Closed captioning is the text version of the audio played during your video, movie, or TV show. Closed captioning started as a way for the deaf and hard of hearing to understand the audio on television. It includes not only what is said but also music and background noises. Captions are beneficial not only to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities but also to the hearing communities. Studies have shown a drastic increase in viewers' comprehension when videos are captioned compared to videos without captions. They can also help increase your retention and language learning skills. There are several ways of creating closed captioning. The traditional method uses a live captioner and a stenograph. With recent developments in technology, AI, or automated captioning, is now an alternative to a live captioner in many cases.

How is closed captioning automated?

Automated closed captioning systems provide a faster way of making the content we all love more accessible to everyone. Generally, ASR (Automated Speech Recognition) is used to create an automated system. This method uses speech-to-text technology to transfer real-time audio into text and caption data sent out for broadcast.

Why is automated closed captioning important?

Captioning can be a very time-consuming and demanding process. Live captioners can cost hundreds of dollars an hour, and it can be a challenge to find a captioner on demand for emergencies. With an automated system, you can caption on-demand with a few clicks without paying extra or waiting for your captioner to connect.

For post-production, even those who have experience can take anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to transcribe an hour-long video efficiently. With an automated captioning system, you can caption multiple programs in the same amount of time.

Live captioners have some advantages, such as deciphering more complex or unique terms. The biggest drawback to having a live captioner is that they tend to be more expensive in the long run than an automatic captioning device. Automated systems can have a considerable upfront cost that a live captioner would not. However, with an automated system, the user can generally see a return on their investment in under a year.

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) have rules and regulations that require broadcasters to be compliant and provide accessibility. These rules and regulations are important to consider when looking at a captioning solution. Let's look at the ACE Series, an automated captioning solution from Link Electronics.

The technology used for Automated Closed Captioning

Link Electronics provides one of the most accurate and dependable solutions for automated captioning available, The ACE Series.

Why Choose the ACE Series

The ACE Series from Link Electronics includes solutions for live and post-production captioning. The ACE can achieve more than 95% accuracy and only 3 to 5 seconds of latency with quality audio.

It is a server-based automatic speech recognition system that uses a computational linguistics program to convert speech into text and caption data from an audio source. Though an internet connection adds streamlined workflows and remote GUI (Graphical User Interface) access, you do not have to have an internet connection for the system to work. Some key features of the ACE include speaker identification, multi-language captioning, translation, and customizable vocabulary. The ACE can send captions in various ways, including through SDI, XLR, and to some of your favorite streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Zoom, etc. Once a captioning task is complete, a file is created and generated with transcript files for your archives.

The warranty included with the purchase of an ACE system is robust. Our warranty includes 24/7 customer support, system setup, training, customization, software updates, and hardware coverage. We've got you covered if you ever need a replacement unit so you can continue to provide compliant captioning for your viewers.

How Link Electronics can help

The ACE Series comes in various customized solutions to help you solve your captioning needs. Whether you are looking to caption live, post-production, multiple channels simultaneously, or any other custom workflow, we can help. Contact us today to learn more about the ACE Series!