New look subtitles and playback for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer on TV
Andrew White
Product Manager, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer
![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p09cztdr.jpg)
From today, we’re rolling out a new look for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer’s playback on TVs. It’s a cleaner, sleeker and more pared-back interface, with some changes to how things appear during playback and new, improved subtitles you can customise and control.
The first thing most viewers will notice is the playback bar along the bottom. You will now see a simple, elegant bar that shows how far through the programme you are.
![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p09czrsq.jpg)
Gone is the play/pause button - play and pause icons are now briefly displayed in the centre of the screen when pausing and resuming, whilst rewinding and fast-forwarding brings up visual stills from the programme, so you can easily see when to press play again.
All the extra controls for more episodes, subtitles and settings and the button to add a programme to your list to watch later have all been moved to the top left of the screen.
As part of these changes, we’ve also made significant improvements to the way viewers can control subtitles on iPlayer. The new position of the subtitles and settings menu makes it easier than ever to turn subtitles on or off, as well as making it easier to choose the audio described and signed versions where available; plus, we’ve also added the ability to change and control the size of the subtitles.
![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p09czjwb.jpg)
Previously subtitles on iPlayer were automatically displayed as a larger size than we use on broadcast, so as part of these changes, we’ve made the default setting a smaller size. For those who need larger or, indeed, even smaller text, they can now choose from a range of five options. That choice is remembered for other programmes they watch in the future.
These changes follow some other recent improvements we’ve made to subtitles on iPlayer on TV. Previously subtitles would appear as coloured sans serif text with a black outline, always at the bottom-middle of the screen. This was far from ideal as, for example, it could be difficult to read the white text if the video image behind it was also white or was patterned. And if the part of the video image behind the subtitles contained something that viewers needed to see to understand the programme – for example, the clues on Only Connect – they could only see it by switching subtitles off.
![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p09czjz8.jpg)
The improvements we’ve made recently mean when you’re watching iPlayer on a TV, subtitles are now clearly readable, in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Reith Sans typeface, with a black background behind the text, and the correct colours to show who is talking. They are also now positioned to take account of what’s on-screen, so they will no longer be covering important information, and mean our viewers who use subtitles can play along with Only Connect and enjoy Victoria Coren-Mitchell’s witty and withering jokes at the same time.
![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p09czk24.jpg)
Currently, the new size controls are only available on our on-demand content but will be coming to live channels on iPlayer in the coming weeks. Let us know your feedback on the new look playback interface, the new subtitle controls or anything else at bbc.co.uk/contact.
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