RTL Technology Reports First-Time Use Of AI For Synchronization

News | RTL Group | Cologne/Munich, 08/12/2024

RTL Technology Reports First-Time Use Of AI For Synchronization

RTL Technology has used artificial intelligence to dub an entire series for the first time. The German-language version of the three-part documentary series "Myths and Monsters" (German title: Mythen und Monster) for the special-interest channel History was produced entirely with synthesized voices.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can boost innovation and creativity and increase the efficiency of work processes. AI projects are already being put into action across many areas of RTL Deutschland, e.g. when the synthesized voice of the late actor Hans Clarin was used for "Pumuckl's New Adventures", or in the AI-assisted newsdesk at ntv.de. Now RTL Technology has demonstrated how AI can assist in the dubbing of films and series at its Grünwald site near Munich. The company produced the German-language version of "Mythen und Monster," a documentary series in three parts (45 mins each) for the History channel of its external customer A+E Networks, entirely with synthesized voices for the first time, using speech synthesis AI called "Eleven Labs." After extensive testing, the team in Grünwald was one of the first companies on the market to realize a broadcast-ready long format, and was also able to collect and share valuable insights for using AI in dubbing at RTL Deutschland.

"Our team in Grünwald has done pioneering work," says Ida Shahnazari, Vice President Content & Playout Operations at RTL Deutschland, "AI is changing the market for dubbing or synchronization, too. It is important to actively shape these changes and to understand and use the new technologies. Our top priority is to make sure that our employees are responsible for the entire production process from the start and make decisions about the content to ensure the highest quality standards. The new possibilities are impressive. This technology allows us to respond flexibly to production requirements and continuously optimize our processes."

Axel Stüber, Head of the Grünwald site at RTL Technology, adds: "With our production for A+E Networks, we were able to demonstrate very quickly how we can harness AI to efficiently use synthetic voices for foreign-language documentaries while keeping the quality high. It is important that our editors retain control over the product at every step and make decisions about the result so that they can make the necessary adjustments as needed. We are also in close contact with the RTL Deutschland dubbing department about this case, so that we can jointly review how we can use our insights about the new technology and for which formats. It is important to us that AI will only supplement real voices for certain international productions, because we have worked trustfully with a large pool of dubbing actors for many years and will continue to do so."

The RTL Technology Team in Munich has been providing playout, post-production, and media services for RTL Zwei and third-party companies such as Warner Bros. Discovery and A+E Networks since 1997. With the new feedback from customers, the RTL Technology Team in Grünwald is now investing further in AI for dubbing in addition to its other services.