About

Translations convert the spoken language in a media entry into another language and appear as subtitles. Viewers can read the translated subtitles in their preferred language while the original audio remains unchanged.

Before you start

• Video must be in "Ready" status (transcoded)
• Your account must have Content Lab enabled
• Your account must have an active REACH profile enabled with relevant catalog item(s)

Access the translation ordering screen 

You can access translation ordering from either the Entries page or the entry details page.

From the Entries page

1. Log into your Rich Media CMS.
The Entries page displays.
2. Locate the desired entry, click the three dots to the right, and select Captions & Translations.

From the entry details page

1. Click on the desired entry.



The entry details page opens.

2. In the left panel, click the Captions tab.



The Captions tab opens.

3. Click Order captions & translations at the top of the page.

The Captions orders window opens.

Order translations

1. Click + Order captions and select Translations.

The Order translations screen displays. 

2. 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 is charged for the translation request.
• Service type - Select Machine or Professional. If both are available, Machine is selected by default. If you select Professional, the optional Instructions field is displayed.
• Translation source - Select one of the following:
• Existing captions - Use captions already attached to the entry or upload a captions file during the ordering process (see Upload a caption file for translation below).  
• Original audio - Translate directly from the entry's audio track. This option may not be available for all vendors or accounts.
If both options are available, Existing captions is selected by default.
• Source language - Select the language spoken in the media. Available languages depend on your REACH plan. 

For the best translation results, use captions with approximately 99% accuracy. You can also upload a captions file to translate (see Upload a captions file to translate below).

• 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. 

3. 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".

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

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.

Upload a captions file to translate

If you select Existing captions as the translation source, you can upload a caption file and use it as the source for translation.

1. Click Upload caption file. 

   

   The Upload captions file screen displays. 

   

2. Click Upload. 
3. Select the captions file on your computer. 
4. Add a descriptive name for the translation. 
5. Select the language. 
6. Click Upload. 

   The uploaded caption file displays. 

   

View orders and perform additional tasks 

You can access orders from either the Entries page or the entry details page.

View status

The Captions orders window displays all requests for the selected media entry. 

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

View order details

In the three-dot menu, select View order details.

The Order details screen displays. 

Cancel order request

1. Click Cancel order request.
2. In the confirmation message, click Cancel request.

Any action items associated with the request are also canceled.

If you try to cancel a request that's already in progress, a message displays: The request is already in progress, therefore cannot be canceled.

Launch editor

See our article Use the captions editor in Content Lab for details.

User experience

Once translations 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 translations to display by default when playback starts. If multiple languages are available, users can select them from the captions sub-menu in the settings.