ENCO Announces Patent for Providing Automated Captioning

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ENCO Systems, Inc. has acquired a patent that specifically applies to providing automated captioning by using speech-to-text. The United States patent, number 7047191B2, entitled: Method and System for Providing Automated Captioning for AV Signals, expands ENCO's intellectual property for captioning technology and methods that help broadcasters and professional AV customers, including those in corporate, education, government and venues, automate and accelerate speech-to-text translation to deliver open or closed captions.

The patent specifically relates to ENCO's continued innovations for its enCaption series of automated captioning solutions. Helping broadcasters and content producers easily and cost-effectively comply with expanding regulatory requirements, while serving the needs of hearing-impaired audiences, ENCO's software-defined enCaption solutions provide accurate captioning for live and recorded content in near-real-time. New advances that correlate with ENCO's new patent improve accuracy of enCaption's speech-to-text engine to an unprecedented new level, leveraging breakthroughs in machine learning technology to develop a deep neural network approach to voice recognition.

The innovation behind the patent includes a method that separates an audio signal from a combined AV signal, and converts the audio signal to text data. The original AV signal is then encoded with the converted text data to produce, record and display a captioned AV signal. The patent also covers automatic translation of spoken words of a first language into a second language, with the translated words included in the captioning information.

In addition to more effectively supporting the growing demand for live and offline closed captioning in TV and online video, the mobility of the patented system positions ENCO as the leader for producing recorded and live open captions that affect almost all industries. This is especially important as the demand for captioning is enhanced by the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which makes captioning mandatory in many classroom, corporate, public and governmental situations.

"This patent protects the investment of both ENCO and our global customers for our market-leading automated captioning technology in broadcast and AV," said Ken Frommert, President, ENCO. "It also establishes a strong foundation for continued innovation around our enCaption brand as we further enhance speed and precision around automated speech-to-text conversion."

About ENCO

Founded in 1983, ENCO pioneered the use of computer-based, digital audio and program automation for radio station and TV studios. The company has since evolved its product line to cross all aspects of today's automated broadcast and production workflows, including closed-captioning, visual radio, audio compliance, instant media playout, remote contribution, and cloud-based web streaming. Its two flagship systems, DAD and MOM, bring the industry's best reliability, cost-efficiency and intuitive operation to automated radio and TV operations worldwide. ENCO is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan USA and retains a global distribution network, plus a growing network of partnerships with complementary industry vendors. For more information, please visit: www.enco.com. 

Contact:
Ken Frommert
1-248-827-4440
[email protected]

SOURCE ENCO Systems, Inc.