Captioning and transcription FAQs

If you have a question about captioning and transcription that is not answered in this FAQ, please contact us at captioning@virginia.edu or complete this brief form to request captioning assistance. We will continue to update FAQ information as we address additional questions or issues.

Hosting an event (online or in-person), what do I do?

Advertise. Invite individuals to request accommodations in your announcement/invitation.

Here are some examples:

  • “We will be providing live captions and an accompanying transcript using the built-in automatic speech recognition software (ASR) feature of [insert tool (i.e., Zoom, MS Teams, other)]. Please let us know by [insert date at least 5 days before event] if you would like to request accommodations such as captions by a professional service, ASL interpretation, or other services for your full participation in our event. Contact [insert  contact name] to request these accommodations [contact email, phone].”
  • “The University of Virginia is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. Please contact [name, email, phone] to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs. Please contact us at least 5 days prior to the start of this event.”
  • If recording: “A recording with accurate captions and transcription will be provided within three business days of this event. The recording can be found at: (link to recording web page).”

See step by step instructions.

Please also visit Planning Accessible Programs and Events from the EOCR for more information.

If you have any questions, please complete the captioning request/question form or email us at captioning@virginia.edu,

 

Captioning accommodation request received, what do I do?

For a UVA student:

For a course: The accommodation requires all audio or video course materials used for the semester be captioned and accessible to the student. Any audio media used for your class must have captions available when it is first shown or made available to the students. This includes optional content, as well as student-created video content. Please identify all media you will be using for the semester and the dates on which you will show the material or the students will first need to view.

Check to see if the media you will be using has captions. Check to see if the captions are auto-generated and/or accurate.  Auto-generated captions are often not accurate enough to use to meet an accommodation. 

For the media that does not have captions available or have inaccurate captions, you will need to request captioning service.  Please contact the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Service and Media access coordinator at captioning@virginia.edu. Please note that the turnaround time for captioning service is 5 business days.

For a meeting/event: Please complete the captioning request form or email captioning@virginia.edu.

For faculty/staff:

Please complete the captioning request form or email captioning@virginia.edu.

Will the University pay for my captioning needs?

Captioning for a student accommodation request is always covered by the university. Captioning of academic content (i.e., audio/video played in class or required to view for an assignment, podcast to listen that is required for participation in discussion) is covered by the university. Captioning for public-facing web content should be paid for by the department responsible for the web content. For additional information see professional captioning services and costs.

Please contact us at captioning@virginia.edu if you have questions about how to pay for captioning.

Can I just turn on the automatic closed captions?

Yes and No:  We support the use of automatic closed captions (automatic speech recognition technology) and suggest you turn them on by default for any live or post-production audio or video.  However, these auto-generated captions generally do not meet acceptable standards for accuracy (especially for technical or discipline-specific language) for an accommodation-based need.

If you have received an accommodation request for captioning, please reach out to the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Service Coordinator at captioning@virginia.edu.

What is the difference between 99% accuracy and < 99% accuracy?

Accuracy is derived by the number of errors in a given audible recording.  Errors can be related to formatting of the captions provided or specific word errors such as spelling, punctuation, speaker identification, relevant non-speech sounds, and others. 99% accuracy is the industry standard for caption quality. Accuracy is a critical aspect of the captioning process.

Accuracy effects your content. If not accurate it...

  • Makes you content inaccessible for those with disabilities
  • Alters the meaning of your content
  • Decreases reading comprehension
  • Lacks compliance with FCC, DCMP, and WCAG standards and major accessibility laws

A 99% accuracy rate means that there is a 1% chance of error or leniency of 15 errors total per 1,500 words. A 95% accuracy rate means there will be 25 errors.

Examples:

  • In the trailer for Manchester By The Sea, during a very emotional moment, Michelle Williams’ character is captioned saying “My heart was broken nose is broken too,” rather than “My heart was broken. I know yours is broken, too.”
  • In a recent course, the professor said “He proposed the law of octanes by analogy with the seven intervals of the music scal.” VS. “He proposed the Law of Octaves by analogy with the seven intervals of the music scale.

 

What do I do if I have an audio file? (i.e. Podcast)

If you are sharing an audio-only file like a podcast or another audio recording, you should provide a transcript of the audio via an accessible document or a link to the document on the web page. The link to your transcript should be readily available from the screen where you are sharing the audio file. See the post-production section of the captioning home page for more information.

If you still have questions, please contact captioning@virginia.edu to discuss how we can assist.  

How do I use captions within Zoom?

If you have additional questions, please contact captioning@virginia.edu to discuss how we can assist.

How do I use captions within Panopto?
  • Machine generated speech recognition captions are automatically populated to any video created or uploaded to Panopto.
How do I use captions within My Media?

If you have additional questions, please contact captioning@virginia.edu to discuss how we can assist.

 

I need more assistance, what do I do?

We value your commitment to making your media accessible to all. Please feel free to complete the brief Captioning and Transcription Request/Question Form or contact captioning@virginia.edu to discuss how we can assist you with your captioning efforts.

We are also happy to provide in-person trainings on how to caption your own materials.