Exploring Subtitle Behaviour for 360 ° Video

360° video and Virtual Reality are powerful techniques for giving viewers a sense of ‘Being There’, and are becoming increasingly popular. However, giving the viewer the freedom to look around also results in a new challenge for subtitling. We have implemented and tested four different subtitles behaviours with a group of subtitle users, testing against a User Experience Framework for Subtitles. We report user preferences, and have performed statistical analysis on ratings given by participants and thematic analysis on the semi-structured interviews. The discriminatory themes were: effort, missing out, obstruction, distraction and immersion. Making subtitles easy to locate without restricting the viewer’s ability to explore the scene are key. The implementation using a standard head-up display was found to be the best performing, although further research is required to assess its suitability for longer content. We make recommendations for improving our implementation and highlight avenues for future research. Additional key words: subtitles, accessibility, 360°, attention ©BBC 2016. All rights reserved. White Papers are distributed freely on request. Authorisation of the Chief Scientist is required for publication. ©BBC 2016. Except as provided below, no part of this document may be reproduced in any material form (including photocoping or storing it in any medium by electronic means) without the prior written permission of BBC Research & Development except in accordance with the provisions of the (UK) Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The BBC grants permission to individuals and organisations to make copies of the entire document (including this copyright notice) for their own internal use. No copies of this document may be published, distributed or made available to third parties whether by paper, electronic or other means without the BBC’s prior written permission. Where necessary, third parties should be directed to the relevant page on BBC’s website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp for a copy of this document.