Captions & Transcripts

Add human-generated captioning to a live event

The Webcast platform offers options for human-generated or computer-generated captions on an event. Human-generated captions allow for support in multiple language and have an increased accuracy compared to computer-generated captions but require additional steps in the booking and setup process. The computer-generated caption setup is seamlessly integrated directly into the Webcast platform but offers English only captions. Note that computer-generated captions have an increased possibility of transcription errors compared to human-generated captions.

To include human-generated captions, you must request captioning services, set up a Custom Tab with the StreamText embed code, and then invite the captioner as an attendee. On the day of the event, the captioner joins as an attendee and types the captions into StreamText, which are then displayed to the audience in the Custom Tab.

Notes:

Jump to: Request captioning services | Example code | Set up the live captions tab | Preview your work | StreamText URL formatting

Request captioning services

We can book live captioning for your event.

To request live captioning:

You can also use your own third-party captioning provider, as long as they use the StreamText platform.

When you request live captioning through us, we provide your event ID to the captioning provider, who uses it to identify your event in their StreamText account. When you set up the custom tab, include this event ID in the embed code. If you schedule your own captioner, we recommend that you give them your event ID to use as their StreamText event name (identifier); confirm the value they used and include it in the embed code. To learn more about the process for scheduling captioning services, contact Support.

Example code

Use the following example code to embed captions in the custom tab. In the code, find event=1234567 in the code and replace 1234567 with the event ID for your event. If you're using your own captioning services, replace 1234567 with the event name provided by the captioner.

Important: If you requested captions in a language other than English, you must include an additional language parameter to the link for them to display correctly. For example, if you requested captions in Spanish, you must add &language=es to the link after the event ID or name. For more information, see StreamText URL formatting.

    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html>
    <head>
      <title></title>
    </head>
    <body style="min-height: 405px;">
    <iframe id="stFrame" style="overflow: hidden; width: 100%; height: 130px;" src="https://www.streamtext.net/text.aspx?event=1234567&chat=false&header=false&footer=false&controls=false&fs=12&ff=Arial&bgc=ffffff&fgc=00000" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="95%" height="125"></iframe>
    </body>
    </html>

Set up the live captions tab

Sign in to the Webcast Admin portal and edit the Live event.

To add the live captions tab to an event:

  1. On the left panel, click the Event Content tab.
  2. Under Optional Content, expand the Add Custom Player Tabs section and click Add Sidebar Tab.

    image-1708430280724.png


  3. Enter a name for the captioning tab and set Load As to Open. Optional: The Q&A tab displays under the video player in your event by default. To have the captions display under the video player, use the Display Order field to change the tab order.

    image-1708430610973.png


  4. At the right side of the editor, click </> to switch to code view.

    image-1708430701236.png


  5. Delete all the placeholder code.
  6. Copy the example code (see above) and paste it into the editor.
  7. In the code, find event=1234567 and replace 1234567 with the seven-digit event ID for your event or the event name.

    Note: If your captions are in a language other than English, be sure to include the language parameter in the link.

    Sidebar tab setup for live captioning

  8. Click </> to switch out of the code view to review the setup. You should see a "!" icon in the lower right of the tab setup. This icon indicates that the captioner has not logged in for the event yet, but confirms that the captions have been setup correctly. 

    image-1708431541918.png


  9. Click Save Changes to save the coding. Then click Save and Continue to save changes to the event content.

Preview your work

Always preview the tab setup before the Live event.

To test captioning for your event:

  1. In the Webcast Admin portal, edit the event.
  2. On the Event Content tab, edit the sidebar tab you created for captioning and replace your event ID or name with ihaveadream.

    ...src="https://www.streamtext.net/text.aspx?event= ihaveadream &chat=false...

  3. Click Save Changes to save the coding. Then click Save and Continue to save changes to the event content.
  4. Now preview the web player: click the Event Summary tab and at the top of the page, click View My Event .

Make any changes to the display. When ready, go back and place your event ID in the sidebar tab coding.

StreamText URL formatting

The captions can be visually controlled by passing various query strings (parameters) in the URL. Here are the options used in our example code; we hide various elements to ensure captions display well in a sidebar tab. For a complete list of options, see this StreamText help article.

Query String Purpose Used in our example code Result
language

Required for displaying captions other than English. The ISO 639-1 code for the caption language.

Examples:
Chinese (Simplified) - &language=zh
French - &language=fr
German - &language=de
Spanish - &language=es
For a complete list of language codes, see this Google article.

 N/A English captions
chat Displays the chat box &chat=false Chat box hidden
header Displays the title and the controls &header=false Header hidden
footer Displays gray footer with copyright &footer=false Footer hidden
controls Displays a toolbar that allows each attendee to change the font, sizing, and other formatting of the captions they're viewing &controls=false Controls hidden
fs Font size &fs=12 12 pt font
ff Font family &ff=Arial Arial font
bgc Background color &bgc=FFFFFF White background
fgc Foreground color; sets the text color &fgc=00000 Black text

Add human-generated captions to a recorded event

To add captions to a replay or to an On-Demand or Simulated Live event, you need a timed caption file in VTT (WebVTT) format. A timed caption file contains the text of what is said in the recording, plus time codes for when each line of text should be displayed. You can request a caption file for your event or ask your captioning provider for a compatible file.

Notes:

Once you receive the caption file, upload the file in the setup of your event. You can offer captions for your event in different languages; just upload a separate timed caption file for each language you want to provide. Captions are shown inline with the video. You can display them automatically or allow attendees to turn them on as needed. Attendees can turn captions off at any time.

Important: Captions are timed with the event audio. If you edit an event recording after receiving a caption file, the captions will be out of sync. You must request a new caption file.

Jump to: Request captioning services | Add replay captions | Preview your work

VideoPlayer+VTTCaptions.png

Request captioning services

We can provide a timed caption file for your event. If you edited your event recording after requesting captions, you must request a new caption file.

To request replay captions:

Add replay captions

To add replay captions to an event:

Preview your work

You should always preview your captions and make sure they are timed correctly with the event audio.

To test captioning for your event:

About computer-generated transcripts

Automated transcripts are available for any type of event - Live, On-Demand, and Simulated Live. Automated transcripts are great for capturing the event audio in a file for your own use and for providing synced captions with a searchable transcript for people watching the event recording. You can also allow attendees to download the transcript.

The system uses the event audio to generate the transcript, including primary media clips and overlay videos. Generated transcripts are available within 24 hours of a Live event ending or a recorded event being published.

Note: Automatic transcription and key phrases might not be available on your account. To request these features, contact Support or your sales representative.

To generate an automated transcript for an event, go to the Event Content tab and open the Add Automated Transcript section.

Edit the recording and update the transcript

After the event has been published or archived, review the recording and make any edits to the event content. Publish your changes to update the event audio and transcript timings. The system processes the event recording, generates a new version of the transcript, and republishes the event. This is an automated process, so you can edit the event and republish the recording as many times as you need.

Review the transcript

The transcript is computer-generated, so review the transcript for accuracy. To edit it, open the event in the editing studio and click Transcript. When finished, click Save Draft before you close the Edit Transcript window and then republish the event.

Examples

Viewers can open the full transcript in a separate panel and search it. 
Open Transcript button

Event window shows the transcript window

You can also show the generated transcript as scrolling captions under the video player. 

Video player with captions

Edit a computer-generated transcript

For automated transcripts. You can open a generated transcript in the editing studio and review and edit it. The transcript includes time codes that allow you to play the audio from the beginning of the phrase, so you can compare each transcribed phrase to what was actually said. You can also use the search bar to search for words or phrases in the transcription that you know need to be corrected.

The system uses colors to highlight words that need to be reviewed for accuracy.

Transcript example

After you save your changes and publish the event, the transcript is generated again with your updates. When ready, you can download the new version. If you made the transcript available to the audience, the transcript is also updated in the event recording.

To edit the transcript:

  1. Sign in to the Webcast Admin portal and edit the event.
  2. On the Event Summary tab, click Launch On-Demand Studio or Launch SimLive Studio.
  3. In the editing studio, under the video player, click Transcript.

    On-Demand Studio shows the Transcript button circled

  4. The transcript is displayed in the Edit Transcript window. Review the transcript in the Full Transcript section.

    To compare the audio to a phrase, click the Play button. To edit the transcribed text, click a phrase and then type your changes. To stop editing, click outside of the phrase.

    Transcript line with edits

  5. To find and replace words or phrases, enter a word or phrase in the search bar and press Enter. Click Replace All, enter what you want to replace the phrase with, and click Apply.

    Transcript window shows Search bar and highlighted results

  6. After you finish your edits, click Save Draft.

    Save Draft button circled

  7. A message displays asking if you're sure you want to save your changes. Click Yes.
  8. A message displays letting you know the save was successful. Click Ok and then close the Edit Transcript window.
  9. To save changes and generate a new transcript, in the editing studio, click Publish All Changes.

    On-Demand Studio shows the video and slides player with Publish All Changes Button circled

Add a computer-generated transcript to an event

For English events only.

You can add an automated transcript to any type of event - Live, On-Demand, and Simulated Live. The system generates a written transcript of the event audio that can be included with the event recording for viewers and downloaded.

To learn more about automated transcripts, see About generated transcripts.

The transcript is available within 24 hours after the event is published. Once the transcript has finished processing, you can review and edit it in the editing studio.

Note: If you plan to make the transcript available to attendees, review the transcript and make any corrections.

To generate a transcript for your event:

 
  1. Sign in to the Webcast Admin portal and edit the event.
  2. On the left panel, click the Event Content tab.
  3. Under Optional Content, expand the Add Automated Replay Transcript section and set the Generate a searchable, full text transcript to ON.


  4. Optional. Select:
    • Make it available to audiences to allow attendees to view a searchable transcript in a separate window
    • Enable audience download to allow attendees to download the transcript
    • Display as open captions to show the transcript as rolling captions under the video player
  5. Click Save and Continue to save changes to the event content.

Download a computer-generated transcript

You can download a copy of the event transcript as a .TXT file. Generated transcripts are available within 24 hours of a Live event ending (and being archived) or a recorded event being published.

Note: You can only download the most recently published version of the transcript. You can't download previous versions.

To download a copy of an event transcript:

  1. Sign in to the Webcast Admin portal and edit the event.
  2. On the Event Summary tab, in the Event Details section under Transcription, click Download Transcript.

    Download Transcript button

Add computer-generated captioning to a live event

The Webcast platform offers options for human-generated or computer-generated captions on an event. Human-generated captions allow for support in multiple language and have an increased accuracy compared to computer-generated captions but require additional steps in the booking and setup process. The computer-generated caption setup is seamlessly integrated directly into the Webcast platform but offers English only captions. Note that computer-generated captions have an increased possibility of transcription errors compared to human-generated captions.

To include computer-generated captions:

Glossary Best Practices

Notes