they had sign-language interpreters signing for their respective actors on an elevated platform. It was a cool effect that suited the subject matter (it was a play about deafness whose main character is deaf), but obviously not practical for every play. In another (Light Shining in Buckinghamshire) there were subtitles projected at the front of the room. You could get used to it, but it was somewhat distracting and not ideal. This approach seems much better! Both plays were incredible, btw. Light Shining in Buckinghamshire blew my mind and I highly recommend picking up a copy if you haven't read/seen it.

vkou 8y ago
My local theatre has ASL interpreters, available for select (?) shows, for patrons that are deaf or hard of hearing. They aren't up on a stage, though.

searine 8y ago

Thats an expensive and dirty solution to a solved problem. Many opera houses have subtitles in the backs of seats. While not as ideal as in your glasses, it is certainly more comfortable, cheaper to buy and maintain, and clean. I get that you have to glance down now and then, as compared to the glasses, but I really think that's a cost worth living with.

eszed 8y ago
Maybe.... Wiring up all the seats wouldn't be trivial, especially in a concrete building, like the National. Also, and I'm speaking from sad experience here, it'd be waaaay easier to persuade a sponsor to underwrite branded glasses than it is to solicit donations for an infrastructure project. Though they may be less robust, if the glasses break you can hand the patron another pair; when the seat-back LCD goes on the fritz you'll have to move them to another seat, which is always disruptive, and not always possible. Overall, I suspect the glasses end up being much cheaper.
- MrLeap 8y ago
  I assumed the parent was referring to an asynchronous, staticly rendered offline protocol running over paper. The cellulose displays are hosted in marsupial pouches stitched into the seat in front of you. Perhaps I am mistaken and some theaters have gone full xzibit on all the seats.

eszed 8y ago

Does anyone know more about the underlying software? QLab[1] is the standard theatre light/sound/video/etc tool, and I can think of a couple of ways you could (in theory) build this in there. Is that what they did, or something else? [1] https://figure53.com/qlab/ https://figure53.com/qlab/

ericlott 8y ago
From what I can find and I believe it pretty much all custom right now. I would guess it has ether MSC or OSC to receive key cues from QLab or other show control, but actually being run by custom software.

andrewla 8y ago

The article touches on a lot of the software and UX issues, but I don't really see much about the hardware. > The theater has bought 50 pairs, at a cost of around $1,050 per pair So pricey, yes, but who is currently selling anything like this? Things like the privacy of the contents of the display and the bulkiness of the unit are interesting aspects of this technology as applied to other use cases. Searching for "heads-up display glasses" yields a bunch of actual products of varying appearence. I know AR is all the rage, and that's what most of these products seem to advertise, but even having some limited real-time data seems like it has enormous applications.

ericlott 8y ago
Looking into this more its using the Epson Smart Glasses,(1) and custom developed speech following software.(2) This is one of the first real practical applications of AR that I have seen available for the general public to use in public that would have a real impact on the users experience. To me this seems like something that the public could understand and widely accept as into in the the world of AR. 1. https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/blogs/blogs-enhancing-experiences-hard-hearing-patrons https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/blogs/blogs-enhancing-experi... 2. https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access/captioned-glasses https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access/caption... 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzFAO9r7eAo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzFAO9r7eAo

debt 8y ago

I'm a big believer in the idea that accessibility will be the driving force behind technological change into the future. The market for these type of cybernetic devices is driven primarily by people with accessibility needs; which is ironic, because only then the general population wants access to the same technology. The economics behind this is pretty straightforward. Firstly, in my states, accessibility is subsidized by the government and health insurance. Secondly, because demand is low, the costs are incredibly high which allows the accessibility solution, whatever it is, to contain high-priced components. Boston Dynamic's SpotMini is a recent example of a high-priced device designed for people with accessibility needs.

rexpop 8y ago
I wish this was how things worked. Snuggies are a good example.