About

You can order live captions and translations for your scheduled events using Content Lab. 

Captions primarily convey dialogue and other relevant audio information, making videos accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or for viewers who prefer to watch videos without sound. 

They're typically in the same language as the video, and are important for viewers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or prefer watching without sound. 

Translations convert the spoken language in a video into another language and appear as subtitles. These subtitles provide viewers with the dialogue in their preferred language while keeping the original audio intact. 

Before you start

• Your account must have Content Lab enabled
• Your account must have an active REACH profile enabled with relevant catalog item(s)

Access the Content Lab

Steps for accessing the Content Lab vary depending on the Kaltura application. 

Rich Media CMS - 

Access the Content Lab through the Create with content lab button on the Entries list or on the Entry Details page. 

Legacy Video Portal - 

Access the Content Lab through the Create with content lab button on the Media page. 

Kaltura Events - Access the Content Lab through the Create with content lab button on the Edit session page or the Edit media page. 

LMS Video - Access the Content Lab through the Create with content lab button on the Media page. 

 

Appearance of the Content Lab

The appearance of the Content Lab varies depending on the Kaltura application. 

Rich Media CMS - 

After clicking the Create with content lab button on the Entries list or on the Entry Details page in Rich Media CMS, the 'Get more from your video' screen displays.

Legacy Video Portal, Kaltura Events, and LMS Video - 

After clicking the Create with content lab button on -

• the Media page in Legacy Video Portal
• the Edit session page or the Edit media page on Kaltura Events
• the Media page in LMS Video

the 'Create with AI screen' displays. Here's one example from the list above - accessing the Content Lab through the Create with content lab button on the Media page in Legacy Video Portal: 

Order live captions and translations with Content Lab

1. Click Create with content lab. 
   
   The 'Get more from your video' screen displays.
    
   
   Content Lab in Rich Media CMS
   
   This is the Content Lab's main menu. Options shown vary depending on the services configured for your account.
2.  Click Captions & Translations.
   The Captions & Translations screen displays.
   
   
3. Click + Order captions.
   
   Two options display - 
   Live closed captions (CC) - Generate captions from audio 
   Live translations - Create captions in another language
   
   

Order Live closed captions (CC)

Click Live closed captions (CC) on the Captions & Translations screen. 

The Order live captions screen displays. 

Machine captions -

Under Service Type, click to select Machine. 

1. Complete the following fields:

• Unit – This option only appears in the event that different Reach profiles (budgets) are configured for each unit in your account. The selected unit will be charged for the captions request.
• Service mode - Select Auto-start or Scheduled. Auto-start live captions are enabled when the session is live. Scheduled live captions are arranged in advance. If you choose Scheduled, two additional configurations display - Pre- and Post-session buffers. 
• Service Type - Select Machine.
• Source language - Select the source media language from the drop-down menu. The options in the menu are dependent on your Reach plan.
• Vendor - Select the vendor. Items in this drop-down list appear as "Vendor Name + Turnaround time of the catalog item + Catalog item name" with available vendors based on catalog items.  

2. Click Submit.

A confirmation message displays: Live captions are being created. This may take a few minutes. Click the X at the top right to close the message.
Your captions order appears in the "In Progress" area of the Captions & Translations screen and is labeled as "Pending".
If Auto-start was selected, your live captions are enabled when the session is live. If Scheduled was selected, your live captions behave as configured.  

Pre and Post-session buffer

If you choose Service mode - Scheduled, you have the option of adding pre- and post-session buffers. 

Pre-session buffer (minutes) - Choose when captioning should start: 

• at the beginning of the event
• 15 minutes before the event starts (recommended)
• 30 minutes before the event starts
• 60 minutes before the event starts

Post-session buffer (minutes) - Choose how long captions should continue after the scheduled end time:

• at the end of the event
• 15 minutes after the event ends 
• 30 minutes after the event ends
• 60 minutes after the event ends

Professional captions -

Under Service Type, click to select Professional service. 

1. Complete the following fields:

• Unit – This option only appears in the event that different Reach profiles (budgets) are configured for each unit in your account. The selected unit will be charged for the captions request.
  
• Service mode - Select Auto-start or Scheduled. Auto-start live captions are enabled when the session is live. Scheduled live captions are arranged in advance. If you choose Scheduled, two additional configurations display - Pre- and Post-session buffers. 
• Service type - Select Professional.
• Source Language - Select the source media language from the drop-down menu (this is the language the video is currently in). The options in the drop-down menu are dependent on your Reach plan.
• Vendor - Select the vendor. Items in this drop-down list appear as "Vendor Name + Turnaround time of the catalog item + Catalog item name" with available vendors based on catalog items. 
• Instructions (Optional) - This box is relevant for professional captions only and is used for adding notes for the attention of human editors and reviewers.
  
  Option 1: Manually type your own instructions in the Instructions field.
  
  Option 2: Click on a preset tag provided below the Instructions field. The Instructions field is populated with that tag and a list of suggestions for additional text instructions displays. Click on one of the suggestions to autocomplete the instructions.
  
  Option 3: Click on a preset tag. The Instructions field is populated with that tag and a list of suggestions for additional text instructions displays. Instead of clicking on one of the suggestions to autocomplete the instructions, manually type in the Instructions field to complete the text.
  
  Following are the available preset tags:
  
  - Terminology & Names:
  
  Define acronyms “Please define acronyms at first use and use them consistently throughout.”

  Use correct speaker names “Please ensure speaker names and titles are accurate and used consistently.”
  
  Use correct proper names “Please ensure all proper names (e.g., brands, products, organizations, and titles) are accurate and used consistently.“
  
  Use consistent terminology “Please use consistent and accurate terminology throughout.”
  
  - Include speaker labels: 
  Please include speaker labels where multiple speakers are present
  
  - Style & Tone: 
  
  Preserve original wording “Please preserve the original wording and phrasing as much as possible.”
  
  Remove filler words “Please remove filler words where they do not affect meaning.”
  
  Simplify wording “Please simplify complex phrasing where possible while preserving meaning.“
  
  Maintain consistent tone “Please maintain a clear and consistent tone throughout.”
  
  - Formatting:
  
  Ensure correct punctuation “Please ensure punctuation is accurate and consistent.”
  
  Format for readability “Please format captions for clarity and readability.”
  
  Use consistent casing “Please use consistent sentence casing throughout.”
  
  - Accessibility:  
  
  Include non-speech elements “Please include relevant non-speech elements such as sound effects where appropriate.”
  
  Clarify speaker identity “Please ensure speakers are clearly identified when needed for understanding.”
  
  

  2. Click Submit. A confirmation message displays: Live captions are being created. This may take a few minutes. Click the X at the top right to close the message.
  
  Your captions order appears in the "In Progress" area of the Captions screen and is labeled as "Pending".  
  If Auto-start was selected, your live captions are enabled when the session is live. If Scheduled was selected, your live captions behave as configured.

Status definitions

• Pending - The request hasn’t been opened yet
• Scheduled - The request has been accepted and is being processed
• Completed - The captioning job was completed successfully 

Best practices for live captioning

• Start streaming a few minutes early to ensure full caption coverage.
• Order machine captions at least 15 minutes before the event
• You can cancel machine orders anytime before the event. 
• Captions apply to the primary stream only - backup streams aren’t supported.
• Events must be at least 10 minutes long (600 seconds minimum).
• Captions can run up to 8 hours per session.

View captions orders and perform additional tasks

Navigate back to the Content Lab's main menu. The number of requests are displayed in the Captions & Translations box. 

Click on the Captions & Translations box to open the Captions orders screen. In our example below, there are three existing captions orders - one is an auto-start order that will be enabled when the session is live, one is in Pending status, and one is in Ready status. 

Status types

The following statuses are available for captions requests:

Pending - when generating new request

Pending for Moderation - requests in approval queue

Rejected - requests that were rejected on moderation. This status must include reject reason.

Processing - sent to the vendor and vendor received request (you cannot cancel a request when the status is Processing)

Completed - when captions were received from the vendor

Error - an error was sent from the vendor

Aborted

Manage captions assets

Click Manage captions assets.  

The Captions tab of the Entry details page in Rich Media CMS displays.

For complete information on this tab, see Upload and manage captions in Rich Media CMS.

Additional tasks

Click on the three dots to the right of the request and choose from the available options depending on status type:

View order details - available for all statuses

Cancel order request - only available for Pending

Launch editor - only available for Ready

Download - only available for Ready

View order details

Click View order details. The Order details screen displays. 

Cancel order request

1. Click Cancel order request. Note, any action items associated with the request will be canceled. A confirmation message displays.
    
2. Click Cancel request.
   If you try to delete a request that's already in progress, a message displays: The request is already in progress, therefore cannot be canceled.

Launch editor 

Click Launch editor. The Captions editor opens. 

Editor layout

The editor includes two main areas:

• Captions panel – Displays caption lines and editing tools
• Player panel – Displays the video for real-time preview

When you select a caption line, the player jumps to the relevant point in the video. The selected caption is also displayed below the player, allowing you to preview it in context while editing.

Captions panel 

The captions panel includes:

• Captions dropdown – Select a different caption file if multiple files exist
• Edit details – Update caption language, accuracy, and label
• Search – Enter a term and press Enter to highlight matches
• Replace – Find and replace text across captions
• Add speaker – Add speaker names to selected rows
• Autoscroll – Automatically scroll captions during playback
• Delete caption – Delete a caption line (available on hover)
• Add caption – Add a new caption line (available on hover)
• Timestamp – Edit start and end times

The editor uses SMPTE time format (hh:mm:ss,mmm) for precise timing.

• Caption text – Edit the caption content

Player panel 

The player panel lets you preview captions alongside the video.

• Playback controls and keyboard shortcuts help you fine-tune caption timing and align captions with audio and visuals
• Selecting a caption line moves the player to the correct timestamp
• The active caption is displayed below the player for easy reference during editing

Edit caption details

1. Click Edit details. 



The 'Edit caption details' window opens.

2. Update the caption's language, accuracy, and label.



3. Click Save.
Changes are applied immediately.

Find and replace text

1. Click Replace. 



2. Enter the search term in the Find match field. 
3. Enter the replacement term in the Replace with field.



4. Click Replace.
5. Click Save.

You are asked to confirm captions accuracy.



6. Move the slider accordingly, then click Save.
The search term is replaced immediately.

Add speaker names

1. Select the row(s) where you want to add the speakers, then click Add speaker.
2. In the 'Speaker name' field, type the name.



3. Click Add Speaker.
The name is added to the selected captions.



4. Click Save.
You are asked to confirm captions accuracy.



5. Move the slider accordingly, then click Save.  
The information is immediately updated.

Add a caption line

1. Hover over a caption row and click + Add caption.



The caption is duplicated.



2. Click the text field and enter the new caption.

Adjust timing as needed. Overlapping timestamps are highlighted for correction.



3.  Click Save.
You are asked to confirm captions accuracy.



4. Move the slider accordingly, then click Save.
The information is immediately updated.

Edit a caption line

1. Click a caption line.
2. Update the text as needed.



3. Click Save.



You are asked to confirm captions accuracy.



4. Move the slider accordingly, then click Save.
The information is immediately updated.

Revert or save changes

• Revert restores the last saved version
• Save applies your changes

Keyboard shortcuts  

• Player seek 5S backwards = Ctrl <-
• Player seek 2S backwards = <-
• Player seek to 0 = Home and in Mac Command <-
• Player pause-play toggle = space 
• Player seek 5S forward = Ctrl ->
• Player seek 2S forward = ->

Download 

Click Download. The captions file is downloaded to your machine. 

User experience

Once captions are ready, they’re automatically added to the media. Depending on admin settings, a CC button may appear, letting users toggle captions on or off. Admins can also set captions to display by default when playback starts. If multiple caption languages are available, users can select them from the captions sub-menu in the settings.

Order Live translations 

Click Live Translations on the Captions & Translations screen.

The Order live translations screen displays. 

1. Complete the following fields:

• Unit – This option only appears in the event that different Reach profiles (budgets) are configured for each unit in your account. The selected unit will be charged for the translation request.
• Service type - Select Machine or Professional. Defaults to Machine if both are available. Options that are unavailable are greyed out. If you choose Professional, one optional field displays - Instructions. 
• Service mode - Select Auto-start or Scheduled. Auto-start live captions are enabled when the session is live. Scheduled live captions are arranged in advance. If you choose Scheduled, two additional configurations display - Pre- and Post-session buffers. 
• Source language - Select the source media language from the drop-down menu. The options in the menu are dependent on your REACH plan.
• Target language - Select the desired language(s) you want the translations in from the drop-down menu. The options are dependent on your REACH plan. 

2. Click Submit.

A confirmation message displays: Translations are being created. This may take a few minutes. Click the X at the top right to close the message.
Your translations order appears in the "In Progress" area of the Captions & Translations screen and is labeled as "Pending".

When the translations are ready, they are automatically added to the video.

Pre and Post-session buffer

If you choose Service mode - Scheduled, you have the option of adding pre- and post-session buffers. 

Pre-session buffer (minutes) - Choose when captioning should start: 

• at the beginning of the event
• 15 minutes before the event starts (recommended)
• 30 minutes before the event starts
• 60 minutes before the event starts

Post-session buffer (minutes) - Choose how long captions should continue after the scheduled end time:

• at the end of the event
• 15 minutes after the event ends 
• 30 minutes after the event ends
• 60 minutes after the event ends

Instructions

If you choose Service type - Professional, you have the option of adding special instructions for the attention of the editors and reviewers. 

Provide clear and detailed instructions for your translations. The more information you include, the higher the chance of achieving your desired outcome.

Option 1: Manually type your own instructions in the Instructions field. 

Option 2: Click on a preset tag provided below the Instructions field. The Instructions field is populated with that tag and a list of suggestions for additional text instructions displays. Click on one of the suggestions to autocomplete the instructions. 

Option 3: Click on a preset tag. The Instructions field is populated with that tag and a list of suggestions for additional text instructions displays. Instead of clicking on one of the suggestions to autocomplete the instructions, manually type in the Instructions field to complete the text. 

Following are the available preset tags:

- Terminology & Names: 

Define acronyms “Please define acronyms at first use and use them consistently throughout.”

Use correct speaker names “Please ensure speaker names and titles are accurate and used consistently.”

Use correct proper names “Please ensure all proper names (e.g., brands, products, organizations, and titles) are accurate and used consistently.“

Use consistent terminology “Please use consistent and accurate terminology throughout.”

- Include speaker labels: “Please include speaker labels where multiple speakers are present.”

- Style & Tone: 

Preserve original wording “Please preserve the original wording and phrasing as much as possible.”

Remove filler words “Please remove filler words where they do not affect meaning.”

Simplify wording “Please simplify complex phrasing where possible while preserving meaning.“

Maintain consistent tone “Please maintain a clear and consistent tone throughout.”

- Formatting: 

Ensure correct punctuation “Please ensure punctuation is accurate and consistent.”

Format for readability “Please format captions for clarity and readability.”

Use consistent casing “Please use consistent sentence casing throughout.”

- Accessibility: 

Include non-speech elements “Please include relevant non-speech elements such as sound effects where appropriate.”

Clarify speaker identity “Please ensure speakers are clearly identified when needed for understanding.”

Status definitions

• Pending - The request hasn’t been opened yet
• Scheduled - The request has been accepted and is being processed
• Completed - The translation job was completed successfully 

Best practices for live translations

• Start streaming a few minutes early to ensure full caption coverage.
• Order machine translations at least 15 minutes before the event.
• You can cancel machine orders anytime before the event. 
• Translations apply to the primary stream only - backup streams aren’t supported.
• Events must be at least 10 minutes long (600 seconds minimum).
• Translations can run up to 8 hours per session.