#18 DeepL Custom Hints, EU MDR Delay, Dub Studios Reopen, Google Live Translation

In another lockdown episode, Florian discusses how LSPs are faring in the current climate. He also previews the results from the European Language Industry Survey, run by a group of industry associations. The survey found that LSPs plan to increase sales and marketing after Covid-19 and are not yet considering making layoffs. Among freelancers surveyed, only 16% said they have had to renegotiate rates. Esther talks about the coronavirus effect on the medical devices regulation (MDR) in Europe. Originally scheduled for May 2020, it has now been delayed by a year. LSPs hoping for a revenue boost linked to increased translation requirements under EU MDR may now have to wait a little longer.The two speculate on DeepL’s possible plans to begin offering customization, after they updated their T&Cs to introduce a clause on “Customer Training Data.” Providing custom MT would be a departure from the off-the-shelf generic model DeepL is known for. Florian also highlights broader MT research trends, such as live translation, speech translation and massively multilingual MT.Esther closes with a green-shoots update from media localizer VSI, which has re-opened its Berlin recording studios as lockdowns start to lift. Spain and Italy are expected to be among the next to re-open. Links to the stories discussed in this episode:EU Delays New Medical Device Translation Requirementshttps://slator.com/industry-news/eu-delays-new-medical-device-translation-requirements/New Google Research May Improve Live-Translation of Virtual Meetingshttps://slator.com/machine-translation/new-google-research-may-improve-live-translation-of-virtual-meetings/(Press Release) VSI Update – Resuming In-Studio Production as Lockdowns are Relaxedhttps://slator.com/press-releases/vsi-update-resuming-in-studio-production-as-lockdowns-are-relaxed/