Real-time text (RTT) is

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...

transmitted instantly as it is typed or created. Recipients can immediately read the message while it is being written, without waiting. Real-time text is used for conversational text, in collaboration, and in live captioning. Technologies include TDD/TTY devices for the deaf, live captioning for TV, Text over IP (ToIP), some types of

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate ( real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involv ...

, captioning for

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...

/ video teleconferencing, telecommunications relay services including ip-relay, transcription services including Remote CART, TypeWell, collaborative text editing,

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

text applications, next-generation 9-1-1/1-1-2 emergency service. Obsolete TDD/TTY devices are being replaced by more modern real-time text technologies, including Text over IP, ip-relay, and instant messaging.

Use over instant messaging

While standard

is not real-time text (messages are sent deliberately when the writer is ready, not transmitted while they are being composed), a real-time text option is found in some instant messaging software, including

AOL Instant Messenger AOL Instant Messenger (AIM, sometimes stylized as aim) was an instant messaging and presence information computer program created by AOL. It used the proprietary OSCAR protocol, OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow us ...

's "Real-Time IM" feature. Real-time text is also possible over any

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an Open standard, open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Ext ...

compatible chat networks, including those used by Apple iChat,

Cisco WebEx Webex by Cisco, is an American subsidiary of Cisco Systems that develops and sells web conferencing, videoconferencing and contact center as a service applications. It was founded as WebEx Communications, Inc., in 1995 and acquired by Cisco Sys ...

, and Google Talk, by using appropriate software that has a real-time text feature. When present in IM programs, the real-time text feature can be turned on/off, just like other chat features such as audio. Real-time text programs date at least to the 1970s, with the talk program on the DEC PDP-11, which remains in use on Unix systems. Beam Messenger, a mobile app offering real-time text messaging, was released in 2014. Certain real-time text applications have a feature that allows the real-time text to be "turned off", for temporary purposes. This allows the sender to pre-compose the message as a standard IM or text message before transmitting.

Use by the deaf

Real-time text is frequently used by the deaf, including IP-Relay services, TDD/TTY devices, and Text over IP. Real-time text allows the other person to read immediately, without waiting for the sender to finish composing his or her sentence/message. This allows conversational use of text, much like a hearing person can listen to someone speaking in real-time.

Captioned telephony

Captioned telephony is the streaming of real-time text captions in parallel with speech on a phone call. This is used by people who are hard of hearing to allow them to have the full benefit of listening as best they can, hearing all the intonation etc. in speech, yet have the captions for those words they cannot hear clearly enough. In the United States, captioned telephony is one of the free relay services that is available to anyone who is hard-of-hearing. Originally developed for use on the analog phone systems (where it requires a special phone) it is now available over IP using standard devices.

Use in collaboration

Collaborative real-time editing is the utilization of real-time text for shared editing, rather than for conversation. Split screen chat, where conversational text appears continuously, is also considered real-time text. Some examples that provide this as a service are Apache Wave and its fork SwellRT, Etherpad, the editor Gobby, and most notably Google Docs.

Captioning, transcriptions and other uses

Real-time text is used in closed captioning and when captions are being streamed live continuously during live events. Transcription services including Communication Access Real-Time Translation and TypeWell frequently use real-time text, where text is streamed live to a remote display. This is used in court reporting, and is also used by deaf attendees at a conference. Also, real-time text provides an enhancement to

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktops/laptops, or ...

on mobile phones, via real-time texting apps.

Real-time text protocols

Real-time text protocols include Text over IP (ToIP) designed around

ITU-T The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is one of the three Sectors (branches) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It is responsible for coordinating Standardization, standards fo ...

T.140,

IETF The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...

RFC 4103, RFC 5194, and XMPP Extension Protocol XEP-0301.

Total conversation

According to

Multimedia Recommendation F.703, total conversation defines the simultaneous use of audio, video and real-time text. An instant messaging program that can enable all three features simultaneously would be compliant. Real time text is an important part of it.

History

Real-time text is also historically found in the old UNIX talk, BBS software such as Celerity BBS, and older versions of ICQ messaging software.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Real-Time Text IMS services

Text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...