More people are consuming multimedia content today for various reasons. For one, the content is varied, and the range of topics appeals to different ages and types of audiences. There are also more content producers today catering to the needs of diverse target audiences. In addition, the internet connection is much faster, so video streaming is smoother. Additionally, more people with or without hearing impairment, including those with reading and learning disabilities, can enjoy multimedia content with unique captions.
Top transcription companies like oasisoutsourcing.co.ke offer several video captioning and transcription services as well as tools with various features to ensure that consumers can enjoy more multimedia content when they want.
Choosing the right video captioning and transcription service
Before choosing the right service provider, you should understand the relationship between video captions and transcription. Transcription is the process of converting audio into written text. On the other hand, captioning uses the transcript text, divided into time-coded chunks that you see on screen.
Creating captions is a technical process, and most content creators do not have the knowledge and resources to make the caption files themselves. Instead, they rely on professional captioning and transcription services. It’s a good thing that there are already service providers today, such as Verbit, offering the skills and expertise of their staff and the excellent tools they use to ensure accuracy and appropriateness of the captions.
It is also vital to know that it is a legal requirement to add captions to multimedia content. Content owners must abide by the accessibility compliance as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other related laws. Likewise, broadcasters have to follow the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. Therefore, the content they initially showed on TV must have captions when they are available online.
Moreover, adding captions is a big help to SEO. A caption is considered one of the most potent pieces of information. The internet is text-based. Thus, multimedia content is not accessed by search engines. However, if the video content has captions, search engines can index them quickly, allowing more people to find the content.
When you need professional video transcription and captioning services, it is better to base it on your needs.
- Quantity of content. This refers to the number of video files you have.
- Turnaround time. How soon do you need captions for the videos?
- Quality. This refers to the quality levels of the captions according to their use (for search, internal use, or publishing).
- Difficulty. This refers to whether your videos need to use rare or technical terms, have several speakers with heavy accents, or the audio is of poor quality
- Languages. Do you need the transcription in one language or multiple languages?
- Interactive transcript. Do you need viewers to search videos through tags or transcripts?
There are several more tips, but it is safe to assume that you get the idea. Once you have defined your objectives, look for a service provider with a solution for your specific needs. For example, you might need one that is flexible, offers account management, has 24/7 customer support, with human experts and tech platforms that make customers seek their services.
