Caption file Import

CaptionSync allows you to import existing caption files, so that you can generate a Smart Player instance for a captioned video, or request Audio Description services, or both. In this article we show how to use our Caption Import feature.

Overview:

If you have an SRT or VTT standalone caption file for a video, you can upload it to our system, along with the media file, or a link to the media file, and have the following delivered:

• A caption file in a different format;
• A Smart Player instance for your video;
• Audio Description;
• Open Audio Description (if Audio Description is requested too).

If you are interested in our Caption file Import feature, please open a Support ticket and let us know more about your needs and workflow.

How to use the Caption file Import feature:

If we have enabled your account for this feature, there will be a new form available, under Caption/Transcribe -> Import Captions. If you are interested in also converting your SRT or VTT file to another format, go to Caption/Transcribe -> New Captioning Submission first. Open the Advanced Settings and check that you have the desired outputs selected. Ensure you save the settings as default.

Go to Caption/Transcribe -> Import Captions. Select the language setting (the language the audio is in) under the "Submission Settings" box (right-hand side of the page). Fill out the Description field in the form. On step #2, "Requested Options", you can select to either have a Smart Player instance created for your video; or, request Audio Description; or, request both:

If you request Audio Description, you can also order Open Audio Description:

Under step #3, you can supply the media file. If you are requesting a Smart Player instance, you need to provide us with a URL to the media file, in the following format:

http://www.domain.com/path/to/video_filename.mp4

Note: YouTube and Vimeo URLs are currently not accepted.
If you are requesting solely Audio Description, then you can upload a media file.

Finally, you can upload the SRT or VTT caption file on step #4:

When you have all the steps completed, click Start Upload. Once the request is processed, you can monitor its progress under Caption/Transcribe -> Status of Submissions. If you also ordered Audio Description, you can monitor the progress of the request, under Describe -> Status of Audio Descriptions. 

Batch Import feature:

You can also submit multiple caption and media files at a time, in a Caption file Import request, using our Batch Import feature, available in the Import Captions page.

You'll just need to provide us with a .csv file containing the links to the caption files, as well a links to the each of the videos, in a format our system accepts. If you're also requesting Audio Description, Open Audio Description and/or a Smart Player link, make sure to choose the corresponding options in the .csv file, before uploading.