MadVR Labs has announced the launch of its patent-pending subtitle handling technology.
Dynamic Subtitle Overlay (DSO) can be activated to match the brightness of subtitles to the scene, as well as reduce their size and adapt their colour; the result is a more integrated viewing experience, free from obstructions and distractions.
The feature is coming soon as a free update to the Core Premium, Envy Pro and Envy Extreme video processors.
When subtitles appear partially or fully in the black bars, DSO removes the original text and fills the gaps with 'inpainting'.
It repositions the subtitles into the content area and adds a semi-transparent background, without the need to resize the image.
Eye comfort is accommodated with size reduction, brightness limiting and adaptive subtitle colour.
Meanwhile, APL-based dimming helps to ensure contrast during dark scenes.
The company’s new paper, Reinventing Subtitles: Understanding the Need for Dynamic Subtitle Overlay in Home Theatre, explores how subtitles have become an increasingly mainstream demand.
Its findings include frustrations with excessively bright subtitles and placement in wide aspect ratio movies, when the text is typically embedded in the black bars below or above the image.
Furthermore, these black bars are over-scanned and appear on the screen masking or wall when a projector is zoomed to fill a scope screen.
Image credit: MadVR Labs