About

Kaltura’s edit extended audio description (EAD) editor lets you review and edit EAD files for your videos.

Extended audio description files are time-coded text files that the Kaltura player converts into spoken narration using browser speech synthesis. Editing an EAD file allows you to refine descriptions, adjust timing, and improve clarity for viewers who rely on audio description.

EAD files are uploaded in VTT format and edited using the same interface as captions. Editing an EAD file doesn’t change its type or playback behavior.

Access the editor

1. From the user menu, select My Media.



The 'My Media' page displays.



2. Locate the desired media and click the three dots at the far right and select Edit.



The edit media page displays.

3. Click the Captions tab.



The captions and EAD for that media display.

4. Click Edit captions.



The editor displays.

Click the drop-down menu and choose the EAD file you want to edit.



Editor layout



The editor has two main areas - the audio descriptions panel and the player panel.

Audio descriptions panel

The audio descriptions panel lists all audio description cues and provides tools for editing them.

• Audio description file selector - If the entry includes more than one EAD file, you can select the file you want to edit from the list.



• Edit details - Click 'Edit details' to update the audio description’s language, accuracy, or label.
• Search field - Enter a search term and press Enter. Matching results are highlighted.



• Replace - Click Replace to quickly find specific words or phrases and replace them with new text.
• Autoscroll  - Click 'Autoscroll' to automatically follow the audio descriptions while the media plays.
Delete cue - When you hover over a cue, a trash can icon appears. Click the icon to delete the cue.
• Add audio description - Hover over a cue row and click + Add audio description to add a new cue.
• Timestamp - Click a cue’s timestamp to edit the start or end time.

The editor uses the SMPTE time format: hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds (hh:mm:ss,mmm). This format helps you set precise start and end points.

• Text field - Click inside the text field to edit the cue’s content. The editor supports dual-panel viewing so you can work in the list while previewing changes in the player.

Kaltura supports dual screen inside the captions editor. 

Player panel 

The player panel shows the media and plays back audio descriptions using your browser’s text-to-speech voice.

When you click an audio description cue in the panel, the player jumps to the matching timestamp to help you sync text with visual and audio content. 



Editing options

When editing Extended Audio Descriptions, you may need to adjust their timing so everything stays in sync. Because audio descriptions are active from their start time until their end time, they’ll be read out loud if a viewer skips to any moment during that period.

When creating or editing EADs, timestamps must represent the visual scene, not the length of the spoken description. The player uses the start and end times to determine whether a description applies when a viewer seeks or skips during playback. If a viewer jumps to any point within the scene, the description will still play as long as the playback position falls within the defined time range. For this reason, set the start time to when the described visuals begin and the end time to when those visuals end, even if the spoken description finishes earlier or later.

Therefore, after making edits, make sure to set the end timestamp to when the described moment ends, so when users skip, the EADs will be announced during the relevant scene. 

Edit audio description details

1. Click on Edit details. 



The 'Edit audio description details' screen displays. You can update the language, accuracy, and label.



2. Click Save. The information is immediately updated.

Find and replace text

Use find and replace to quickly update wording across multiple audio description cues, such as fixing typos, correcting names, or standardizing phrasing.

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 then click Save at the top right.

A popup displays asking you to confirm audio description accuracy.



5. Move the slider accordingly.

This step indicates that you've reviewed your edits and believe the audio descriptions are correct. It also marks the file as edited for compliance and workflow tracking.

6. Click Save. The search term is replaced immediately.

Add an audio description

1. Hover over the row until you see + Add audio description and then click on it.



A new audio description cue is added.



2. Click inside the text field to edit the content as needed.

When adjusting timing, make sure cues don’t overlap. The editor highlights timing issues in red to help you correct them.  



3. Click Save.

A popup displays asking you to confirm audio description accuracy.



4. Move the slider accordingly.

This step indicates that you've reviewed your edits and believe the audio descriptions are correct. It also marks the file as edited for compliance and workflow tracking.

5. Click Save. The information is updated immediately.

Edit an audio description

1. Click the text of the audio description to activate the text field. 



2. Edit the text as needed.
3. Click Save.

A popup displays asking you to confirm audio description accuracy.



4. Move the slider accordingly.

This step indicates that you've reviewed your edits and believe the audio descriptions are correct. It also marks the file as edited for compliance and workflow tracking.

5. Click Save. The information is updated immediately.