Audio service for elderly people in broadcasting

Elderly viewers sometimes feel that the background sound (music and sound effects) in television programs is too loud or that the narration or speech is too fast to understand. We attempted to solve these problems by two methods: improvement of the receiver system and the development of a new broadcasting system. We prototyped a receiver system in which loudness balance between the dialog (narration or speech) and background sound can be adjusted, as well as the speech rate. The results of subjective evaluation experiments with elderly viewers showed that the use of this system could significantly facilitate listening to television sound. In 2016, we started test broadcasting of 8K Super Hi-Vision (8K SHV) programs that have highly immersive surround sound produced through 22.2 multichannel (22.2ch). With the aim of improving the functionality of 8K SHV sound as a broadcasting service, a domestic standard has been established for the dialogue control functions, including the dialog enhancement and a dialo...