Re: Interdependency between fontSize, lineHeight and cellResolution in TTML

On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 10:01 AM, Andreas Tai <tai@irt.de> wrote:

>  Doesn´t it make sense for TTML to adopt the meaning from XSL 1.1 and to
> let the rendering application choose a line-height that results in readable
> text? Isn´t it the missing control of the author which font will be used
> for display exactly the reason to give the rendering application the
> control?
>
> Of course with this semantics of line-height "normal" the author can not
> predict the exact presentation but this assumption is for some use cases
> (as stated below) of theoretical nature anyway.
>
> From German broadcaster perspective the requirement that text is
> accessible and readable is more important than that the text has an exact
> font-size or line-height.
>
> As a perfect solution does not exist I would vote to align the definition
> of normal with XSL 1.1 or to adopt an option brought in by Glenn and "to
> define normal as 1.2*max descendant em square".
>

The XSL-FO 1.X definition of normal matches CSS2 (1998):

normal

Tells user agents to set the computed value to a "reasonable" value based
on the font size of the element. The value has the same meaning as
<number>. We recommend a computed value for "normal" between 1.0 to 1.2.
We diverged from this slightly by specifying the the largest font size that
applies to any descendant element , though this perhaps should have said the
largest font size that applies to any descendant element or self (this
element).


>
> Best regards,
>
> Andreas
>
>
> Am 17.07.2013 09:39, schrieb Nigel Megitt:
>
>
>
>   On 16/07/2013 17:49, "Glenn Adams" <glenn@skynav.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 10:25 AM, Nigel Megitt <nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>wrote:
>
>>  Current wording in 8.2.12 tts:lineHeight:
>>
>>  If the value of this attribute is normal, then the initial value of the
>> style property must be considered to be the same as the largest font size
>> that applies to any descendant element.
>>
>>
>>  Suggested wording, taking into account the previous amendment on this
>> thread:
>>
>>  If the value of this attribute is normal, then the initial value of the
>> style property must be considered to be the same as the height of the
>> largest em square of the fonts that apply to any descendant element in
>> the intermediate synchronic document instance.
>>
>
>  Sounds reasonable, though better to say "the maximum height of the EM
> squares of the fonts that apply"
>
>
>  Thanks, yes, that's better.
>
>
>>  Add a note:
>>
>>  If lineHeight is normal and a font is selected for presentation with an
>> em square whose height does not include ascents, descents and any other
>> spacing needed for creating a default line spacing then the resulting text
>> is likely to be difficult to read.
>>
>
>  Sounds reasonable. I will make these changes in the 10SE ED and the 11
> ED.
>
>
>  Thanks.
>
>
>>  Nigel
>>
>>
>>   On 16/07/2013 17:08, "Glenn Adams" <glenn@skynav.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 9:51 AM, Nigel Megitt <nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>wrote:
>>
>>>  CIL
>>>
>>>   On 16/07/2013 16:26, "Glenn Adams" <glenn@skynav.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 8:47 AM, Nigel Megitt <nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Thanks Glenn,
>>>>
>>>>  I'd also appreciate your views on the suggested clarifications I
>>>> proposed in the thread, copied again here to save your scroll mechanism:
>>>>
>>>>  1. State that we (TTML) assume that any presentation device will apply
>>>> appropriate rules to generate a font of the required size, regardless of
>>>> what algorithm is used either to scale or select a pre-defined font of a
>>>> similar size.
>>>>
>>>> The problem with the current TTML wording is that it says (inhttp://www.w3.org/TR/ttaf1-dfxp/#style-attribute-fontSize) both "font size
>>>> is interpreted as a scaling transform to the font's design EM square" and
>>>> "horizontal and vertical scaling of a glyph's em square" which seem to
>>>> conflict. Is it each individual glyph that should be scaled, or the entire
>>>> font? As I understand it the font has an em square and each glyph has it's
>>>> own width and height that may be different from the em square.
>>>>
>>>>   I can see how this could be confusing, but in my estimation there is
>>> no conflict because a glyph's em square is the font's em square. That is, a
>>> glyph's em square is not the glyph's width and height (in current font
>>> technology terminology). However, it wouldn't hurt to state this in an
>>> informative note.
>>>
>>>
>>>  I agree – the concept of a glyph's em square is a bit meaningless.
>>> Really what's meant is the glyph's font's em square.
>>>
>>>        2. State that TTML assumes that the em square unit is a suitable line
>>>> spacing size for the chosen font, i.e. that it includes the ascent,
>>>> descent and extra space needed above and below, left and right. The
>>>> article http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/TTCH01.htm includes a
>>>> good picture of this in the section headed "FUnits and the em square".
>>>>
>>>>    Unfortunately, this is not the case in practice. There is no
>>> requirement on fonts that a glyph's marks be contained in the font's em
>>> square. There are many fonts where this is not true.
>>>
>>>
>>>  Agreed however the main point is the assumption that the em square
>>> height is a suitable line spacing size, embodied in the concept of a
>>> 'normal' line height.
>>>
>>
>>  Well, 'normal' must be defined to mean something. Another possibility
>> is to define normal as 1.2*max descendant em square.
>>
>>  Regarding the term 'suitable', it is overly subjective, and not
>> particularly useful in a technical spec, wouldn't you agree? Go ask a room
>> full of font designers what is a 'suitable' line height based on a known
>> font metric, and I suspect you will get a number of different answers.
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>     I think TTML doesn't make any assumptions about suitability re:
>>> line spacing for a given font. Rather, TTML assumes the author will choose
>>> a font that works for their purposes.
>>>
>>>
>>>  The consequence of that would be that lineHeight=normal would convey
>>> no useful information.
>>>
>>
>>  The useful information is that we define 'normal' in a precise way.
>>
>>
>>>  But I don't think that's what the TTML spec intends. As it stands some
>>> implementations might assume that the em square needs a bit 'extra' to make
>>> the line spacing look nice, whereas others may not.
>>>
>>
>>  I suspect those implementations could be considered non-compliant,
>> since they are interpreting normal differently than we specify in TTML.
>>
>>
>>>  Implementation consistency here would be desirable, to the extent
>>> possible given that the font used for authoring may not be the font used
>>> for display (though I note the suggestion of an external font reference
>>> which would help). Clarification in the TTML spec would really help here.
>>>
>>
>>  Please propose some specific text you'd like to see added, then we can
>> discuss it.
>>
>>
>>>
>>>     I think the best we could do is to make a recommendation that the
>>> monospace* generic font families be mapped to device fonts that have the
>>> above property.
>>>
>>>
>>>  I don't understand how being selective about whether fonts are
>>> monospaced or proportionally spaced [horizontally] affects the [vertical]
>>> line height problem.
>>>
>>
>>  It doesn't. I was referring to the issue of having glyph marks fall
>> outside the em square.
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  Ultimately, we may wish to consider adding support for referring to
>>> downloaded font resources.
>>>
>>>
>>>  That would certainly help with font choices and authoring consistency,
>>> though not the line height calculation.
>>>
>>>       I think both of these could be inferred from the current spec but by
>>>> making them explicit it would help to avoid the confusion.
>>>>
>>>> The result should be that each row in a cell grid is 1c and there's no
>>>> need for 80%s and 120%s here and there (unless a particular visual effect
>>>> squeezing or stretching the baseline spacing is desired!).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Obviously I've not gone to the trouble of coming up with precise
>>>> wording for the spec yet as we're still at the 'in principle' stage.
>>>>
>>>>  Kind regards,
>>>>
>>>>  Nigel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   On 16/07/2013 15:24, "Glenn Adams" <glenn@skynav.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 7:09 AM, Andreas Tai <tai@irt.de> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>>
>>>>> We had an extensive discussion on the EBU mailing list regarding the
>>>>> relationship between cell resolution, font-size and line-height. At some
>>>>> point we found out that the TTML mailing list is possibly the better place
>>>>> to discuss some of the question that came up.
>>>>>
>>>>> For completeness I include part of the mailing list thread below.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some questions are highlighted below:
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>> Font-Size
>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>> In TTML scaling is applied to the glyph's EM square. As Nigel noted
>>>>> below "the font has an EM square and each glyph has its own width and
>>>>> height that may be different from the EM square". So possibly there is
>>>>> clarification needed.
>>>>>
>>>>> As I understand the rendering processor would choose a font that best
>>>>> matches the specified font characteristics (including the font-size) and
>>>>> then scale the font/the EM square to the computed font-size. Is this
>>>>> correct?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Yes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> So, assumed there is no ancestor element with a specified font-size,
>>>>> the root container height is 720px, the grid is "32 15" and you choose a
>>>>> font-size of 100% then the computed font-size would be 720px/15 = 48px?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Yes. Since the initial font size, as applied to the outermost element
>>>> (of the intermediate synchronic document instance) of the style inheritance
>>>> process [1], namely tt, is 1c, and since, given a 720px height(RC),
>>>> then the computed cell height is as you say: 48px. Therefore, 100% or 48px
>>>> is 48px.
>>>>
>>>>  [1]
>>>> http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/PER-ttaf1-dfxp-20130709/#semantics-style-inheritance
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Another question is how this will be mapped into CSS. Assumed the
>>>>> font-family is specified as Arial, should the calculated value of the CSS
>>>>> property font-size be 48px? Would the scaling in current browser
>>>>> implementation work as intended by the TTML definition and scale the EM
>>>>> square of the chosen Arial font?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  If we define TTML pixels to be equivalent to CSS pixels, then yes, or
>>>> at least, yes, I expect that will be the mapping we define. However, we
>>>> haven't yet defined TTML pixels, so we'll have to progress the mapping
>>>> definition before we have a definitive answer. Even if we choose a
>>>> different definition of pixels (and it is unlikely we would do so), then
>>>> TTML pixels could be further scaled as required to map to CSS pixels.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>> Line height
>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>> Obviously the relationship between font-size and line-height is very
>>>>> important for subtitling. In legacy formats subtitles are positioned on an
>>>>> exact number of lines. To control the grid of lines in TTML the line-height
>>>>> has to be specified explicitly. But as the font-size would not shrink or
>>>>> increase automatically according to a fixed line-height this has to be done
>>>>> with care (e.g. to avoid colliding glyphs).
>>>>>
>>>>> If you give up the control over the rendered line height you could
>>>>> choose the initial value of "normal". The computed value for the
>>>>> line-height would be the same as the largest font size that applies to any
>>>>> descendant element[1]. So if the font-size is 48px, the value of
>>>>> line-height will be 48px as well.
>>>>>
>>>>> This could actually result in unwanted presentation because as I
>>>>> understood there will be no white space between the content of two adjacent
>>>>> line (so there will be no leading?).
>>>>>
>>>>> In XSL:FO 1.1 (same as XSL 1.1) the value of “normal” for line-height
>>>>> is defined as follows [2]:
>>>>>
>>>>> > 7.16.4 "line-height"
>>>>> > [Normal] tells user agents to set the computed value to a
>>>>> "reasonable" value based on the font size of the element. [...] We
>>>>> recommend a computed value for "normal" between 1.0 to 1.2.
>>>>>
>>>>> The same definition can be found in the CCS 2 spec.
>>>>>
>>>>> This user agent dependent behaviour is reflected in current browser
>>>>> implementations. The author cannot assume a specific line-height when
>>>>> setting the value to “normal” even if he knows font-family and font-size.
>>>>> So they may be a problem when mapping TTML lineHeight with the value
>>>>> of “normal” to the CSS property line-height and the value “normal”?!
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Since TTML uses a more specific definition of line height [2]:
>>>>
>>>>  If the value of this attribute is normal, then the initial value of
>>>> the style property must be considered to be the same as the largest font
>>>> size that applies to any descendant element.
>>>>
>>>>  It would be incorrect to map the value normal to the CSS value normal
>>>> (unless we revise the TTML definition to use the vague definition of CSS).
>>>>
>>>>  [2]
>>>> http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/PER-ttaf1-dfxp-20130709/#style-attribute-lineHeight
>>>>
>>>>  I see also that we need to slightly clarify the TTML definition to
>>>> read:
>>>>
>>>>  If the value of this attribute is normal, then the initial value of
>>>> the style property must be considered to be the same as the largest font
>>>> size that applies to any descendant element in the intermediate
>>>> synchronic document instance.
>>>>
>>>>  The need for this clarification should be obvious, since a descendant
>>>> in the original document may not be in a given intermediate document (e.g.,
>>>> because it was selected into a different region).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------------------------------
>>>>> Font-Size / Line Height
>>>>> -------------------------------
>>>>> Currently the cell resolution is the only way to relate the font-size
>>>>> to the height of the video (if the root container is set by a specification
>>>>> explicitly to the size of the video).
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Correct.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> As Sean stated the “vh “  strategy  for font-size is currently
>>>>> evaluated to relate the font-size directly to the size of the video. I
>>>>> assume that this should be similar (or same) to what is proposed for
>>>>> viewport-relative-lengths in CSS3 [4] and defined as well in CSS files of
>>>>> "Conversion of 608/708 captions to WebVTT" [5]. Possibly it can be
>>>>> discussed on the list how this can be applied to TTML and if this would be
>>>>> solution for the Issue-225.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  I expect we will introduce vh/vw units into TTML.next, and, mutatis
>>>> mutandis, use the definitions you cite from [4].
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Andreas
>>>>>
>>>>> [1]
>>>>> https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/ttml/raw-file/tip/ttml10/spec/ttaf1-dfxp.html?content-type=text/html%3bcharset=utf-8#style-attribute-lineHeight
>>>>> [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/xsl/#line-height
>>>>> [3] http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/visudet.html#propdef-line-height
>>>>> [4] http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-values/#viewport-relative-lengths
>>>>> [5]
>>>>> https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/text-tracks/raw-file/default/608toVTT/608toVTT.html#browsers
>>>>> [6] http://www.w3.org/AudioVideo/TT/tracker/issues/225
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------- Original-Nachricht --------  Betreff: Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated
>>>>> list of proposed TTML features  Datum: Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:14:19 +0000  Von:
>>>>> Nigel Megitt <nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk> <nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>  An: John
>>>>> Birch <John.Birch@screensystems.tv> <John.Birch@screensystems.tv>,
>>>>> Andreas Tai <tai@irt.de> <tai@irt.de>, "EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch"<EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch>
>>>>> <EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch> <EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch>
>>>>>
>>>>> I agree the concepts of the line spacing and font height need to be
>>>>> separately and clearly defined to allow implementations to be able to
>>>>> render text as it's intended and to avoid the confusion you've described
>>>>> John. I think this is what the TTML spec is trying to do by allowing
>>>>> lineHeight and fontSize to be specified with a clear relationship. However
>>>>> it falls short as you've pointed out. I'd propose the following remedial
>>>>> steps, certainly in EBU-TT and hopefully in a future iteration of TTML:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1. State that we (TTML) assume that any presentation device will apply
>>>>> appropriate rules to generate a font of the required size, regardless of
>>>>> what algorithm is used either to scale or select a pre-defined font of a
>>>>> similar size.
>>>>>
>>>>> The problem with the current TTML wording is that it says (inhttp://www.w3.org/TR/ttaf1-dfxp/#style-attribute-fontSize) both "font size
>>>>> is interpreted as a scaling transform to the font's design EM square" and
>>>>> "horizontal and vertical scaling of a glyph's em square" which seem to
>>>>> conflict. Is it each individual glyph that should be scaled, or the entire
>>>>> font? As I understand it the font has an em square and each glyph has it's
>>>>> own width and height that may be different from the em square.
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. State that TTML assumes that the em square unit is a suitable line
>>>>> spacing size for the chosen font, i.e. that it includes the ascent,
>>>>> descent and extra space needed above and below, left and right. The
>>>>> article http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/TTCH01.htm includes a
>>>>> good picture of this in the section headed "FUnits and the em square".
>>>>>
>>>>> I think both of these could be inferred from the current spec but by
>>>>> making them explicit it would help to avoid the confusion.
>>>>>
>>>>> The result should be that each row in a cell grid is 1c and there's no
>>>>> need for 80%s and 120%s here and there (unless a particular visual effect
>>>>> squeezing or stretching the baseline spacing is desired!).
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Nigel
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------- Original-Nachricht --------  Betreff: Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated
>>>>> list of proposed TTML features  Datum: Wed, 3 Jul 2013 18:13:19 +0200  Von:
>>>>> Andreas Tai <tai@irt.de> <tai@irt.de>  An: John Birch
>>>>> <John.Birch@screensystems.tv> <John.Birch@screensystems.tv>  Kopie
>>>>> (CC): EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch<EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch><EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for the comments, John. In general I think that we won´t
>>>>> constrain the supported TTML feature list for EBU-TT-D. This is more about
>>>>> a best practice recommendation.
>>>>>
>>>>> See further comments in-line.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Andreas
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>   *From:* Andreas Tai [mailto:tai@irt.de <tai@irt.de>]
>>>>> *Sent:* 02 July 2013 15:10
>>>>> *To:* John Birch
>>>>> *Cc:* Nigel Megitt; EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated list of proposed TTML features
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi John,
>>>>>
>>>>> I see some problem if both, font-size and line-height, are specified
>>>>> explicitly . Given the uncertainties (e.g. the chosen font) from my view
>>>>> there is a high probability of unwanted presentation. Worst case would be
>>>>> that the lines overlap because of a font that is not appropriate for the
>>>>> line-height.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> >> I see the opposite. By specifying both line height and font size
>>>>> you are defining exactly the desired outcome. There is NO interpretation
>>>>> possible. If the font size is less than the line height then the EM cell
>>>>> must be smaller than the line height. If a ‘badly designed font’ where the
>>>>> glyph exceeds the em square by a large amount is specified, then that
>>>>> problem exists regardless of whether you are explicit about line height or
>>>>> choose a value of ‘normal’. Fonts that exceed the em square are unlikely to
>>>>> be used in subtitling, as (at least in my experience) they are usually
>>>>> those that represent cursive styles.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I am not sure if you would have problems in current CSS browser
>>>>> implementations even if you have a "badly designed font". I would still
>>>>> expect that the displayed font will not exceed the line.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>   To set the line-height to "normal" is a common solution in CSS and
>>>>> the default value in CSS as in TTML. I therefore think that this concept
>>>>> would be understood by the web community. Of course it will be far better,
>>>>> if you had a reverse dependency: you set a fixed line-height and the
>>>>> rendering machine has to choose the appropriate font/font-size to fit in
>>>>> this line. But I do not expect that this will be chosen solution in future
>>>>> editions of TTML or CSS.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> >> The problem is that CSS does not typically use a concept of
>>>>> directly controlling line positions… the use of ‘normal’ effectively leaves
>>>>> the line height up to the renderer, based on the font size and text
>>>>> content. This is absolutely contrary to what is required for subtitling,
>>>>> where the extent of the text MUST be controlled.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would not take this for granted. The input I get from our
>>>>> broadcasters is that exact line-height and exact positions are no hard
>>>>> requirements, while colours are of high importance.
>>>>>
>>>>>   The fact that this effect is ‘understood by the community’ in
>>>>> itself creates a problem. The community needs to re-understand that, in the
>>>>> context of subtitling, controlling the exact text size and position is more
>>>>> important.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I am sceptical about "educating" the web community. In the past (and
>>>>> in the present) this was not very successful. What I get from our
>>>>> discussions is that a good integration in HTML and CSS is important for
>>>>> EBU-TT-D. I don´t think that these standards and implementations will worry
>>>>> to much about specific subtitling and captioning requirements.
>>>>>
>>>>> I agree exactly, that shrinking to fit a line (or maybe a region)
>>>>> would be far better, but this again is an unknown concept within CSS. In
>>>>> fact I am not sure I would like this any better, since the likelihood is
>>>>> that you would then get subtitles of varying text sizes throughout a
>>>>> presentation. However, I’m pretty sure most implementations will support
>>>>> line height values other than ‘normal’.
>>>>>
>>>>> As said above: I think both strategies (line-height = normal or choose
>>>>> exact line-height) will be allowed in EBU-TT-D.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>   I agree, that we should not change mapping of the root container to
>>>>> the size of the video. I think that this interpretation has become
>>>>> accepted. From an interoperability perspective this is of high value : )
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, absolutely.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Andreas
>>>>>
>>>>> Am 02.07.2013 14:16, schrieb John Birch:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Andreas,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, these are important considerations… For me, both the line height
>>>>> and the font-size would be specified as percentages (the line height would
>>>>> be slightly larger than the font-size).
>>>>>
>>>>> E.g. line height 7%, font size 6%. This would mean 12 rows of
>>>>> characters would occupy 84% of the root container. Roughly equivalent to a
>>>>> Teletext presentation. A 6% / 7% font to line ratio is approx. 116%.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally I find the alternative approach to be more difficult to
>>>>> comprehend. Particularly when you factor in the ‘safe area’ concept.
>>>>>
>>>>> If the cell resolution could be applied to a ‘super region’ (i.e. one
>>>>> that could be defined as the safe area) then it might be more straight
>>>>> forward. In other words conceptually the root container is not the full
>>>>> extent of the active video… but I don’t really want to go there – you then
>>>>> have problems when you want (and need) to write outside of the safe area
>>>>> (e.g. speech marks).
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *John Birch | Strategic Partnerships Manager | Screen
>>>>> *Main Line : +44 1473 831700 <%2B44%201473%20831700> | Ext : 270 |
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>>>>> John.Birch@screensystems.tv | www.screensystems.tv |
>>>>> https://twitter.com/screensystems
>>>>>
>>>>> *Visit us at
>>>>> SMPTE conference & exhibition, Stand G35, Sydney Exhibition Centre,
>>>>> Darling Harbour, 23-26th July*
>>>>>
>>>>> *P** Before printing, think about the environment*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *From:* Andreas Tai [mailto:tai@irt.de <tai@irt.de>]
>>>>> *Sent:* 02 July 2013 12:32
>>>>> *To:* John Birch
>>>>> *Cc:* Nigel Megitt; EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated list of proposed TTML features
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I don´t want to let go cell resolution for EBU-TT-D so easily  ; ) I
>>>>> think there is value in this concept regardless of the legacy argument. For
>>>>> font-size it gives you a tool to design a grid of lines and decide how many
>>>>> lines you "intent" to address. After that you can choose the appropriate
>>>>> font-size in relation to this grid.
>>>>>
>>>>> The height of the font-size matches not exactly 1c. The rows should
>>>>> define the height of the line in the intended grid, not the height of the
>>>>> font.
>>>>>
>>>>> An important use case will be to translate the values for line-height
>>>>> and font-size to CSS. As in TTML the relationship between font-size and
>>>>> line-height can be expressed in CSS through the value "normal" for
>>>>> line-height. Then a line height that fits the font-size will be set through
>>>>> the renderer (the browser in the case of CSS). The recommended line-height
>>>>> in the CSS spec is 110 to 130% of the font-size. After some Browser tests I
>>>>> found that a font-size of 0.8c or 80% would be a good choice so that the
>>>>> grid will be filled but not extend the root container.
>>>>>
>>>>> This approach has some in computable variables (not only the concrete
>>>>> font that is used for presentation but as well for HTML/CSS the browser
>>>>> behaviour). Nevertheless I think this can be a good and transparent guide
>>>>> to select a font-size that is independent from the size of the video and
>>>>> preservers the concept of "lines".
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Andreas
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Am 02.07.2013 12:16, schrieb John Birch:
>>>>>
>>>>> I have no problem at all with retaining cell resolution and grid based
>>>>> philosophies in Part 1 files… i.e. in archived exchanged subtitle files.
>>>>>
>>>>> Where I think the cell resolution grid strategy falls down is in the
>>>>> delivered distribution format, where arguably having a single way of
>>>>> expressing the presentation, in as simple a way as possible, is desirable.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> In my world there would (almost always) be a computer based conversion
>>>>> *from Part 1 to EBU-TT-D*. This conversion is not (necessarily)
>>>>> reversible.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, for example, we can translate from ‘cell resolution / grid’ into
>>>>> ‘percentage of root container’ when we move from a (part 2 style) Part 1
>>>>> document to an EBU-TT-D document.
>>>>>
>>>>> A conversion away from mono spaced fonts might also be performed here
>>>>> too. Loss of some metadata is expected. Addition of some metadata (e.g.
>>>>> language track identification) might be necessary since although in the
>>>>> Part 1 world we talk about an external asset management system, that may
>>>>> not exist in the distribution context.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *John Birch | Strategic Partnerships Manager | Screen
>>>>> *Main Line : +44 1473 831700 <%2B44%201473%20831700> | Ext : 270 |
>>>>> Direct Dial : +44 1473 834532 <%2B44%201473%20834532>
>>>>> Mobile : +44 7919 558380 <%2B44%207919%20558380> | Fax : +44 1473
>>>>> 830078 <%2B44%201473%20830078>
>>>>> John.Birch@screensystems.tv | www.screensystems.tv |
>>>>> https://twitter.com/screensystems
>>>>>
>>>>> *Visit us at
>>>>> SMPTE conference & exhibition, Stand G35, Sydney Exhibition Centre,
>>>>> Darling Harbour, 23-26th July*
>>>>>
>>>>> *P** Before printing, think about the environment*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *From:* Nigel Megitt [mailto:nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk<nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>]
>>>>>
>>>>> *Sent:* 02 July 2013 10:56
>>>>> *To:* John Birch; Andreas Tai
>>>>> *Cc:* EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated list of proposed TTML features
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi John,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for the welcome back!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On the authoring for legacy argument I don't particularly *like* it
>>>>> either but I think we have to recognise it as a stage that a lot of
>>>>> adopters will feel they have to go through. If it looks as though they're
>>>>> blocked at that stage they may never get any further. And if they're doing
>>>>> that then they need to ensure that if the subtitles will be presented using
>>>>> a mono-spaced font there is enough space to fit the text on each row.
>>>>> Happily TTML supports mono-spaced fonts and there's been no suggestion so
>>>>> far that we should remove this support.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Nigel
>>>>>
>>>>> *--*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *Nigel Megitt*
>>>>>
>>>>> Lead Technologist, BBC Technology, Distribution & Archives
>>>>>
>>>>> Telephone: +44 (0)208 0082360 <%2B44%20%280%29208%200082360>
>>>>>
>>>>> BC4 A3 Broadcast Centre, Media Village, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 02/07/2013 10:25, "John Birch" <John.Birch@screensystems.tv> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  Hi Nigel,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Welcome back J
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yep, definitely an elephant… and I agree that we should very much move
>>>>> away from grid based mentalities. In fact I don’t really have much
>>>>> ‘sympathy’ with the authoring for legacy argument, since realistically the
>>>>> required constraints are in the number of characters a line and the number
>>>>> of rows per screen. I don’t think there is a strong requirement for
>>>>> retaining a mono-spaced font concept.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> In terms of multiples, 160 by 360 also works, (with a rather strange
>>>>> higher resolution in the vertical dimension), giving a 4 by 9 cell for 40 x
>>>>> 24, and a 5 by 15 cell for 32 by 15.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally though,* for EBU-TT-D*, I actually favour a default cell
>>>>> resolution of ‘1c 1c’ across the root container, and using (potentially
>>>>> fractional) percentages for font size. *In effect this abandons grids
>>>>> altogether.*
>>>>>
>>>>> * *
>>>>>
>>>>> I completely agree with your comment on font selection. I believe an
>>>>> implementation should be guide to choose a closest fit font ‘point size’
>>>>> that fits the scaled font box, even if it is ‘slightly’ smaller or larger
>>>>> than calculated.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *John Birch | Strategic Partnerships Manager | Screen
>>>>> *Main Line : +44 1473 831700 <%2B44%201473%20831700> | Ext : 270 |
>>>>> Direct Dial : +44 1473 834532 <%2B44%201473%20834532>
>>>>> Mobile : +44 7919 558380 <%2B44%207919%20558380> | Fax : +44 1473
>>>>> 830078 <%2B44%201473%20830078>
>>>>> John.Birch@screensystems.tv | www.screensystems.tv |
>>>>> https://twitter.com/screensystems
>>>>>
>>>>> *Visit us at
>>>>> SMPTE conference & exhibition, Stand G35, Sydney Exhibition Centre,
>>>>> Darling Harbour, 23-26th July*
>>>>>
>>>>> *P** Before printing, think about the environment*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *From:* Nigel Megitt [mailto:nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk<nigel.megitt@bbc.co.uk>]
>>>>>
>>>>> *Sent:* 02 July 2013 10:05
>>>>> *To:* John Birch; Andreas Tai
>>>>> *Cc:* EBU-TT-D@list.ebu.ch
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [EBU-TT-D] Updated list of proposed TTML features
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It's been interesting to read this thread on returning from holiday. A
>>>>> few thoughts from me:
>>>>>
>>>>> ?         The 'elephant in the room' that everyone has been politely
>>>>> avoiding is that the cell resolution grid is derived from pre-existing
>>>>> standards that carry the emotional baggage of 'this is what we're used to
>>>>> and therefore like'. In the US it was convenient to choose one cell
>>>>> resolution, presumably to make translating from existing documents easier
>>>>> (I don't know the exact reasons). In much of the rest of the world a
>>>>> different cell resolution has historically been used, so the US choice is
>>>>> somewhat less convenient. If we're interested in driving adoption then we
>>>>> have to understand the negative impact of sticking with the US resolution
>>>>> as a default, especially if we then put barriers in the way to changing it
>>>>> on a document by document basis. The simple maths described earlier shows
>>>>> that this is not a technical issue but a perception problem.
>>>>>
>>>>> ?         However there is also a technical problem: If authors also
>>>>> wish to use cell resolution for positioning, perhaps to make downstream
>>>>> conversion to teletext subtitles straightforward (still likely to be in use
>>>>> in a lot of countries for several years), then the choice of cell
>>>>> resolution becomes a significant constraint. In this case the 32 by 15 grid
>>>>> would be very unhelpful indeed for anyone targeting a 40 by 24 grid
>>>>> downstream. Similarly it would be inconvenient the other way around. I
>>>>> think we do need to consider this 'stepping stone' use case even though
>>>>> it's not where we want to end up, i.e. without the dependency on legacy
>>>>> representations for subtitles.
>>>>>
>>>>> ?         Three strategies that might make it equally convenient for
>>>>> both 'histories' are, in no particular order:
>>>>>
>>>>> o    A) Create a new initial cell resolution that has integer
>>>>> multiples of both current grids, which would be 32x40 by 15x24 = 1280 by
>>>>> 360, to allow an equally complex or simple mapping from whatever prior
>>>>> standard has been in use, anywhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> o    B) Abandon grids altogether and relate font size directly to the
>>>>> root container dimension. This would make the 'stepping stone' use case
>>>>> described above more complicated but still feasible.
>>>>>
>>>>> o    C) Require the cell grid to be explicitly specified if used
>>>>> directly or by implication, i.e. make the concept of initial value carry no
>>>>> meaning. So if fontSize is not specified, a cell resolution for the root
>>>>> container *must* be specified, or alternatively is a fontSize is
>>>>> specified by not in units of c and cell resolution is not used for
>>>>> positioning purposes elsewhere in the document then the cell resolution may
>>>>> be omitted as it isn't used anywhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> ?         I can't see how in a global context we could require that
>>>>> the root cell resolution is only permitted to have a single value, be it 32
>>>>> by 15 or 40 by 24 or anything else, except perhaps for 1 by 1 as the
>>>>> mechanism for abandoning grids altogether.
>>>>>
>>>>> Something else to note:
>>>>>
>>>>> ?         Typographical scaling of fonts is not straightforward, and
>>>>> can't be done linearly without impacting readability: the use of
>>>>> percentages suggests that an implementation might use a single master font
>>>>> and scale it. We should be clear that, regardless of the mechanism for
>>>>> specifying the EM-square size (ultimately to be in pixels), the font size
>>>>> is a guide for the implementation to select an appropriate font to fit that
>>>>> box.
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Nigel
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Andreas Tai
>>>>> Production Systems Television IRT - Institut fuer Rundfunktechnik GmbH
>>>>> R&D Institute of ARD, ZDF, DRadio, ORF and SRG/SSR
>>>>> Floriansmuehlstrasse 60, D-80939 Munich, Germany
>>>>>
>>>>> Phone: +49 89 32399-389 | Fax: +49 89 32399-200
>>>>> http: www.irt.de | Email: tai@irt.de
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> registration court&  managing director:
>>>>> Munich Commercial, RegNo. B 5191
>>>>> Dr. Klaus Illgner-Fehns
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>> http://www.bbc.co.uk
>> This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain
>> personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically
>> stated.
>> If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
>> Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
>> reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
>> Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
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> ----------------------------
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk
> This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
> views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
> If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
> Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
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> Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
> Further communication will signify your consent to this.
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> --
> ------------------------------------------------
> Andreas Tai
> Production Systems Television IRT - Institut fuer Rundfunktechnik GmbH
> R&D Institute of ARD, ZDF, DRadio, ORF and SRG/SSR
> Floriansmuehlstrasse 60, D-80939 Munich, Germany
>
> Phone: +49 89 32399-389 | Fax: +49 89 32399-200
> http: www.irt.de | Email: tai@irt.de
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> registration court&  managing director:
> Munich Commercial, RegNo. B 5191
> Dr. Klaus Illgner-Fehns
> ------------------------------------------------
>
>

Received on Wednesday, 17 July 2013 16:52:01 UTC