EN IEC 62731:2018

Text-to-speech for television - General requirements

IEC 62731:2018(E) specifies the text-to-speech functionality for a (broadcast) receiver with a text-to-speech system. Such a system may be one device, i.e. a receiver with an integrated text-to-speech generator, or may be two devices, i.e. a receiver interfacing with an external text-to-speech device. This document applies only to completely functional stationary (or semi-stationary) digital TV receivers such as set top boxes, integrated digital TVs, recorders and other products whose primary function is to receive TV content. Where this document refers to TV, this will be shorthand for all such receivers. This document does not apply to products that are capable of receiving TV as a secondary function (e.g. PCs or game consoles with digital television receivers). It also does not apply to sub-assemblies (e.g. PC tuner cards). This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition: a) in 6.2, the levels of announcement quality were revised as well as considerations for ways in which device users can provide service providers with feedback on incorrectly announced terms. b) in 6.3, the following TV functionality was added: the TV can receive updated words, associated conversions and updated conversion rules for the TTS engine via a network connection.

Text-zu-Sprache für Fernsehen - Allgemeine Anforderungen

Synthèse vocale pour télévision - Exigences générales

L'IEC 62731:2018 définit la fonctionnalité de synthèse vocale pour un récepteur (de radiodiffusion) avec système de synthèse vocale. Un tel système peut être constitué d'un dispositif, à savoir un récepteur avec un générateur de synthèse vocale intégré, ou être constitué de deux dispositifs, à savoir un récepteur interfacé avec un dispositif de synthèse vocale extérieur. Le présent document s'applique uniquement à des récepteurs de télévision numérique fixes (ou semi-fixes) entièrement fonctionnels, tels que des boîtiers décodeurs, des téléviseurs numériques intégrés, des enregistreurs et d'autres produits dont la fonction principale est de recevoir un contenu de télévision. Le présent document ne s'applique pas à des produits capables de recevoir la télévision en tant que fonction secondaire (par exemple, PC ou consoles de jeux avec récepteurs de télévision numérique). Il ne s'applique pas non plus aux sous-ensembles (par exemple, cartes de syntoniseur pour PC). Dans le présent document, l’abréviation TV désigne tous les récepteurs de ce type. L'IEC 62731:2018 annule et remplace la première édition parue en 2013. Cette édition constitue une révision technique. Cette édition inclut les modifications techniques majeures suivantes par rapport à l'édition précédente: a) en 6.2, les niveaux de qualité d'énonciation ont été révisés, de même que les considérations relatives aux moyens par lesquels les utilisateurs des dispositifs peuvent soumettre des retours d'informations aux fournisseurs de services en ce qui concerne les termes énoncés de manière incorrecte; b) au 6.3, la fonctionnalité de télévision suivante a été ajoutée: le téléviseur peut recevoir des mots mis à jour, des conversions associées et des règles de conversion mises à jour destinés au moteur de synthèse vocale par l'intermédiaire d'une connexion réseau.

Pretvorba besedila v govor (govorna sinteza) za televizijo - Splošne zahteve

Ta mednarodni standard določa funkcijo pretvorbe besedila v govor (govorne sinteze) za (televizijske) sprejemnike s sistemom pretvorbe besedila v govor. Tak sistem je lahko ena naprava, npr. sprejemnik z integriranim generatorjem za pretvorbo besedila v govor, ali pa dve napravi, npr. sprejemnik, ki se povezuje z zunanjo napravo za pretvorbo besedila v govor. Ta dokument se uporablja samo za povsem funkcionalne stacionarne (ali delno stacionarne) digitalne TV-sprejemnike, kot so komunikatorji, integrirani digitalni televizijski sprejemniki, snemalniki in drugi izdelki, katerih glavna naloga je sprejemanje TV-vsebine. V tem dokumentu je TV okrajšava za vse take sprejemnike.
Ta dokument se ne uporablja za izdelke, pri katerih je sprejemanje TV-signala sekundarna funkcija (npr. osebni računalniki ali igralne konzole z digitalnimi televizijskimi sprejemniki). Prav tako se ne uporablja za podsklope (npr. kartice sprejemnika za osebne računalnike).

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 22-Mar-2018
• Withdrawal Date: 13-Feb-2021
• ICS: 33.160.25 - Television receivers
• ICS: 33.160.99 - Other audio, video and audiovisual equipment
• Technical Committee: CLC/TC 100X - Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment and related sub-systems
• Drafting Committee: IEC/TC 100 - IEC_TC_100
• Current Stage: 6060 - Document made available - Publishing
• Start Date: 23-Mar-2018
• Completion Date: 23-Mar-2018
• Ref Project: SIST EN IEC 62731:2018 - Text to speech for television - General requirements

Relations

• Replaces: EN 62731:2013 - Text-to-speech for television - General requirements
• Effective Date: 24-Jan-2023

Overview

EN IEC 62731:2018 (adopted by CLC) - titled Text-to-speech for television – General requirements - specifies the functional requirements for text-to-speech (TTS) functionality in broadcast receivers. It covers both receivers with integrated TTS engines and combinations of a TV/set‑top box interfacing with an external TTS device. The standard targets fully functional stationary or semi‑stationary digital TV receivers (set‑top boxes, integrated digital TVs, recorders) whose primary purpose is receiving TV content. Products that receive TV only as a secondary function (e.g., PCs, game consoles) and sub‑assemblies are excluded.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and guiding principles: Emphasis on delivering functional equivalence for visually impaired users - the TTS interface should allow comparable access and task completion as a graphical UI.
• User requirements: Addresses the needs of visually impaired people for navigation, program information and TV operation using speech.
• Functional requirements (sections 6.x): Defines behaviors for TV–TTS combinations, TTS engine/device capabilities, and TV responsibilities when TTS is integrated or external.
• TV events and TTS data: Specifies what textual information should be converted to speech for events such as channel changes, EPG navigation, pop‑ups, context switches and priority (emergency) audio information.
• TTS profiles: Defines capability levels - Basic, Main, and Enhanced - so implementers can target different functionality tiers.
• Localization and maintainability: Includes provisions for TVs to receive updated words, conversions and conversion rules for the TTS engine via network connection.
• Quality & feedback: Revision of announcement quality levels and mechanisms for users to provide feedback to service providers on incorrectly announced terms.

Applications and who uses it

• Device manufacturers (TVs, set‑top boxes, recorders) implementing TTS accessibility features.
• Software and TTS engine developers designing speech synthesis for broadcast receivers.
• Broadcast service providers and platform operators ensuring accessible EPGs, menus and on‑screen messages.
• Accessibility testers, compliance officers and regulators verifying conformity with accessibility requirements.
• Product managers seeking to meet legal or voluntary accessibility targets and improve UX for visually impaired audiences.

Related standards

• IEC 62731:2018 (international edition from which this EN IEC version is derived)
• EN 62731:2013 (superseded by EN IEC 62731:2018)
• Bibliography note references (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818‑1) where applicable

By following EN IEC 62731:2018, stakeholders can deliver robust, network‑updateable text‑to‑speech solutions that improve TV accessibility, support visually impaired users, and align product behavior across basic to enhanced TTS profiles. Keywords: EN IEC 62731:2018, text-to-speech, television, TTS, digital TV receivers, accessibility, set-top box, EPG, TTS profiles.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 62731:2018
01-november-2018
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 62731:2013
Pretvorba besedila v govor (govorna sinteza) za televizijo - Splošne zahteve
Text to speech for television - General requirements
Text-zu-Sprache für Fernsehen - Allgemeine Anforderungen
Synthèse vocale pour télévision - Exigences générales
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN IEC 62731:2018
ICS:
33.160.25 Televizijski sprejemniki Television receivers
SIST EN 62731:2018 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

SIST EN 62731:2018
SIST EN 62731:2018
EUROPEAN STANDARD EN IEC 62731

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
March 2018
ICS 33.160.25; 33.160.99 Supersedes EN 62731:2013
English Version
Text-to-speech for television - General requirements
(IEC 62731:2018)
Synthèse vocale pour télévision - Exigences générales Text-zu-Sprache für Fernsehen - Allgemeine
(IEC 62731:2018) Anforderungen
(IEC 62731:2018)
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2018-02-14. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2018 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN IEC 62731:2018 E
SIST EN 62731:2018
European foreword
The text of document 100/2989/FDIS, future edition 2 of IEC 62731, prepared by IEC/TC 100 "Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment" was submitted to the IEC-CENELEC parallel vote and
approved by CENELEC as EN IEC 62731:2018.

The following dates are fixed:
(dop) 2018-11-14
• latest date by which the document has to be
implemented at national level by
publication of an identical national
standard or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national (dow) 2021-02-14
standards conflicting with the
document have to be withdrawn
This document supersedes EN 62731:2013.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 62731:2018 was approved by CENELEC as a European
Standard without any modification.
In the official version, for Bibliography, the following note has to be added for the standard indicated:

ISO/IEC 13818-1 NOTE Harmonized as EN ISO/IEC 13818-1.

SIST EN 62731:2018
IEC 62731 ®
Edition 2.0 2018-01
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Text-to-speech for television – General requirements

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.160.25; 33.160.99 ISBN 978-2-8322-5125-6

SIST EN 62731:2018
– 2 – IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 5
3.1 Terms and definitions . 5
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 6
4 Guiding principles and conventions . 7
5 User requirements of visually impaired people . 7
5.1 Users' needs . 7
5.2 Navigating channels . 8
5.3 Navigating TV inputs . 8
5.4 Additional data services . 8
5.5 Operating the TV . 8
5.6 TV use . 8
6 Functional requirements . 9
6.1 Functionality for TV, TTS device combination . 9
6.2 Functionality: TTS device/engine . 10
6.3 Functionality: TV . 10
6.4 Setting up: TV, TTS device combination . 11
7 TV events and TTS data . 11
7.1 TV context and events . 11
7.2 TTS data per event . 12
7.2.1 Details . 12
7.2.2 Channel change . 12
7.2.3 Additional information . 13
7.2.4 Navigation and selection . 13
7.2.5 Context switch . 14
7.2.6 Pop-up message . 16
8 TTS profiles . 16
8.1 Basic profile . 16
8.2 Main profile . 16
8.3 Enhanced profile . 17
8.4 Summary . 18
Bibliography . 19

Figure 1 – TV – TTS device system diagram . 9
Figure 2 – Context event state diagram . 12

Table 1 – Overview of profiles . 18

SIST EN 62731:2018
IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR TELEVISION –
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as "IEC
Publication(s)"). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 62731 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 100: Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2013. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) in 6.2, the levels of announcement quality were revised as well as considerations for ways
in which device users can provide service providers with feedback on incorrectly
announced terms.
b) in 6.3, the following TV functionality was added: the TV can receive updated words,
associated conversions and updated conversion rules for the TTS engine via a network
connection.
SIST EN 62731:2018
– 4 – IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
100/2989/FDIS 100/3013/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

SIST EN 62731:2018
IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 5 –
TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR TELEVISION –
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the text-to-speech functionality for a (broadcast) receiver
with a text-to-speech system. Such a system may be one device, i.e. a receiver with an
integrated text-to-speech generator, or may be two devices, i.e. a receiver interfacing with an
external text-to-speech device. This document applies only to completely functional stationary
(or semi-stationary) digital TV receivers such as set top boxes, integrated digital TVs,
recorders and other products whose primary function is to receive TV content. Where this
document refers to TV, this will be shorthand for all such receivers.
This document does not apply to products that are capable of receiving TV as a secondary
function (e.g. PCs or game consoles with digital television receivers). It also does not apply to
sub-assemblies (e.g. PC tuner cards).
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1.1
context
one specific function of a TV
EXAMPLE: Watching TV, EPG.
3.1.2
DTV broadcast event classification
general category of programme/event content, or its classification
EXAMPLES: Movie (drama), news/current affairs, talk show, sports (football).
3.1.3
EPG filter
filter that organises or reduces the list of displayed EPG items according to certain criteria
EXAMPLES Of criteria are to show only:
• programmes with a certain content type;
• favourites;
• programmes that are audio described;
• programmes for a given time period (for instance "today", "tomorrow", "next 7 days").

SIST EN 62731:2018
– 6 – IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018
3.1.4
event
trigger to start an action
3.1.5
list
collection of items
3.1.6
menu
subsequent order of items
3.1.7
receiver
device capable of receiving or handling digital television signals
3.1.8
service
sequence of programmes under the control of a broadcaster which can be broadcast as part
of a schedule
3.1.9
subtitle
textual representation of the dialogue (and frequently additional auditory information),
typically shown at the bottom of the screen
Note 1 to entry: Subtitles can be a textual rendering in the same language as the spoken dialogue, or can provide
a written translation in a different language.
Note 2 to entry: In some parts of the world, subtitles are called "(closed) captions", and subtitling is referred to as
"(closed) captioning".
Note 3 to entry: This document uses the term subtitles throughout.
3.1.10
TTS audio
audio generated by the TTS engine based on the TTS data
Note 1 to entry: If the TV uses an external TTS converter, TTS audio is interpreted as TTS data.
3.1.11
priority audio information
audio information for immediate output typically related to emergency information
3.1.12
TTS data
(text) data converted into TTS audio information by the text-to-speech engine
3.2 Abbreviated terms
DTV digital television
EPG electronic programme guide
STB set top box
TTS text-to-speech
TV television
UI user interface
SIST EN 62731:2018
IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 7 –
4 Guiding principles and conventions
This document describes the required basic behaviour for a TV text-to-speech combination in
a basic profile, but also provides for enhanced profiles. It also gives a short introduction into
the basic problems of visually impaired people: i.e. what are the problems visually impaired
people experience when using and watching TV?
Providing text-to-speech functionality for a broadcast receiver, for example a TV or an STB,
can be of great help to (visually) disabled people. Such speech functionality may be
integrated in the receiver or may be external to the receiver in a separate device.
In general as the guiding principle, when building a TTS interface in the context of this
document, implementers should aspire to achieve functional equivalence of the user
experience. This means that a person operating the device using the speech interface should
have access to similar information and be able to accomplish tasks similar to those they
would with a graphical UI.
The main features of this document are:
• basic functional description for a TV-TTS device combination or TV with integrated TTS;
• profiles for different levels of TV-TTS functionality;
• targeted towards the digital TV application.
In this document, mandatory requirements are specified; optional and informative features are
also included.
A claim of conformity with this document requires conformity with all mandatory requirements.
A TV-TTS device combination or a TV with a TTS that is integrated may provide options for a
user to enable or disable each feature of a product. While options for user configurations may
be provided, the product shall meet the mandatory requirements.
5 User requirements of visually impaired people
5.1 Users' needs
This subclause explains the needs of visually impaired people as the primary target users for
a TV with TTS. Unless these needs are met, the system is not accessible to this user group.
Visually impaired people experience access barriers in the course of the following activities
when watching TV:
a) following TV programming, e.g. the TV series;
b) using a remote control;
c) not being able to see subtitles;
d) navigating channels;
e) navigating TV inputs;
f) using additional data (text) services provided by the broadcaster, e.g. an EPG;
g) daily operation of the TV and initial setup of the TV for use.
Items a), b) and c) are outside the scope of this document. Item c) further relates to the fact
that, in some countries, foreign language programmes are translated via subtitles. For users
who cannot see the subtitles, supplementary audio services are sometimes used to deliver an
audio version of the subtitles. This document elaborates on the remaining four items, i.e. d),
e), f) and g), in 5.2 to 5.6.
SIST EN 62731:2018
– 8 – IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018
NOTE 1 For DVB systems, item a) is already solved by audio description. Also, the use case of providing
supplementary audio services to deliver an audio version of the subtitles is covered in the DVB-SI specification
ETSI EN 300 468.
NOTE 2 For ATSC systems, the audio system includes a visually impaired (VI) associate service, which allows a
complete programme mix containing music, effects, dialogue, and additionally a narrative description of the picture
content, see ATSC A/53 part 5 and part 6.
5.2 Navigating channels
The problem is that a user does not know which channel the TV displays, i.e. the user gets
"lost during navigation". The TV is displaying navigation data on the screen but the user is
unable to see it. Such data are, for example:
• channel number,
• service name,
• (DTV broadcast) event name.
5.3 Navigating TV inputs
The problem is that a user is unable to select the required input to the TV, e.g. the user
wishes to select DTV or a specific external input linked to a recording or other device. The
choice is shown on the screen but the user is unable to see it.
5.4 Additional data services
With digital TV, a broadcaster may transmit additional data (text) services to augment TV
programming, provide additional information on programming, or provide news. Such
additional data are:
• information about whether audio description, subtitling is available,
• (next) (DTV broadcast) event name,
• (DVB-) event information (enhanced description of the (DTV broadcast) event),
• EPG data.
The items above are listed in order of importance with the most important item appearing first.
It is noted that this data provides additional convenience in using the TV, but that is non-
essential for the primary function of watching TV, and selecting channels.
...

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-november-2018
Nadomešča:
SIST EN 62731:2013
Pretvorba besedila v govor (govorna sinteza) za televizijo - Splošne zahteve
Text to speech for television - General requirements
Text-zu-Sprache für Fernsehen - Allgemeine Anforderungen
Synthèse vocale pour télévision - Exigences générales
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN IEC 62731:2018
ICS:
33.160.25 Televizijski sprejemniki Television receivers
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN IEC 62731

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
March 2018
ICS 33.160.25; 33.160.99 Supersedes EN 62731:2013
English Version
Text-to-speech for television - General requirements
(IEC 62731:2018)
Synthèse vocale pour télévision - Exigences générales Text-zu-Sprache für Fernsehen - Allgemeine
(IEC 62731:2018) Anforderungen
(IEC 62731:2018)
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2018-02-14. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2018 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN IEC 62731:2018 E
European foreword
The text of document 100/2989/FDIS, future edition 2 of IEC 62731, prepared by IEC/TC 100 "Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment" was submitted to the IEC-CENELEC parallel vote and
approved by CENELEC as EN IEC 62731:2018.

The following dates are fixed:
(dop) 2018-11-14
• latest date by which the document has to be
implemented at national level by
publication of an identical national
standard or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national (dow) 2021-02-14
standards conflicting with the
document have to be withdrawn
This document supersedes EN 62731:2013.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 62731:2018 was approved by CENELEC as a European
Standard without any modification.
In the official version, for Bibliography, the following note has to be added for the standard indicated:

ISO/IEC 13818-1 NOTE Harmonized as EN ISO/IEC 13818-1.

IEC 62731 ®
Edition 2.0 2018-01
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Text-to-speech for television – General requirements

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.160.25; 33.160.99 ISBN 978-2-8322-5125-6

– 2 – IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 5
3.1 Terms and definitions . 5
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 6
4 Guiding principles and conventions . 7
5 User requirements of visually impaired people . 7
5.1 Users' needs . 7
5.2 Navigating channels . 8
5.3 Navigating TV inputs . 8
5.4 Additional data services . 8
5.5 Operating the TV . 8
5.6 TV use . 8
6 Functional requirements . 9
6.1 Functionality for TV, TTS device combination . 9
6.2 Functionality: TTS device/engine . 10
6.3 Functionality: TV . 10
6.4 Setting up: TV, TTS device combination . 11
7 TV events and TTS data . 11
7.1 TV context and events . 11
7.2 TTS data per event . 12
7.2.1 Details . 12
7.2.2 Channel change . 12
7.2.3 Additional information . 13
7.2.4 Navigation and selection . 13
7.2.5 Context switch . 14
7.2.6 Pop-up message . 16
8 TTS profiles . 16
8.1 Basic profile . 16
8.2 Main profile . 16
8.3 Enhanced profile . 17
8.4 Summary . 18
Bibliography . 19

Figure 1 – TV – TTS device system diagram . 9
Figure 2 – Context event state diagram . 12

Table 1 – Overview of profiles . 18

IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR TELEVISION –
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as "IEC
Publication(s)"). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 62731 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 100: Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2013. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) in 6.2, the levels of announcement quality were revised as well as considerations for ways
in which device users can provide service providers with feedback on incorrectly
announced terms.
b) in 6.3, the following TV functionality was added: the TV can receive updated words,
associated conversions and updated conversion rules for the TTS engine via a network
connection.
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The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
100/2989/FDIS 100/3013/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 5 –
TEXT-TO-SPEECH FOR TELEVISION –
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the text-to-speech functionality for a (broadcast) receiver
with a text-to-speech system. Such a system may be one device, i.e. a receiver with an
integrated text-to-speech generator, or may be two devices, i.e. a receiver interfacing with an
external text-to-speech device. This document applies only to completely functional stationary
(or semi-stationary) digital TV receivers such as set top boxes, integrated digital TVs,
recorders and other products whose primary function is to receive TV content. Where this
document refers to TV, this will be shorthand for all such receivers.
This document does not apply to products that are capable of receiving TV as a secondary
function (e.g. PCs or game consoles with digital television receivers). It also does not apply to
sub-assemblies (e.g. PC tuner cards).
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1.1
context
one specific function of a TV
EXAMPLE: Watching TV, EPG.
3.1.2
DTV broadcast event classification
general category of programme/event content, or its classification
EXAMPLES: Movie (drama), news/current affairs, talk show, sports (football).
3.1.3
EPG filter
filter that organises or reduces the list of displayed EPG items according to certain criteria
EXAMPLES Of criteria are to show only:
• programmes with a certain content type;
• favourites;
• programmes that are audio described;
• programmes for a given time period (for instance "today", "tomorrow", "next 7 days").

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3.1.4
event
trigger to start an action
3.1.5
list
collection of items
3.1.6
menu
subsequent order of items
3.1.7
receiver
device capable of receiving or handling digital television signals
3.1.8
service
sequence of programmes under the control of a broadcaster which can be broadcast as part
of a schedule
3.1.9
subtitle
textual representation of the dialogue (and frequently additional auditory information),
typically shown at the bottom of the screen
Note 1 to entry: Subtitles can be a textual rendering in the same language as the spoken dialogue, or can provide
a written translation in a different language.
Note 2 to entry: In some parts of the world, subtitles are called "(closed) captions", and subtitling is referred to as
"(closed) captioning".
Note 3 to entry: This document uses the term subtitles throughout.
3.1.10
TTS audio
audio generated by the TTS engine based on the TTS data
Note 1 to entry: If the TV uses an external TTS converter, TTS audio is interpreted as TTS data.
3.1.11
priority audio information
audio information for immediate output typically related to emergency information
3.1.12
TTS data
(text) data converted into TTS audio information by the text-to-speech engine
3.2 Abbreviated terms
DTV digital television
EPG electronic programme guide
STB set top box
TTS text-to-speech
TV television
UI user interface
IEC 62731:2018 © IEC 2018 – 7 –
4 Guiding principles and conventions
This document describes the required basic behaviour for a TV text-to-speech combination in
a basic profile, but also provides for enhanced profiles. It also gives a short introduction into
the basic problems of visually impaired people: i.e. what are the problems visually impaired
people experience when using and watching TV?
Providing text-to-speech functionality for a broadcast receiver, for example a TV or an STB,
can be of great help to (visually) disabled people. Such speech functionality may be
integrated in the receiver or may be external to the receiver in a separate device.
In general as the guiding principle, when building a TTS interface in the context of this
document, implementers should aspire to achieve functional equivalence of the user
experience. This means that a person operating the device using the speech interface should
have access to similar information and be able to accomplish tasks similar to those they
would with a graphical UI.
The main features of this document are:
• basic functional description for a TV-TTS device combination or TV with integrated TTS;
• profiles for different levels of TV-TTS functionality;
• targeted towards the digital TV application.
In this document, mandatory requirements are specified; optional and informative features are
also included.
A claim of conformity with this document requires conformity with all mandatory requirements.
A TV-TTS device combination or a TV with a TTS that is integrated may provide options for a
user to enable or disable each feature of a product. While options for user configurations may
be provided, the product shall meet the mandatory requirements.
5 User requirements of visually impaired people
5.1 Users' needs
This subclause explains the needs of visually impaired people as the primary target users for
a TV with TTS. Unless these needs are met, the system is not accessible to this user group.
Visually impaired people experience access barriers in the course of the following activities
when watching TV:
a) following TV programming, e.g. the TV series;
b) using a remote control;
c) not being able to see subtitles;
d) navigating channels;
e) navigating TV inputs;
f) using additional data (text) services provided by the broadcaster, e.g. an EPG;
g) daily operation of the TV and initial setup of the TV for use.
Items a), b) and c) are outside the scope of this document. Item c) further relates to the fact
that, in some countries, foreign language programmes are translated via subtitles. For users
who cannot see the subtitles, supplementary audio services are sometimes used to deliver an
audio version of the subtitles. This document elaborates on the remaining four items, i.e. d),
e), f) and g), in 5.2 to 5.6.
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NOTE 1 For DVB systems, item a) is already solved by audio description. Also, the use case of providing
supplementary audio services to deliver an audio version of the subtitles is covered in the DVB-SI specification
ETSI EN 300 468.
NOTE 2 For ATSC systems, the audio system includes a visually impaired (VI) associate service, which allows a
complete programme mix containing music, effects, dialogue, and additionally a narrative description of the picture
content, see ATSC A/53 part 5 and part 6.
5.2 Navigating channels
The problem is that a user does not know which channel the TV displays, i.e. the user gets
"lost during navigation". The TV is displaying navigation data on the screen but the user is
unable to see it. Such data are, for example:
• channel number,
• service name,
• (DTV broadcast) event name.
5.3 Navigating TV inputs
The problem is that a user is unable to select the required input to the TV, e.g. the user
wishes to select DTV or a specific external input linked to a recording or other device. The
choice is shown on the screen but the user is unable to see it.
5.4 Additional data services
With digital TV, a broadcaster may transmit additional data (text) services to augment TV
programming, provide additional information on programming, or provide news. Such
additional data are:
• information about whether audio description, subtitling is available,
• (next) (DTV broadcast) event name,
• (DVB-) event information (enhanced description of the (DTV broadcast) event),
• EPG data.
The items above are listed in order of importance with the most important item appearing first.
It is noted that this data provides additional convenience in using the TV, but that is non-
essential for the primary function of watching TV, and selecting chann
...