For example, some common video websites provide automatic captions. There are tools that use speech recognition technology to turn a soundtrack into a timed caption file. Automatic Captions are Not SufficientĪutomatically-generated captions do not meet user needs or accessibility requirements, unless they are confirmed to be fully accurate. However, people who have the software, skills, and experience in developing captions, can develop them much faster.įor these reasons, many organizations choose to outsource their captions. It’s more art than science - for example, it’s not always clear which non-speech audio information to include and how to communicate it in text.Įven correcting an automatic caption files takes quite a bit of time for people who don’t do it regularly. The file format for captions are simple, yet it’s tedious to add timestamps, especially without software or service for developing caption files.Ĭreating high-quality captions requires knowledge of which non-speech audio information should be included in the captions. Transcribing an audio file is fairly difficult and takes quite a bit of time for people who don’t have the software and skill for it. AA 1.2.4 Captions (Live): Captions are provided for all live audio content in synchronized media.Ĭreating captions requires typing up the audio (“transcribing”) and formatting it in a file with timestamps.A 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded): Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media….WCAG excerpts with links to more information in “Understanding WCAG”: Captions are needed to provide the audio content to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.Ĭaptions are required in WCAG at Level A.Ĭaptions are required in WCAG at Level AA.Captions are not needed because there is no important audio content.If no (for example, it is just background music):.If there are no “A”s, then it is not required in WCAG.ĭoes the video have audio information that is needed to understand what the video is communicating? What is needed to meet user needs, beyond WCAG.( WCAG is introduced in the Planning page of this resource.)

What is required in the WCAG standard at Level A, AA, and AAA.

Some players provide interactive transcript functionality.įor optimum accessibility, provide a separate caption file of the description of visual information (called audio description, video description, or described video).Ĭaptions and transcripts include the same text, so one can be used to develop the other. Users can select text in the transcript and go to that point in the video. Interactive transcripts highlight text phrases as they are spoken. Interactive Transcripts from CaptionsĬaption files are used by some media players to provide interactive transcripts. This rest of this page addresses developing captions for pre-recorded media. If you have live captions and you post a recording, you will probably need to do minor editing for accuracy. That is, the person doing the captioning/CART does not have to be at the same location as the live action they can be doing the live captions by listening to the audio over a phone or Internet connection.

Live captions can be done in-person or remotely.

Live captions are usually done by professional real-time captioners or Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) providers. They can be a translation of the caption content, including non-speech audio information.Ĭaptions are needed for accessibility, whereas subtitles in other languages are not directly an accessibility accommodation. Subtitles/interlingual subtitles are usually only the spoken audio (for people who can hear the audio but do not know the spoken language). Subtitles are implemented the same way as captions. Sometimes they are distinguished as intralingual subtitles (same language) and interlingual subtitles (different language). Some regions use subtitles for both the same language as the audio and for the translation. Subtitles for spoken audio translated into another language.Captions for the same language as the spoken audio.The terms “captions” and “subtitles” are used for the same thing in different regions of the world. They can be “open captions” that are always displayed and cannot be turned off. Most are “closed captions” that can be hidden or shown by people watching the video. They are displayed within the media player and are synchronized with the audio. What: Captions are a text version of the speech and non-speech audio information needed to understand the content. They are also used by people who process written information better than audio. Who: Captions (also called “intralingual subtitles”) provide content to people who are Deaf and others who cannot hear the audio. In Making Audio and Video Media Accessible Summary

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