Since reading on TV is non-immersive (at least if we're talking about short captions here) and the lo-res and interlacing cause of a lot of fuzz, well-spaced sans forms (with a generous x-height) work best I think. One of my most favorite fonts for this kind of work is Poppl-Laudatio (which also has a lot of character at large sizes).

BTW, check out Tiresias too:
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bitstream/tiresias/

hhp

For titles - dramas and serious programming tends to use serif, comedy and reality TV tends to use sans. Legibility doesn't seem to be a major consideration - it's about branding.

Your paper might be better if you focus on captioning, subtitles and other forms of small text on TV rather than titles. screenfont.ca is a good starting point if you're after some juicy quotes.

Cheers, Si

An example of a typeface designed specifically for TV:

http://www.letterror.com/catalog/critter/index.html

Isn't it mainly a resolution issue? Unless the type is large, any typeface with fine details will get lost in both the low-res of traditional TV and the inerit blurring that is added.

That said, the parents just got a new HD-wide screen TV that I spent most of my saturday afternoon wasting away in front of and I must say that type looks absolutely stunning on it.

Wow! that was fast!!! Thank you.



"Your paper might be better if you focus on captioning, subtitles and other forms of small text on TV rather than titles."

= Simon, what do you mean by small text? 8,10,14.....



"BTW, check out Tiresias too"

= "...the typeface has a host of design flaws...Tiresieas has not been tested with representative audience" (screenfont.ca)

So, this is good one or bad one?

= any serif that is not good for captioning, subtitles?


= any sans serif that is not good for captioning, subtitles?


= what is the size for captioning & subtitles?

As darrel asked: Isn't it mainly a resolution issue?


Thank you!

Think about TV today its about exploding graphics, fast cuts, and head shots. It has nothing to do about type. Its about cheesy photoshop techniques. Most type I see on TV is terrible (MacNeil Learer report type is so terrible to make me cry) there is no craft in TV type.

BBC TV use Gill Sans for most of their captions, programme lists, interactive menus which works very well at most sizes (they also use Helvetica Thin for some full screen work). On Digital (a now defunct UK digital tv provider) used Tiresias for their interactive services and it was very efficient (ie my Mum could read it). I think if you take the worst case

>Simon, what do you mean by small text? 8,10,14.....

Sorry, I don't know how size is specified in TV graphics and captioning, maybe by scan lines, maybe as a proportion of the screen height?

The point I was making is that 'Titles' (the subject of your original mail) are not as interesting as subtitles and captions, or as interesting as the special fonts used in set-top boxes and digital TV.

>= "...the typeface has a host of design flaws...Tiresieas has not been tested with representative audience" (screenfont.ca)

Joe Clark's views may be at one extreme but I think a lot of font people and designers share them. You could write a whole paper on the subject of that one font. The process by which it was created and how it became a TV standard are quite well documented. And the people involved are probably quite approachable.

Cheers, Si

>Most type I see on TV is terrible

Animated broadcast typography is a new, exciting frontier of design.

>'Titles' (the subject of your original mail) are not as interesting as subtitles and captions, or as interesting as the special fonts used in set-top boxes and digital TV.

It's TV, moving pictures! It's all about the animation, not the fonts.

Apples and oranges. The type is equally as important as the animation.

Though not TV specific, here's a discussion on serif vs. sans serif type:
http://rosendorf.us/blogdorf/archive/2006/01/18/1456.aspx

Tina, a few other threads to get you started on your quest:

http://www.typophile.com/forums/messages/30/27691.html
http://typophile.com/articles/bardram/