What are closed captions? They are captions that a viewer can switch on or off, as opposed to open captions that are burned into the video picture. Closed captions often also describe non-speech sound, such as music or a door closing, for viewers who cannot hear.
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Files up to 2 GB · export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT · speaker labels and timestamps · about 30 languages
Key facts
- Open captions are part of the image and cannot be removed, while closed captions travel as a separate track or file.
- Closed captions usually include sound descriptions and speaker cues; plain subtitles usually carry only the dialogue.
- Caption tracks are stored as text files such as SRT or VTT, or inside the video container.
- Many platforms accept an uploaded caption file for a video, so a transcript with times can become a caption track.
What it looks like
WEBVTT
00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.000
[door closes]
00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:06.000
SPEAKER 1: Welcome, everyone.
00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:09.000
[soft music]
More
See the full list of languages, the tools and the glossary.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between closed captions and subtitles?
Subtitles assume the viewer can hear the audio and show the dialogue as text. Closed captions assume they cannot, so they add sounds and speaker cues.
Can I turn closed captions off?
Yes, that is the point of the closed form. The viewer controls the track in the player, unlike open captions, which are drawn into every frame.
Which file formats hold captions?
Common choices are SRT and WebVTT, both plain text with timed cues. Video containers can also embed caption tracks inside the file.
How can I make a caption file from a recording?
Transcribe the audio with timestamps, then export the result as SRT or VTT. The Potok bot exports both, besides TXT, MD, DOCX and PDF.
Do I need to check the captions before publishing?
Yes. Watch with the sound on, correct names and numbers, and keep each line short enough to fit the screen and be read in time.
Sources
Each source was opened by hand on the date shown. Pages change, so open the source if a detail matters to you.
- Closed captioning (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
- Subtitle (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
Try it on your own recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram