Can you please turn on the captions? How many of us have said this at least once when watching a movie or our favorite TV series? Besides being a legal requirement in some regions, adding captions to videos can turn out to bring great benefits to both creators and audiences.
In terms of accessibility, transcribing video and audio to text only brings forth advantages by enhancing the viewing experience and being inclusive for anyone who is unable to listen. Stay close to learn everything you need to know about video transcribers and accessibility.
All About Video to Text Transcription
Transcribing video or audio to text for better accessibility is not a complicated process. It mainly involves the conversion of spoken dialogue into a written text format. Oftentimes, the transcription process includes more than just spoken words, like a description of elements that don’t fall under the speech category, sound cues, or other on-screen text elements.
More simply put, you might recall seeing captions like [ominous music] or [silently crying] that describe non-speech elements, which in turn contribute to the cinematic atmosphere and overall viewing experience.
Converting video to text can be done manually. This means literally transcribing the dialogue by hand which adds up to hours of manual work. However, this isn’t a feasible solution when you’ve got many alternatives that turn hours of tedious transcription into a click of a button with seconds to spare. There are many online video transcribers that automatically turn video and audio into text, saving you precious time, so this is great news.
Now, the way most software solutions or applications work when it comes to converting video to text is through a download and installation process that takes up space on your computer. Some even come with heavy processing and rendering times, making it seem a little discouraging when all you’re looking for is a simple transcription. That being said, if you’re looking for a free online video transcription solution, Flixier is the way to go for more than one reason.
You can use the online video transcriber at no cost, alongside hundreds of other video editing tools. The best part is that if you decide to upgrade, Flixier comes with two premium subscription plans, Pro and Business, so you can properly scale your video editing needs.
The great news is that you don’t even need to download and install anything since this tool runs directly in your browser, so you only need a steady internet connection. With this online tool you can transcribe video to text automatically and end up saving time, effort, and money otherwise spent on outsourcing transcription services or other expensive apps.
5 Reasons Why You Should Transcribe Video to Text for Accessibility
Getting back to our previous example of captions describing dialogue and non-speech audio elements such as the background music, imagine what it would be like to not be able to follow the action of a film due to hearing impairments. The importance of accessibility through transcription must never be underestimated or overlooked, as it benefits both creators and audiences. Let’s dive right into the main benefits of converting video to text through captions for better accessibility.
◈ Make Your Videos Accessible to Everyone
Perhaps the best reason to convert video or audio to text and implement it as captions is to help people with disabilities. Not only can you offer a beautiful viewing experience to those with hearing impairments, but you can also help viewers with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or APD (auditory processing disorder) through more accessible means of enjoying video content.
◈ Create an Overall Better Viewing Experience
When you choose to convert video or audio to text and add captions, you are essentially establishing an extra layer of engagement. Not only does this improve the comprehension of the entire topic of your video, but it also makes it accessible on the go. Many people scroll while commuting, or during their lunch breaks, and these are only a few examples of environments where watching videos at full volume is impossible.
◈ Find Specific Quotes, Moments, or Snippets Easier
There are entire Instagram and TikTok accounts dedicated to screenshots from famous movies or snippets of viral videos. What do they all have in common? You guessed it: captions. Transcribing videos and utilizing captions comes with yet another benefit: that of timestamps and precision. Instead of fast-forwarding through the entire video to locate an important quote, anyone can skim through the transcript or use timestamps
◈ Better SEO, Improved Video Discoverability
If you aren’t familiar with video SEO, you’re in for a treat. Did you know that search engines also analyze captions and index your content based on keywords they identify there, too? To simplify it, your video has a higher chance of being shown to more people and better-fit audiences, all thanks to captions.
The logic behind this is simple since your captions contain keywords or phrases that tell search engines what the video is about, and this way when people search for themes and topics that your video features, there’s a better chance they will come across your content.
◈ Easier to Reach Worldwide Audiences
This is a benefit not many see right from the start, but transcribing videos and creating captions makes it so much easier to translate content and reach international audiences. Why not share your videos with the entire world and limit great content to only a single language? Tools like Flixier make it effortless to automatically translate captions in hundreds of languages with the help of AI. A couple of clicks and your videos are good to transcend international borders.
Conclusion
To wrap up, there are multiple reasons as to why you should transcribe video or audio to text for better accessibility. Being mindful of people with hearing impairments or who have difficulty processing audio, and creating a more meaningful viewing experience for all audiences are top motivations to convert video to text.
The additional benefits of improved SEO, streamlined translation process and easy accessibility to specific moments or quotes in videos are just the cherry on top and decisive arguments as to why it’s a great idea to use an online video transcriber for accessibility.