Closed Captions
- Key element: CAN be toggled on/off.
- Created AFTER a video is produced/recorded.
- Should be verbatim (Include stutters, filler words).
- Will include sound effects and speaker identification when needed.
- Turned on/off by program or television/hardware.
Live Captions
- Key element: Captioning happens at the same time as speaking.
- Transcriber is creating text in real-time and displaying that text to the user.
- Can be verbatim or meaning for meaning depending on type of live captioning.
Subtitles
- Key element: designed for language translation, NOT for people with hearing loss.
- Can be a translation of what is being said from one language to another.
- Does not necessarily include sound effects & speaker identification.
- Might be able to toggle on/off.
- Not controlled by the program or television/hardware, if on a DVD it is controlled by a DVD player.
Open Captions
- Key element: CANNOT be toggled on//off.
- Created AFTER a video is produced/recorded.
- Should be verbatim.
- Can include sound effects & speaker identification when needed.
Auto Generated Captions, Computer Generated Captions, AI Captions, or Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Captions
- Key element: captions created by a computer (artificial intelligence).
- Not considered ADA compliant and are not adequate for use in a course where a student with a closed captioning accommodation is present.
- The ASR file should be edited and corrected before being used.