About
You can order live translations for your scheduled events using Content Lab.
Translations are different from captions. See our article Order live captions with Content Lab for details.
Before you start
- Your account must have Content Lab enabled
- Your account must have an active REACH profile enabled with relevant catalog item(s)
- Events must be at least 10 minutes long (600 seconds minimum).
Looking for more information about this feature? Feel free to contact your Kaltura representative.
Live translations ordering is not currently available for Kaltura Virtual Events and Webinars.
Order live translations
- Open Content Lab. For instructions, see Access Content Lab in your Kaltura application.
- Click Captions & Translations.
- Click + Order captions and select Live Translations.
- Complete the following fields:
The Order live translations screen displays.
- 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 translations are enabled when the session is live. Scheduled live translations 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.
- Instructions (Professional only) - Add notes for human editors and reviewers. For example, you can provide guidance on terminology, speaker names, formatting preferences, or accessibility requirements.
5. Click Submit.
A confirmation message displays.
Your translations order appears in the "In Progress" area of the Captions orders screen and is labeled as "Pending".
If you reschedule the event, the original order won't update automatically. Cancel it and place a new order.
Add instructions for professional translations
If you select Professional as the service type, you can use the Instructions field to share terminology or guidance specific to the media with professional reviewers.
You can:
- Type your own instructions in the Instructions field.
- Click a preset tag to populate the Instructions field, then select one of the suggested completions.
- Click a preset tag to populate the Instructions field, then edit or complete the text manually instead of selecting a suggested completion.
Preset tags
Preset tags are grouped into the following categories:
- Terminology & names – Define acronyms, speaker names, proper names, and preferred terminology.
- Include speaker labels – Request speaker labels where multiple speakers are present.
- Style & tone – Preserve wording, simplify phrasing, remove filler words, or maintain a consistent tone.
- Formatting – Improve punctuation, readability, and sentence casing.
- Accessibility – Include non-speech elements and clarify speaker identity.
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 translations 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 translations 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
To avoid disconnects, schedule translations to start slightly before your event, and place the order at least 5 minutes in advance.
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
Start streaming when all translation orders show Scheduled. If the status is Pending, wait and refresh the list.
Best practices for live translations
- Start streaming a few minutes early to ensure full translation 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.
