Providing closed captions and translations in your live streams creates an accessible environment for your attendees, and it opens the door to a global audience. However, setting up captions and translations often involves added cost and time spent coordinating with a third-party closed caption provider.

Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations uses machine learning to provide live stream captions in the Agenda and Live Stream features in all 30+ languages we support. In the Web App and Mobile App, captions automatically display the language that attendees set in their app profile settings.

Since your Webex Events Streaming credit includes Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, you can use Webex Events Production Studio, Webex Events Streaming by Restream, Webex Events RTMP Player, Webex Events Video on Demand, or Webex Events Simulive without paying extra!

Keep reading to learn how to set up and use Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, and be sure to read the FAQ at the end. 📖

You can use Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations with the following live streaming platforms:

When creating a Live Stream feature or Agenda session, select either 'Webex Events Production Studio', 'Webex Events Streaming by Restream', 'Webex Events RTMP Player', or 'Webex Events Simulive' from the Live Stream drop-down.

⭐️ Keep in mind, for Agenda sessions, you must toggle 'Enable Live Stream' to 'Yes' before selecting an option from the Live Stream drop-down.

Next, toggle 'Enable Closed Captions' to Yes, and select Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations from the 'Closed Captions Provider' drop-down menu.

When you're done, click Save Changes. It's that easy!

Now attendees can activate closed captions and choose a language while viewing your live streams.

Now that you know how to enable Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, let's examine the attendee experience on the web version and the Mobile App.

When attendees join a live stream on the web version of the Event App, they click the 'CC' icon below the lower right corner of the live stream and select a language from the drop-down. Captions then appear below the live stream.

When attendees join a live stream on the Mobile App, they have access to a 'CC' icon and a 'Settings' (⚙️) icon. To turn on captions, attendees simply tap the CC icon.

Tapping the 'Settings' (⚙️) icon opens a window that lets attendees choose their preferred language and also quickly toggle captions on or off.

The Mobile App displays closed captions in a few formats. By default, captions appear under the live stream. To show full caption mode without video, attendees simply swipe up on their mobile device. They can also view captions in landscape mode by turning their phones horizontally.

⭐️ Keep in mind, landscape doesn't support full caption mode.

Now you know all about setting up and using Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations. Read the FAQs below to learn even more!

Here are some common questions and answers we've gathered to help you learn more about Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations.

Webex Events Production Studio, Webex Events Streaming by Restream, Webex Events RTMP Player, and Webex Events Simulive work with Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations on both the Mobile App and web experience. Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations isn’t available for Video Rooms or one-on-one video chats.

It's included for free when you buy a Webex Events Streaming credit.

Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations supports 35 languages — for now. 😉 Read the full list of available languages for more details.

Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations use the same technology as Webex Meetings, so you can expect the same level of accuracy described in this Webex blog post. In summary, machines aren't perfect, so Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations aren't as accurate as a human can be.

If you need the accuracy of human captioning and translation for your live stream or simulive content, use an alternative third-party provider like Syncwords. Learn more in our Third-party Captions & Webex Events Streaming article.

Yes! Both the Mobile App and web version support Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations.

At this time, Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations doesn't supply audio translations. If you need audio translations for your live stream or simulive content, use an alternative third-party provider like Interprefy. Learn more in our Third-party Captions & Webex Events Streaming article.

When you enable Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, the stream starts with a 30-second delay. This affects in-person speakers addressing Q&A with a hybrid audience. In-person attendees at the session who use captions in the live stream will also notice this delay, and for virtual attendees, the stream will start 30 seconds after you go live.

Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations currently only supports English spoken language. For captioning to work, everyone in the session needs to speak English.

We recommend using SyncWords or Interprefy for sessions and live streams with multi-lingual speakers. For more information about our recommended third-party caption providers, check out Third-party Captions & Webex Events Streaming.

If an attendee leaves a live stream and rejoins it, the language they initially chose will remain the selected language option. They will, however, need to turn closed captions on again.

Speakers and event organizers can't use live captions in the Webex Events Production Studio or Restream. Only attendees in the Event App can use closed captions in the live stream.

At this time, recordings from the Webex Events Production Studio or Restream don't include the captions.

At this time, Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations doesn't support caption transcript downloads.

Now that you know all about Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, head over to our Live Streaming Best Practices article for tips on hosting an amazing live stream!