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.

Translation service types

You can choose from the following services:

Machine

Also known as ASR, machine translations are generated automatically and provide an average accuracy of approximately 85%.

Machine translations:

• Enable searchable video content
• Support editing
• Support resubmissions
• Can use custom vocabularies and dictionaries to improve accuracy 

Professional

Professional translations are created and reviewed by human transcribers and provide approximately 99% accuracy.

Professional translations:

• Meet accessibility requirements
• Include human review and quality assurance
• Support special instructions for editors and reviewers
• Are recommended for public-facing content such as marketing, learning, and training videos

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 by default.



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 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. 
• Translation source - Select one of the following:
• Existing captions - Use an existing caption file as the source for translation. You can use captions already attached to the entry or upload a caption 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.
• Select Existing captions or Original audio. Defaults to Existing captions if both are available. Options that are unavailable are greyed out.
• Source language - Select the source media language from the drop-down menu. The options in the menu are dependent on your REACH plan.

Captions with 99% accuracy are recommended for the best translations results. You can also upload a caption file to translate (see 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: 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 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 provide instructions for translators and reviewers.

Providing clear, detailed instructions helps improve translation quality and consistency.

You can add instructions in any of the following ways:

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 and 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.”

Speaker identification: “Please include speaker labels where multiple speakers are present.”

Style and 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.”

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.