| Relevant to: | Guests | Speakers | Event Managers & Assistants | Account Owners |
| ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
We’ve compiled a list of some of the tools you can use to provide guests with closed captions in Conversation Mode. Some of these applications let you transcribe live, while others will require you to pre-record videos beforehand and share them live during your event.
Please note, Events.com Virtual also has an in-built Closed Captioning feature available in Presentation Mode, check out this article for more information.
Table of Contents:
Live Caption Options
With Live Caption options, it's usually up to each individual to use the application themselves to generate closed captions.
1. Google Chrome
Google Chrome has its very own built-in live captioning software that you or your guests can make use of.
To enable live captioning in Google Chrome:
- Click the 3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of your browser (next to URL address bar)
- Click 'Settings'
- Select 'Advanced' to access the advanced Chrome settings
- Select 'Accessibility'
- Toggle the option for 'Live Caption' on
- Go back to your Events.com Virtual Event and do a hard refresh (CTRL+SHIFT+R on Windows -or- CMD+SHIFT+R on Mac)
The user that turned on live captioning will now be able to read the conversation happening in real-time in both Conversation and Presentation Mode.
Captions are only available in English though at the moment
2. Otter.ai
Otter.ai is another free online application that transcribes your audio in real time and very easily. With Otter.ai you’ll need to first sign up for an account before you can use it though. After that its simple, just press the ‘record’ button on the homepage and immediately Otter.ai will start transcribing everything it hears.
Just like with Web Captioner though, if you are looking to caption your own presentation, you’ll need to share your screen for these captions to be visible in real time to your guests. However, another good thing about this application is that once you’re done with your presentation and the captions have finished processing, you can export the text and send this out to your guests as well. There are paid plans as well with Otter.ai if you’re interested in more of their features.
To learn more about Otter.ai and sign up, you can refer to their website here.
Pre-recorded Caption Options
The following options are suggestions for how an event host can add captions to pre-recorded videos that are then shared during a presentation on Events.com Virtual.
1. Youtube
Youtube has a closed caption software built already into their platform, so you can make use of this during your events
To do this, you can pre-record your presentation and then stream this live during your event. To do this, you would upload your pre-recorded presentation onto Youtube in advance and then share this during the event.
Just make sure:
1) when uploading your video you enable closed captions in Youtube
2) when sharing the video in Events.com Virtual you 'enable video controls for other participants'
3) inform your guests to hit the closed caption button in the Youtube video screen (as shown in the image below)
Similarly, if you have any Youtube videos you’d like to broadcast during your presentation, all you would have to do is ensure your selected video has closed captions enabled already (this would be up to the video owner), enable video controls for other participants when sharing the video in Events.com Virtual, and ask your guests to click the closed captions button when you broadcast the video as shown above.
Using Youtube for your closed captions is great because its easy to use, free and can generate auto captions for you. However, these auto generated captions may lack your desired standard of accuracy, so you may need to go over them again if you are posting the video on Youtube yourself
Alternatively, you can use a voice typing software like Google Docs to help you generate captions and then insert them manually into Youtube. Firstly, you just record your video and upload it to Youtube (make sure you allow adding closed captions). Then open a google document on your computer and click ‘Tools’ > ‘Voice typing’ > ‘Click to speak’. Play your uploaded video on a smartphone and keep this close to your open google document. The google doc should then pick up the audio from your phone and transcribe it. The accuracy is slightly better but you may still need to modify a few of the sentences before inputting them. Finally, copy and paste the finished transcribed sentences into Youtube Closed Captions
Click here to access Youtube
2. Veed.io
Veed is another free platform that you could use to generate captions for your pre-recorded videos. All you have to do is upload your video files or add one from your dropbox workspace. You can even create a new recording, either screen, video, or audio, and immediately receive captions for your freshly recorded files.
What’s unique about Veed is its translation feature, allowing you to create captions in multiple languages seamlessly. Their software also comes with a comprehensive set of video editing tools, from video trimming to styling, all to perfect the captions however you want. You will also have the freedom of exporting your captions either as a separate file or as burn-in captions. However, all these premium features come with additional costs, premium plans range from $12 to $24 monthly, depending on your editing needs and team size.
For more information on veed.io and its capabilities, check out their website here.
3. Rev.com
Rev Captioning Services is another software you could use to create captions for your video accurately before your event. With Rev, you just upload your own video files or insert Youtube/ Vimeo links and then you will receive a caption file that you would need to upload to your video within 12-24 hours. Their software also gives you access to a comprehensive set of video editing tools where you can perfect the captions however you want. Furthermore, experts caption your videos, giving Rev a 99% accuracy rate when it comes to this. However, all this does come at a cost, prices range from 25 cents to $7 per minute depending on the language and accuracy you want.
For more information check out their website here.
4. AHD Subtitle Maker
AHD Subtitle Maker allows you to add subtitles or captions to your pre-recorded videos easily and for free. All you need to do is download the application and manually enter the subtitles whenever you want them for the duration of the video. However, it can only be downloaded and installed on a Windows computer, albeit for free, but still this may not work for you.
You can read up on the application and all its features here.
5. Jubler
Jubler, like AHD Subtitle Maker, is another free option for generating closed captions easily before your event. With Jubler though, you are able to see a visual representation of the “audio wave” and then match your captions more accurately. Furthermore, Jubler, unlike AHD Subtitle Maker, is available for both Mac and Window users. However, again, the captions will need to be manually inserted and this application will need to be downloaded first.
You can visit their website here for more details.
So these are the applications and ways we’ve found that will help you use closed captions in an Events.com Virtual event
If you find any others, please do let us know and we’ll be happy to add them to our list!