![]() If available, forced subtitles should be displayed in the preferred language set up by the user. To ensure better user experience, forced subtitles content should be included in all other tracks (regular subtitles, SDH, CC). Same goes for closed captions: if set to off, forced subtitles will display, if any. If you set the subtitles to French in order to be able to understand the content, forced subtitles won’t show up since you already have a textual representation of the content. However, imagine you are French and watch a Spanish show for instance. That’s where forced subtitles come into play and ensure that you have a textual representation of what is being said even if you set subtitles to off, hence the « forced » attribute. Despite watching a movie in your native (or any language that does not require you to activate subtitles), you would not be able to understand. A common example would be to translate alien language. We will come back to this later.Īctually, forced subtitles are a text representation of a communication element like a spoken dialogue, specify a character ID that are not described in the original (or dubbed) audio stream. On our platform, if a subtitle or closed captions track is selected by the user, forced subtitles will not show up. Forced subtitles are actually distributed in a separate file and, despite their name, are not necessarily displayed. ![]() ![]() The name « forced » might suggest that they are burned in the video stream like open captions but there is a difference. There is often a misconception around forced subtitles (sometimes referred as forced narratives) as they are mistaken with open captions. The downside might be that part of the audience dislikes the superfluous text burned in the stream. In other cases where closed captions cannot be used for example if you have no control on the media player that will play your file, you may provide open captions to be sure to display a textual translation. Since there is a high chance that the end user is scrolling through content without sound, ensuring the display of text on the video helps catch and retain attention. Open captions are widely used on social media for retention. Because of this, quality and readability may be affected. Think of them as « burned » in the video stream: they are not a separate file. The most important difference between Closed and Open Captions is that Open Captions are always visible and cannot be turned off. This makes the content accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing who can read and understand foreign languages. They can be in the same language of the video original audio and bring some additional non-spoken information (speaker identification, sound effects, etc.) and/or be translated. Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, known as SDH, are a combination between subtitles and closed captions. Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing They’re not part of the stream and both can be turned off. Subtitles and closed captions are separate files that provide information for the receiver to decode. An important note is that they are not supported through digital connections such as HDMI. In terms of appearance, closed captions are usually white text on a black background. For this reason and contrary to subtitles, it will describe spoken dialogues as well as all important audio information such as music, sounds, speaker information when it makes sense (for example narrated content). Closed CaptionsĬlosed Captions on the other hand, assume that the viewer is deaf (or hard of hearing) hence cannot understand what is being said, regardless of the spoken language. You can think of subtitles as the closest translation of what is being said, textually represented on the screen. Subtitles exist in order to help the viewer understand the spoken language in the content being watched, assuming that the viewer can hear. Since both terms are often mixed up, in this post we are going to explain in details the different types of subtitles and captions. Subtitles vs Captions: a matter of accessibility Wait, what? Subtitles and captions are not the same? Have you noticed the popular « cc » logo in a player you use, standing for « Closed Captions » but you have never heard of Open Captions? In this article we are going to dive into the different textual representations used in the streaming world. Subtitles, open captions, closed captions, SDH, oh my!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |