Captioning videos is important for accessibility reasons as well as Universal Design for Learning principles. There are various methods to auto-generate captions that can be downloaded and shared on a University of Toronto hosting platform.
These programs use speech recognition to generate captions:
- Classic Microsoft Stream
- The new Stream (OneDrive/Sharepoint)
- Zoom and the Zoom Quercus Integration
Videos hosted online by U of T that are available to the general public must be accompanied by transcripts or captioned for compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). For general information on the AODA see the University of Toronto AODA Office website. Specific details on accessible media are on the AODA Office Accessible Communications page.
Overview of Captioning & Hosting Tools
University of Toronto offers several ways to generate recordings. We recommend using Microsoft Stream or Zoom for their captioning capabilities.
Please read below on how to caption videos created by the various institutionally-available recording tools and how to share captions on those platforms.
Please note:
- Microsoft Teams recordings with transcriptions that are saved to OneDrive or SharePoint can be viewed along with the transcription; however, the captions can’t be edited for accuracy.
- MyMedia does not have a method for generating captions however an caption file from Stream or Zoom can be uploaded to the site along with a video.
Classic Microsoft Stream
Main Features- x Used to host, not record
- ✓ Can autogenerate captions
- ✓ Can edit captions in app
- ✓ Can download caption file for edits
- ✓ Can upload captions with recording
- ✓ Search transcript (future feature)
- ✓ Transcripts in other languages (future feature)
- Ensure that under Details your Video Language is set to English.
- Under the Options tab, choose: Autogenerate captions.
- Once your captions have been generated, a transcript will show to the right of the video in MS Stream.
- Go to the Transcript shown in the pane to the right of the video.
- Select the pencil icon in the top right of the transcript box.
- The edit transcript function allows you to select individual timestamp segments and make the changes you need.
- Select Save to accept the change.
- Access your Videos and change video details by going back to the top menu and selecting My Content > Videos .
- Select the three dots to the right of the “Like” button and select “Update video details” from the drop-down menu.
- On the video details page, select Options and find the captioning information.
- To edit this file you will need to download it by selecting the Download link. It will download to your local computer.
- If you choose to edit in a text editor like Notepad you will need to change the suffix (.vtt) to .txt. Alternatively, you can use the “Open with” function to open the .vtt with Notepad or other text editor. If you use a text editor, once the corrections are complete, you will need to change the file extension back from .txt to .vtt and it is ready to upload.
- You may also choose to use a code editor like Visual Studio Code, which will provide colour context and other useful features. It is free to download. You can right-click on the Caption (.vtt) file and open with Code to edit. There is no need to change the suffix. Save frequently. Save prior to closing. Once finished, you can upload the .vtt file a needed.
Upload Corrected Transcript
Once you have finished and saved a corrected file on your computer, you will need to upload it to MS Stream again. Alternative, you may upload the video and caption file to MyMedia (see following tab). To upload the correct transcript to MS Stream:- Return to the Videos page, select the video, and Update Video Details.
- Under Options, find the Captions section.
- Uncheck the “Autogenerate captions” checkbox.
- You will now see the text “Upload a caption file.”
- Select the link and select the updated caption file on your computer.
- Once uploaded, the newly corrected transcript should appear to the right of your video.
Microsoft Stream
(on SharePoint / OneDrive)
Main Features
- ✓ Uses OneDrive/SharePoint to host – no recording
- ✓ Can autogenerate captions in OneDrive/SharePoint
- ✓ Can’t edit captions in app (future feature)
- ✓ Can download caption file for edits
- ✓ Can upload captions to recording
- ✓ Search transcript
- ✓ Transcripts in other languages (future feature)
The new version of Microsoft Stream integrates with OneDrive/Sharepoint and can also be used to automatically add captions to recordings.
Microsoft has a significant number of features in M365 for videos.
Transcriptions for recordings saved in OneDrive or SharePoint can be generated and saved along with the recording. The recording can’t be edited for accuracy however the automatically generated captions can be downloaded and edited separately.
Autogenerate Captions in OneDrive / Sharepoint
Videos can be up uploaded to OneDrive or Sharepoint and captions can be autogenerated inside the platform. This option is available to anyone with University of Toronto credentials including students.
Steps for Captioning in OneDrive
- Log in to OneDrive with your U of T credentials.
- Select the Upload button in the top menu > Files and upload your video.
- Once the video is uploaded, select and open the video.
- On the top of the video, select Video settings at the top right of the video.
- Use the slider bar beside Transcript and captions to turn on these features.
- Select your caption source.
- Autogenerate captions, select the Generate English button (the only option currently available as of June 2022). It might take a few minutes to generate, depending upon the size of your recording. Use the Refresh button periodically to check progress.
- Upload an existing caption file. If you already have an existing caption file (.vtt) on your computer then you can select Upload to add it. Caption files can be downloaded from MS Stream or Zoom.
- The CC button will be displayed at the bottom of the video and viewers can choose to turn on or off captions as desired.
The caption (.vtt) file can be downloaded from OneDrive and corrected.
Download the .vtt file, change the suffix from .vtt to .txt and edit it like a text file. When finished, save and rename back to. vtt. It can be uploaded back to the OneDrive video.
Note: You may wish to download and host your video and captions on MyMedia or MS Stream. Downloading with captions is a two-step process.
- Download the video from the link on the top menu above the video. This download does not include the caption (.vtt) file.
- Download the caption file: go back to Video Settings > Transcript and captions and use the download arrow beside the captions to get that file, as well.
Refer to MyMedia or Stream documentation on how to upload the file.
MyMedia
MyMedia is the University of Toronto Library’s video hosting solution. Unlike MS Stream Classic, which only offers either sharing with individuals or with the whole of U of T, MyMedia offers flexible sharing options for classes and departments.
Unfortunately, it does not offer a method to caption videos; however, once captions are generated in another program, the file can be added to MyMedia.
To add captions to a video on MyMedia, you must first generate the caption file (.vtt or .srt files) through Microsoft Stream, Zoom, or OneDrive/Sharepoint. Once you have a caption file, download the file per above instructions and make any necessary changes.
Follow instructions on MyMedia Hosting and Sharing for uploading your video.
Adding Captions to MyMedia
Once the video has been uploaded, you can add the caption (.vtt) file to the video.
- Go to the video.
- Select the pencil icon under the video.
- In the sidebar that opens, select the Tracks tab at the top, then select Create New Track.
- Under Select Type, make sure that the Captions option is chosen.
- Select the language for your captions.
- Upload the captions file.
- Your video will now have captions. At this point you can edit any errors directly in MyMedia by going back to the Tracks tab, selecting the pencil icon and editing.
- Viewers can turn on captions by using the “CC” icon at the bottom right of the video.
Zoom and the Zoom Quercus Integration recordings can be saved along with transcription. The file can be downloaded and edited, then saved back to OneDrive or MyMedia, or to the instructor’s computer.
If Transcription is enabled for a Zoom recording, it will also appear beside the recording in an Audio Transcript pane at the right. It can be searched as well as edited. To edit, select the pencil icon beside the text to be fixed, type the required text and select either the checkmark or cancel by selecting the X button.
Refer to Zoom documentation on instructions for enabling, editing and downloading Zoom transcription files.
Refer to the Zoom Quercus Integration if using that version of Zoom.
NOTE: All Zoom cloud recordings have a 365-day retention policy from the day of recording. You can download your Zoom files, including the transcription file, and upload it to MS Stream, OneDrive, MyMedia, or your computer prior to expiry.
Microsoft Teams Meetings recordings are stored in OneDrive for a personal recording or a Team’s SharePoint for a Team group.
Please refer to the OneDrive / SharePoint tab to learn how to generate and download captions.
Note that there is no built-in way to edit captions; in order to edit captions for accuracy they will need to be downloaded and edited separately. Refer to the Classic Microsoft Stream tab to learn how to download and correct captions.
Download Autogenerated Captions to Edit Offline
- To edit this file you will need to download it by selecting the Download link. It will download to your local computer.
- If you choose to edit in a text editor like Notepad you will need to change the suffix (.vtt) to .txt. Alternatively, you can use the “Open with” function to open the .vtt with Notepad or other text editor. If you use a text editor, once the corrections are complete, you will need to change the file extension back from .txt to .vtt and it is ready to upload.
- You may also choose to use a code editor like Visual Studio Code, which will provide colour context and other useful features. It is free to download. You can right-click on the Caption (.vtt) file and open with Code to edit. There is no need to change the suffix. Save frequently. Save prior to closing. Once finished, you can upload the .vtt file a needed.
Edit and Re-Upload Captions
Upload Corrected Transcript
Once you have finished and saved a corrected file on your computer, you will need to upload it back to OneDrive.
- Return to OneDrive.
- Under Options, find the Captions section.
- Uncheck the “Autogenerate captions” checkbox.
- You will now see the text “Upload a caption file.”
- Select the link and select the updated caption file on your computer.
- Once uploaded, the newly corrected transcript should appear to the right of your video.
Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint has the ability to display captions during a presentation. Within Teams, the presenter can also use PowerPoint Live with captions.
There is one big caveat: it is not possible to record your PowerPoint and display captions. The captions do not show up or act unpredictably. If you want to make a recording with PowerPoint, turn off captions first. Then you can upload the recording to Stream or OneDrive to generate captions.
Refer to Microsoft PowerPoint document on how to Present with real-time, automatic captions or subtitles
Captioning Resources
- For more information about generating and editing captions, please refer to the consult Exploring and Captioning Transcription Tools on the Quercus Video and Workshop Recordings page
- Printable PDF (Portable Document File) with advice on creating captions, for both instructors and students. Captioning videos document: Video Captioning
- TAP Resources: https://tatp.utoronto.ca/teaching-toolkit/teaching-with-technology-teaching-online/captions-transcripts/
