Captions are created for each Panopto recording’s audio content. Captions are a text version of the audio content, synchronized with the video. They are essential for ensuring your recording is accessible to all students and staff. For example, captions provide accessible content to users who are deaf or cannot hear the audio. They are also used by those who process written information better than audio.
Imperial College offers the option of two captioning providers for recordings in Panopto: Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Verbit transcription services.
Panopto will generate captions for all new recordings that are added to a folder using ASR. Where a high level of captioning accuracy is required for a recording, there is the option of human transcription through our integration with Verbit.
For further help, please see the Imperial College guidance on providing descriptive captions for your recordings as well as the information on producing accessible content for the web.
TABS
ASR captions are generated for all-new recordings that are added to a folder. Please note that machine-generated captions will not be as accurate as human transcription and therefore it is recommended these are revised and edited before being made available to students. Due to this, the following text will be automatically added to the beginning of all Panopto recordings and play for 5 seconds:
The video captioning displayed here is not 100% accurate – please cross-reference against the primary sources (i.e. lecture slides and any accompanying notes) and contact the lecturer if you have queries.
Availability
- For recordings one hour or shorter, captions will be available after 8 hours or sooner.
- For recordings over an hour, captions will available after 24 hours or sooner.
Once the captions have been processed, a CC Icon will appear next to the recording when viewed in the folder.
Editing ASR Captions
Users who wish to edit captions on a recording must have creator access to the relevant folder.
Once captions have been successfully processed, you can edit their text by the following the instructions on how to edit on the Panopto Support page.
Captioning for existing recordings
Captions are generated at the time a recording is uploaded. For older recordings the captioning quality will have a lower accuracy than newer recordings due to improvements in ASR technology.
Please follow these instructions to add ASR captions to a Panopto recording:
- Navigate to the recording that you wish to add captions to and open the Panopto Editor by hovering over the recording and selecting Edit.
- Select Captions from the left-hand menu, and then select the Import captions drop-down menu. Select Captions from the left-hand menu, and then select the Import captions drop-down menu.
- If no captions currently exist, you can request ASR captions for this recording by selecting Import automatic captions.
- Once the captions have been requested, you will receive an estimate for the time taken to process. Select Apply in the top right-hand corner to save your changes and then allow time for the captions to process.
It is recommended captions are revised and edited before being made available to students.
The Import automatic captions option was made available by Panopto on 17/12/2016. Any sessions recorded before that date will need to have captions processed by Panopto support. Please raise a request with the Service Desk via ASK if this is required.
Further assistance on providing captions
Please see the Imperial College guidance on providing descriptive captions for your recordings.