Introduction
Videolinq's EDIT offers a cost-effective and efficient way to add AI-Based automated native or translated closed captioning to live streams while improving the accuracy of the output captions before they are inserted back into the broadcast. Automated closed captioning is a fee-based service. This article explains how to add automated closed captioning to four types of video sources:
Connected webcam or virtual meeting.
RTMP stream sent to Videolinq from a media encoder or virtual meeting.
RTMP/RTSP (SRT coming soon) stream pulled from the internet.
Pre-recorded file, or multiple files in a playlist.
Important: it takes 60, 90, or 150 seconds for automated closed captioning to appear on live streams, based on the selected delay during the task setup.
Watch a Webinar
Webcam/Virtual Meeting
Open the channel. Click on Sources. Click on the webcam or virtual meeting radio and "Update".
Expand the controls tab under the preview player and click on the CC tab. Check the radio of the automated closed captioning option. Last, push "Go Live".
When you see live video in the preview player it means the channel is active. Go back to the CC tab. Select the required delay to edit the captions before they are inserted into the live stream. Drop down "Select Language" to match the audio source. Drop down "Translate" to select a target language, or set it to "None" if no translation is needed. Leave the "Language Model" as-is or try an alternative ti improve the output. Click on the "Start" icon to begin.
Wait about 60 seconds until you see captions in the preview player. Click on the "Editor" to access EDIT.
Real-time closed captioning will appear in EDIT. The red countdown number tells you how many seconds you have before the captions box disappears. Edit the text as needed. Click outside the text box to autosave changes. After the broadcast ends export SRT VTT or transcripts in PDF format.
When the live broadcast ends do the following:
Stop video distribution to destinations.
Stop the automated closed captioning service (click on "Stop CC").
Stop the channel (click on "Streaming"). The red icon will turn green "Go Live".
Stop the video source.
RTMP Encoder
First, read this article and learn how to configure your RTMP output stream. Next, open the channel. Click on Sources. Click on the RTMP radio and "Update".
Expand the controls tab under the preview player and click on the CC tab. Check the radio of the automated closed captioning option.
Click and expand the Encoder tab. Copy the RTMP path and stream key to your preferred media encoder.
Start your media encoder. Confirm you see video in the preview player. Push "Go Live".
Go back to the CC tab. Select the required delay to edit the captions before they are inserted into the live stream. Drop down "Select Language" to match the audio source. Drop down "Translate" to select a target language, or set it to "None" if no translation is needed. Leave the "Language Model" as-is or try an alternative ti improve the output. Click on the "Start" icon to begin.
Wait about 60 seconds until you see captions in the preview player. Click on the "Editor" to access EDIT.
Real-time closed captioning will appear in EDIT. The red countdown number tells you how many seconds you have before the captions box disappears. Edit the text as needed. Click outside the text box to autosave changes. After the broadcast ends export SRT VTT or transcripts in PDF format.
When the live broadcast ends do the following:
Stop video distribution to destinations.
Stop the automated closed captioning service (click on "Stop CC").
Stop the channel (click on "Streaming"). The red icon will turn green "Go Live".
Stop the video source.
RTMP/RTSP Stream
Open the channel. Click on Sources. Click on the Stream radio, and place in the text box the RTMP or RTSP path to a live stream. Click "Update".
Expand the controls tab under the preview player and click on the CC tab. Check the radio of the automated closed captioning option. Last, push "Go Live".
When you see live video in the preview player it means the channel is active. Go back to the CC tab. Select the required delay to edit the captions before they are inserted into the live stream. Drop down "Select Language" to match the audio source. Drop down "Translate" to select a target language, or set it to "None" if no translation is needed. Leave the "Language Model" as-is or try an alternative ti improve the output. Click on the "Start" icon to begin.
Wait about 60 seconds until you see captions in the preview player. Click on the "Editor" to access EDIT.
Real-time closed captioning will appear in EDIT. The red countdown number tells you how many seconds you have before the captions box disappears. Edit the text as needed. Click outside the text box to autosave changes. After the broadcast ends export SRT VTT or transcripts in PDF format.
When the live broadcast ends do the following:
Stop video distribution to destinations.
Stop the automated closed captioning service (click on "Stop CC").
Stop the channel (click on "Streaming"). The red icon will turn green "Go Live".
Stop the video source.
Recorded file(s)
Open the channel. Click on Sources. Click on the File radio. Upload recorded MP4 file, or drop down to select previously uploaded media. Click "Update".
Expand the controls tab under the preview player and click on the CC tab. Check the radio of the automated closed captioning option. Last, push "Go Live".
When you see live video in the preview player it means the channel is active. Go back to the CC tab. Select the required delay to edit the captions before they are inserted into the live stream. Drop down "Select Language" to match the audio source. Drop down "Translate" to select a target language, or set it to "None" if no translation is needed. Leave the "Language Model" as-is or try an alternative ti improve the output. Click on the "Start" icon to begin.
Wait about 60 seconds until you see captions in the preview player. Click on the "Editor" to access EDIT.
Real-time closed captioning will appear in EDIT. The red countdown number tells you how many seconds you have before the captions box disappears. Edit the text as needed. Click outside the text box to autosave changes. After the broadcast ends export SRT VTT or transcripts in PDF format.
When the live broadcast ends do the following:
Stop video distribution to destinations.
Stop the automated closed captioning service (click on "Stop CC").
Stop the channel (click on "Streaming"). The red icon will turn green "Go Live".
Stop the video source.
Supported Languages
Automated closed captioning for live video is limited by the CEA-608 standard and supports the display of closed captioning only in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Portuguese languages. However, the source language for live translation is available in 40+ languages.
Known issues our team is working on:
Captions do not work well in iOS 13 and below in the Safari browser.
Transcripts of some languages with non-Latin characters do not print well.
Tips & Tricks
Read below a few recommended steps our team prepared for new users of the service:
There is an hourly fee associated with the service. When not in use, stop the automated captions task.
For the best user experience, we recommend using a computer or mobile device with a screen size of 1024 pixels or more.
Real-time live automated closed captioning will show on the video only 60 seconds after the task begins.
Wait for 60 seconds when activating the service and making a change in the native/translated language settings. For example, you began creating captions in English and wish to add translation to Spanish. Stop the caption task for 60 seconds, then add the translation task.
Do not change the Editor delay settings during a live broadcast to prevent the video from shifting in time. Before making the change, stop the output stream to destinations or to a player.
Stop publishing the live stream to destinations before stopping the automated closed captioning service. This will prevent a jump in the live stream. Recommended order: Stop the destinations, stop the automated captions service, and finally stop the channel.
Real-time live automated closed captioning service is limited to a maximum of 8 hours. To cover broadcasts of 8 hours or more, stop the automated closed captioning service process for 2 minutes, leave the live stream running, and start the closed captioning service again.
Need to edit the captions again after the broadcast? On the Videolinq dashboard select Sources/Content Management/Recorded Captions. Find the proper captions record, rename it, edit it, and export.
Do you have questions about this service? Contact customer service.
This product is not necessarily ADA compliant, and we recommend that you also check with federal regulations to ensure compliance.