As we enter 2025, Videolinq is excited to announce several groundbreaking additions to our closed captioning and subtitles workflow. These enhancements are designed to ensure compliance with global accessibility standards such as FCC, ADA, and AVMSD, furthering our mission to make content universally accessible. These new features empower production companies, broadcasters, and live event producers with greater flexibility and control over how captions and subtitles are displayed and integrated into their projects. Supporting over 60+ languages, here’s what’s new:
Open Captions for Seamless Integration
What It Is:
Open captions are burned directly into the video, making them a permanent and visible part of the broadcast. Unlike closed captions, which viewers can toggle on or off, open captions ensure accessibility for audiences on platforms or devices that do not support traditional closed captions.
How It Helps:
This feature is ideal for public screenings, digital signage, or platforms with limited accessibility options. By ensuring captions are always visible, creators can guarantee their message reaches everyone.
Use Cases:
Film Festivals: A production company showcasing foreign films at a festival can use open captions to translate dialogue into the audience's primary language, ensuring every viewer has the same immersive experience.
Retail Displays: Digital signage in a busy mall can utilize open captions to communicate promotional messages effectively, even in noisy environments where audio might not be clear.
VTT Manifest Pull for Client-Managed Layers
What It Is:
This feature lets clients pull a WebVTT (VTT) manifest for captions directly from Videolinq, enabling seamless integration into third-party systems. Users can now manage captions and subtitles as separate layers in their production environment.
How It Helps:
By offering more control over the caption layer, production teams can fine-tune the appearance and timing of subtitles, ensuring compatibility with their workflows and maintaining high production standards. This functionality supports captions in 60+ languages, guaranteeing accessibility for global audiences.
Use Cases:
Broadcast Networks: A broadcaster using third-party software can pull a VTT manifest to overlay live captions onto their broadcast in real time, maintaining brand consistency.
Interactive Training Sessions: A corporate trainer hosting multilingual webinars can use this feature to display captions in different languages on separate layers, catering to diverse audiences.
HTML Layer Display for Projectors and Streaming Software
What It Is:
With the new HTML layer display functionality, captions can now be rendered as HTML overlays. This makes it easy to project captions onto large screens or integrate them into streaming software like OBS, vMix, NewTek TriCaster, Wirecast, XSplit Broadcaster, and Lightstream Studio.
How It Helps:
This feature simplifies live production workflows by allowing captions to be customized and displayed dynamically without requiring additional rendering software. Production teams can tailor the look and feel of captions to match their event's branding. With support for 60+ languages, these captions can reach diverse audiences across regions and industries.
Use Cases:
Live Events: During a large-scale conference, organizers can project captions onto screens for attendees, ensuring inclusivity for those with difficulty hearing the speaker.
Video Game Streaming: Gaming content creators can use HTML layers to display real-time captions in their streams, engaging viewers from different regions and enhancing accessibility.
Learn More:
Empowering Customers with Expanded Workflows
These updates underscore Videolinq's commitment to providing versatile, customer-driven solutions that enhance workflows and deliver value across industries. Whether you’re a film festival organizer, a broadcaster, or a live event producer, our new features offer you the tools to create impactful and inclusive experiences for your audiences.
Ready to take your captioning and subtitle workflows to the next level? Contact us today to learn more or start your free trial.
Our dedicated technical support team is available to assist customers in implementing these new features, ensuring a seamless transition and maximum impact. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from Videolinq throughout 2025!