Difference Between Captioning Apps
Captioning video content – live or pre-recorded – has become a standard practice in many industries around the world. It is, in essence, another means of communication. It transforms the message or supports it. There is no real negative to its use other than expense and accuracy. These two variables, though, don’t necessarily make much difference to whether a business will say yes or no to captioning their content, but they are difference makers to how they will achieve their captions. Apps which can be downloaded onto a mobile device are often the go-to options for solutions of this kind. This often because smartphones are capable of high-quality recordings and having an app which you can import the video to within the same device is convenient. Therefore, we will look at what users should look at when they’re comparing captioning apps. However, within this comparison, there will be nods towards possible software alternatives which could provide more value. Here are some things to consider.
Type of Content and Compatibility
A fundamental point of difference will likely be what kind of operating system your device has and, therefore, which app you will be able to use. Not all apps will work on both Android and iOS devices. This is a simple point. However, it is one worth bearing in mind.
The next fundamental point of difference will likely be what kind of content the app allows you to caption. As mentioned, live and pre-recorded content can be captioned. Your business or creator habits might require captions for both types.
You might run a business which produces educational content, a booming market: both recorded videos of little teaching points and explanations of concepts and live seminar/classroom work presenting concepts with a more interactive atmosphere. Not all apps will cater to this. Free versions and paid versions offer different features. Most of the free ones are only capable of captioning pre-recorded content. For live content, the audience member will need the app, which they will have to hold close to the speaker so the app can perform its speech-to-text function. This offsets the responsibility from the creator/business to the audience, which might not be received too well. Spending time perfecting a presentation to then ask an audience to download an app isn’t the best idea.
Software can solve this issue. Services supplied by businesses like Verbit offer solutions within other software: Verbit’s AI-powered closed captioning software can be used in Zoom, for instance.
Accuracy
There is the question of accuracy to consider too. The free apps will likely have issues deciphering words and organising them in coherent sentences. This is simply a case of the logic of the market: input costs and output costs. The YouTube closed caption AI struggles, and they’ve recently removed the feature which allowed the community to contribute to the captions. If an app is inaccurate then creators are able to make corrections. However, this might not be enough of salvage for some creators/businesses. Software or a service, often paid for, will offer a guarantee of high-percentage accuracy. Additionally, extensions are another option for free alternatives. If budgets are tight, accuracy will likely have to be sacrificed in the initial stage and having the correct them afterwards expected.