Welcome to the VEED guide to Subtitles & Transcription. Weâve put together all the information you could possibly need to know about Subtitles, Captions, Transcription and Translation.
Check out the table of contents below and click on the chapters to read the relevant section.
We created this guide to be your easy-to-read reference for all things Subtitles & Transcription. We hope you find it valuable. And if thereâs anything you think weâve missed, or any other questions you may have, please donât hesitate to get in touch with us via the live chat, or drop us an email. Happy reading!
Subtitles are a transcription or translation of a videoâs dialogue, appearing as text.Â
Some people would say the difference between âsubtitlesâ and âcaptionsâ is that subtitles are a translation of the videoâs dialogue, while captions are in the same language as the video. But most people use them pretty interchangeably.
Subtitles/Captions can be helpful if you are watching a video in a foreign language, and you need help understanding whatâs being said.
They can also be helpful for people who are hard of hearing and want to read what is being said, in the same language as the video. Sometimes these are called SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard-of-hearing).
Captions (in the same language) can also include background noises, like #Telephone rings, whereas subtitles (in a different language) usually donât. Captions can be âClosed Captionsâ (which means you can turn them on/off), or they can be âOpen Captionsâ (which means theyâre always visible).
Check out our Video Caption Generator.
Subtitles that are always visible are called âhardcodedâ. Hereâs some more information on how to Hardcode Subtitles
There are quite a few different types (or formats) of subtitle file. But the main ones are:
SRT - SubRip Subtitle File (best for videos on Facebook)
VTT - Web Video Text Track (best for videos on YouTube & Vimeo)
TXT - Untimed Text Transcript (can be opened by any word processor)
SSA - SubStation Alpha (allows for more advanced subtitles)
ASS - Advanced SubStation Alpha (even more advanced!)
SRT files are the most widely used, and widely supported by media players and online platforms. If youâre not sure which one to use, itâs best to go for SRT.
When adding subtitles, or captions, to a video, itâs a good idea to choose a font that is clear, simple, and easy to read.Â
Arial and Times are good, clear fonts to choose. Make sure the size of the font is well balanced between being large enough to read, and small enough that it doesnât obscure too much of the video.Â
In terms of colour - go for white or yellow, as they are the most visible against different coloured backgrounds. White is easier on the eye, better for longer videos (if your viewers will be reading your subtitles for a while). Yellow is bright and stands out (!) and can be a good way of grabbing your audienceâs attention, for a shorter video.
Hereâs some more info on that: Add Subtitles to Video
These days, you can add subtitles to your video, automatically, using speech-recognition software. Here is VEEDâs auto-subtitle tool. It can recognise over 100 different languages, and even different accents! It can also translate between languages. And if you need to make any edits, you just click on the text, and type. Itâs pretty easy.Â
Transcription is a written or printed version of something - like an mp3, or a video.Â
So, itâs basically just turning the speech from your audio or video file into text.
Transcripts come in lots of different formats - text files (.txt), word files (.doc), pdf files (.pdf), and more.Â
There are also different transcription practices. The two main practices are called âVerbatimâ, and âClean Read Transcriptionâ.Â
Verbatim transcripts are word-for-word. They take absolutely everything (even sounds like âumâ and âerâ) and turn it into text.Â
Clean Read transcripts are tidied-up versions. They remove sounds like âumâ and âerâ, and also correct grammatical mistakes. This makes them easier to read. Makes sense, right?
You can also get interactive transcripts, where each word acts like a link, and when you click on it, you are taken to the point in the video when it is said. This makes finding keywords, and researching topics super-easy.
If you want to find out more about our free transcription software, you can follow the link.
Subtitles make your video more searchable. Creating a text element to your video means that search engines can âcrawlâ your content. This means it will appear in more searches, and higher up search pages and feeds.
Increasing the searchability of your content is also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
An important reason for adding subtitles is, of course, accessibility. Subtitles make your video accessible to:
Did you know ⊠? 85% of Facebook videos are now watched without sound. This is just part of the âclick to listenâ revolution.
It is also important to mention that, in 1990, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) came into effect. This Act requires that an âequivalent experienceâ must be provided for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers (in America only). Essentially, for video content to comply with the law, it has to be captioned. You can read much more about that, in our chapter on Accessibility (Chapter 9).
Creating Transcripts of your audio and video files makes them more searchable. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and itâs just a fancy way of saying - âtrying to make sure content appears in more searches, and higher up the results page.â
Letâs look at two examples:
Transcription is an incredibly useful tool for anyone creating Training Videos, Educational Videos, or Online Training Courses.
You can create interactive transcripts that allow your learners to click on a word, and they will be taken to the point in the video when the word is said. Handy, huh?Â
You can learn more about how to make those kinds of videos, here: Training Videos, Educational Video Maker
You can also create valuable teaching materials out of your transcripts - like âfill in the blanksâ worksheets for language teachers, or exemplar interviews for careers trainers.
Recording your Zoom meetings using our free transcription software can be a great way to provide value to your business. If some attendees were unable to make it, to stay for the whole meeting, or to hear/understand because of Accessibility issues or poor connection ... transcripts are what you need!
Plus, as an added bonus, nobody need take meeting minutes anymore!
Transcripts of meetings can provide an excellent paper trail, be useful for generating attendance records, Action Plans, and more. Check out our page on how to edit zoom recording & create transcripts, to find out more.
Weâve all seen the courtroom drama where thereâs a long, suspenseful pause, and the typist looks up from the typewriter, waiting. Well, the keeping of legal records is another important reason for transcription, and nowadays lots of these records are produced using video.Â
Whether youâre keeping a record of a language lesson, a business meeting, an interview, or an exciting legal case, you can find more info here: Automatically Transcribe Video to Text. You can even do it with audio files - Audio to Text.
Transcripts can also be useful from an Accessibility point of view. As an alternative to subtitles they can provide access to content, for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. We have a whole section on Accessibility (Chapter 9.) below.Â
You can add subtitles to any social media video. And itâs a great idea to do it (!), for lots of reasons. Itâs beneficial for SEO, your video can be watched by more people ⊠and all of this is discussed in Chapter 3. Why use Subtitles?
To find out exactly how to add subtitles to your YouTube or Facebook video, click on the relevant link below, to find out more information:
Add Captions to Facebook video
If youâre using Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or any other social media platform, this is the link for you:
Or you can check out our step-by-step guide, in this Help Article (with YouTube video), here: How To Add Subtitles to a Video
There are lots of different video file formats out there - MP4, AVI, MOV, WEBM ... Sometimes it can be confusing. But weâre here to try to make it simple. You can add subtitles to any video format, using VEED.
Hereâs all the information you need to know about how to ...
And if you have any other video file type (eg. MOV, WEBM, WMV), you can learn more here: Add Subtitles to Video
Easy.
Hardcoded subtitles are the same as âOpen Captionsâ. It just means that the subtitles are always visible (you canât turn them off).
If you want to find out more about how to Hardcode Subtitles - you can follow the link. No problemo.
Editing subtitles is super-easy. Check out our Subtitle Editor. Once youâve typed in your subtitles, or used our auto-subtitle tool to generate subtitles for your video, all you have to do is:
Pretty easy, right? Your changes will appear on the video in real time (which is pretty cool).Â
You can find out more, here - How To Edit Subtitles
Transcribing an audio file can be super-helpful for lots of reasons - SEO, Accessibility, Record Keeping, Teaching Tools, etc. (and this is all discussed in Chapter 4. Why Transcribe?)
To find out exactly how to transcribe an audio file, follow this link: Audio to Text
There, youâll find all the information you need to know on our free transcription software, different file formats, and more.
Itâs pretty comprehensive.
You can even translate your transcription. Check it out here: Translate Audio to Text
Audio files come in lots of different formats - MP3, WAV, M4A, and more. It can be a little overwhelming at first.Â
But, whatever audio file type you are starting with, you can find out more information about how to generate and edit your transcription, here:
If your audio file isnât mentioned above (eg. AAC, OGG) then this is the link for you:
Each page will walk you through the what, how, why, where and when of transcribing audio.
There are a few different ways to save your Transcript file. For example, you can save it as a text file, a word document, or a PDF. Itâs helpful to get your format right, for the person that will be reading it.Â
A text file (.txt) is the most simple and commonly used format. It can be opened by any computer (windows, or mac) without the need for extra software.
A word document (.doc, .docx) requires Microsoft Word (a piece of word-processing software) to be installed. Not everyone has access to a computer with Microsoft Word installed.
A PDF (.pdf) is similar to a word document, in that certain software needs to be installed in order to read it (eg. Adobe Acrobat, or Foxit PDF Reader) - BUT with one important difference, you canât edit it. No changes can be made to the text. You can make notes/marks over the text, but you canât change the text itself. Itâs stuck. Frozen. This is useful for when youâve document looking exactly how you want it, and you donât want any changes to be made.
Transcribing video files was once a laborious and time-consuming process. But now itâs easy!
If youâre looking for more information on how to transcribe a video, then follow this link: Automatically Transcribe Video to Text.
Our handy guide includes everything you need to know about our free transcription software, different file formats, etc.
If youâre looking to Transcribe a YouTube video, straight from its URL (without having to download it), then this is the link for you: Transcribe YouTube Video.
Video Files come in a whole range of different formats. But, no matter what file format your original video file is in, you can convert the speech into text.Â
You can convert MP4 to Text. Or, if you have any other format of video - AVI, MOV, WEBM, WMV, etc. - you can click this link to find out more: Automatically Transcribe Video to Text.
You can also convert your transcription into an array of different file formats. Which one you choose will depend on who will be reading it. Here are some handy guides:
For more information on text files (.txt), word documents (.doc) and PDFs (.pdf), head up to Chapter 6.
SRT (.srt) is the most common subtitle format. However, it may be useful to convert an SRT file into a text file, so that you can read it without the video. Or, you may have a subtitle file that is not compatible with your video player, or doesnât seem to work for some of your users and followers ...
No problem! Itâs time to convert!
No matter which file format you are using, you can convert it. Here are a few examples of formats that you can quickly and easily convert between:
But whatever format youâre using - VTT, ASS, SSA, TXT - you can convert it. Just head over to our Subtitle Converter.
Hereâs a little more information on Subtitle File Types:
SRT - SubRip Subtitle File (best for videos on Facebook)
VTT - Web Video Text Track (best for videos on YouTube & Vimeo)
TXT - Untimed Text Transcript (can be opened by any word processor)
SSA - SubStation Alpha (allows for more advanced subtitles)
ASS - Advanced SubStation Alpha (even more advanced!)
Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing are captions that display a videoâs dialogue as text, in the same language. This helps viewers understand whatâs going on in the video.Â
SDH may also include background noises, like #Dogs barking, or lyrics from songs on the soundtrack.
You can take a look through our full guide, here: SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard-of-hearing)
The American Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. What it means, is that for public video content to comply with the law, it must have captions. This is to provide an âequivalent experienceâ for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Itâs super-interesting. The NAD (National Association of the Deaf) even sued Netflix, in 2010, for not providing captions with all its video content. And Netflix paid an out-of-court settlement, and agreed that by 2014 all of its content would have captions.
Subtitles ensure accessibility for people who speak a different language to the one being used in the video. You can automatically create subtitles (auto-subtitle), and automatically translate those subtitles (Translate Subtitles) into over 100 different languages.
Itâs super easy and quick to do. Just click on the links above, or to find out about which languages we support, click here:
Languages We Support for Subtitle Generation & Translation
More and more people are watching videos without sound. On Facebook, for example, 85% of videos are now being watched without sound.
Itâs funny, itâs almost a return to the era of silent movies. Think Charlie Chaplin meets Instagram!
Subtitles provide accessibility to those viewers who are watching without sound.
Subtitles make videos accessible to people from all around the world, speaking different languages.Â
You can translate your subtitles and transcriptions into over 100 different languages. To find out more check out how to Translate Subtitles, and which Languages We Support for Subtitle Generation & Translation.
You can use subtitle translation to ensure your videos are searched for, and watched by people from all over the globe. It can be a really great way to boost followers, views, and engagement.
Itâs also possible to detect words in the same language being spoken with different accents. For example, English (United States) sounds pretty different to English (Ghana), which sounds pretty different to English (Philippines).
You can use our tool to detect 13 different accents, all speaking English. To try it here, just upload a video (or add it straight from a url, eg. from YouTube), then click âSubtitlesâ > âAuto Subtitlesâ, and select which language and accent you want to detect.
You can translate your videos from Spanish to English, automatically. In fact, you can translate from any language to English (over 100 different languages!)
But for more on Spanish, click here - Spanish Transcription.
Similarly, you can translate from English to Spanish...or, indeed, any language into Spanish. But if your heartâs desire is to translate from English into Spanish, then you can do it. Find out more, here: Translate Subtitles, Translate Audio to Text