Microsoft and Internet Explorer 10 play a role in the new SDP-US caption spec

In an official blog post, Microsoft is showcasing Internet Explorer 10’s support for the new SDP-US video captioning spec. This spec was created after input was given by companies such as Adobe, MovieLabs, NBC, Cox, Apple, Netflix, and even Microsoft.

For those that don’t know, Internet Explorer 10 was one of the first browsers to include early support for HTML5 based video captioning (via theelement) using the TTML and WebVTT file formats. Microsoft has now gained valuable feedback from content authors and a new spec called SDP-US was formed. This new spec provides interoperability and a fully featured captioning solution for modern browsers.

“SDP-US will meet this need by defining a streamlined set of captioning capabilities for the HTML5element. Developers will be able to add captioning to an HTML5 video by providing a caption file that contains a styled text representation of the video dialog or actions and by using theelement to render and display the contents of that file,” Microsoft explained.

Timed Text Markup Language (TTML), which is a framework that has been used in the video industry for years, is still the basis for SDP-US. However, the new spec will have better features that lets you control the layout, style, timing, and requirements for captions. SDP-US will streamline the creation of closed captions to deliver media content to a wide variety of platforms, such as Internet Explorer on a desktop computer to the Xbox entertainment console and even via apps that are built using the Microsoft Media Player Framework.

This new spec allows for professional-quality online video, including the ability to color your captions and even apply a background color to those captions. From the screenshot above, you can see how Internet Explorer 10 showcases a colored caption, via this new spec. You can review the new spec’s profile here.