Transcriptionists vs. Captioners: What's the Difference and What are the Benefits of Each?

Transcription and captioning are two services that are often confused with one another. Transcriptionists and captioners are both professionals that help turn spoken audio or video into written text. While they both serve a similar purpose, they have different roles and responsibilities. In this article, we'll explore the differences between transcriptionists and captioners, the benefits of hiring each, and how closed captions fit into the equation.

Introduction to Transcriptionists vs. Captioners

A transcriptionist is a professional who takes audio or video recordings of conversations or lectures and creates a written record. They listen to the recording and type out everything that is said. Transcriptionists may specialize in a specific field, such as legal or medical. Transcriptionists are often invaluable to any business or organization, providing an accurate written record of what was said.

A captioner is a professional that creates captions for videos or television programs. They create captions by listening to a live broadcast and typing the spoken words as they hear them. Captioners must have a keen eye for detail and an ear for dialogue to ensure that all spoken words are transcribed accurately. Captioners are often hired to create captions for videos broadcasted on television or online and videos that students and teachers use for educational purposes.

Transcriptionists vs. Captioners: What's the difference?

The main difference between a transcriptionist and a captioner is their work format. A transcriptionist takes audio or video recordings and creates a written record of what was said. A captioner takes audio or video recordings and creates captions of what is being said. A transcriptionist listens to the recording and types out what the speakers say, while a captioner listens to the broadcast live and documents what the speakers say.

Another difference between a transcriptionist and a captioner is the level of accuracy required. A transcriptionist must be able to type out what is being said accurately, but the transcriptionists do not have to ensure that the words are in sync with the audio or video. On the other hand, a captioner must ensure that the words they type out are in sync with what is being said in the recording as well as being accurate in what they caption. Due to legal requirements from the FCC and ADA, captioners require higher accuracy and attention to detail. In fact, television stations are required to provide captions, and those who fail to do so are fined substantially.

While these two jobs sound similar, transcription cannot replace captions. This is because captions are time coded to the video allowing the captions to sync with the video. In live captioning, captioners send the caption data back to the broadcaster as something called the CDP. It includes all of the caption and timestamping information. For a post-production video, the captions are typically created as a .srt file which provides the time codes for the video.

Benefits of Hiring a Transcriptionist

Hiring a transcriptionist can be beneficial in many ways. A transcriptionist can accurately record meetings, lectures, and other conversations for businesses and organizations. Transcriptions can be helpful for legal purposes and for creating archives of essential discussions. Transcriptionists can also help develop written records of interviews, focus groups, and other meaningful conversations.

Having a written record of the conversations or interviews is often helpful when conducting research. A transcriptionist can provide an accurate written record of these conversations, which can benefit data analysis and other research activities.

Benefits of Hiring a Captioner

Hiring a captioner benefits any business or organization producing video content. Captioners ensure that all the spoken dialogue in the video is accurately captioned and in sync with the video. Captioners help make videos more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing, ensuring that all spoken dialogue is visible on the screen.

Captioners can also help improve the viewing experience for those watching the video. By providing captions of what is said, viewers can easily follow along with the dialogue and understand what is happening in the video. In fact, captioned videos see an increase in viewers and time spent watching videos. Captions can be especially helpful for viewers who are hearing impaired. This is also true for viewers who are watching the video in a noisy environment.

Conclusion

Transcriptionists and captioners are both professionals that help turn spoken audio or video into written text. While they both serve a similar purpose, they have different roles and responsibilities. Transcriptionists take audio or video recordings and create a written record of what was said, while captioners take audio or video recordings and create captions of what is said.

Closed captions are a type of captioning service that is used to provide subtitles to videos. Closed captions help make videos more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing and make videos easier to understand for those who are watching in a noisy environment or for those who speak another language.

If you're looking for a way to make your videos more accessible and easier to understand, closed captions may be the right choice. Hiring a transcriptionist or captioner can help ensure that all of the spoken dialogue in your videos is accurately transcribed and in sync with the video.

Whether you want to transcribe your audio files or caption your broadcasts, the ACE series of Automatic Caption Engines is here to provide fully compliant, accurate, and accessible captioning and transcription. It can caption in multiple languages, translate, and be customized to fit your specific vocabulary needs. Contact us today to learn more about the ACE!