#CLOSED CAPTIONS VS SUBTITLES HOW TO#

5) Reach viewers from different countriesįinally, subtitles in particular can be great for making content more accessible in terms of language, too. Closed captioning essentially leads to better engagement. Not only do subtitles and captions draw in people who are watching with the sound muted, they can also help with information retention and general engagement from viewers. No matter where you stand on the captions vs subtitles debate, there’s no denying that they help with viewer engagement. Plus, if your closed captioning is in many different languages, your content can rank in them, too! 4) Better viewer engagement You can use this for many platforms, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google. Effectively written captions can help search engines to index content for strong keywords, and this can be used to a creator’s advantage. 3) Search Engine OptimizationĪ little-known perk that comes with closed captioning is the boost to SEO that can come with them. Closed captioning allows language learners to switch between languages, too. Adding these to your video can help to support people who are looking to learn a new language or who simply prefer to watch video content in foreign languages. This tip particularly applies to subtitles, but it can apply to captions too. Closed captioning allows those hard of hearing to have a better viewing experience. Whether you’re adding subtitles or closed captions, improving accessibility is arguably the most important benefit that will come with this move. Video content should be accessible for everyone, and creators should be aiming to meet these demands. Your deaf and hard of hearing viewers frequently come across videos with no captions available, and even no subtitles, too. If you want to upload your video to a video streaming platform that allows closed captions, definitely upload these caption files! 1) Accessibility

It can also help your content reach a wider audience. Now that we’ve covered exactly what the differences are in the captions vs subtitles debate, let’s take a look at why videos with captions work well for a great viewing experience, regardless of your target audience. Why Are Subtitles and Open/Closed Captions Important? Sometimes, people also call closed captioning as closed subtitles in places outside the United States. They normally only include the spoken language and do not account for background noise and music. They can be great for understanding people with heavy accents, or for watching foreign films. On the other hand, subtitles only transcribe spoken words in a video, so they are direct transcripts of the dialogue in a video.

If the video player allows closed captions, definitely go for them. Open captions are directly placed on the video, can't be turned off, and can get quite hard to read if the video quality is bad. You can also swap between closed captions in foreign languages. Closed captions can be turned on and off, and does not get affected by the video quality. In general, closed captions are the better choice for videos. This is why they’re also referred to as: “Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH)”. They were brought into practice thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act to improve accessibility nationwide. You can activate and deactivate closed captions while watching a video, whereas open captions (aka burned in captions) are directly placed on the top of a video and cannot be turned off.Ĭaptions were created to help those who are hard of hearing when watching videos. This includes dialogue, descriptions of noise, non-verbal sounds, background sounds in the original audio, and so on.Ĭaptions can be found in two key forms: open or closed. What’s The Difference Between Captions And Subtitles?Ĭaptions are transcripts of all the auditory moments happening in a video.

#CLOSED CAPTIONS VS SUBTITLES HOW TO#

How to translate subtitles with VEED's video editor.How VEED's video editor can help with subtitles.Why both captions and subtitles are important.The difference between captions vs subtitles.Many people use VEED’s automatic and accurate auto-subtitling tool exactly for these reasons.īut what exactly are the differences between captions vs subtitles? It’s a topic that still confuses many people, and that’s exactly what we’re going to be taking a look at today.

Using captions and subtitles can lead to better engagement with your video content by allowing people to follow your content with the sound off.

Closed captions vs subtitles