Caption FAQ

We produce a text-based caption file. We transcribe the audio of your video and time it. You can download examples below, under the section about what file formats we can provide.

The caption file is a separate sidecar file from your video. What you do next depends on how you intend to publish your video:

• If you are publishing your video online (e.g. through Youtube or Kaltura) or submitting to a VoD service (e.g. iTunes or Hulu), then you can simply submit the caption files as-is.
• If you want to add the captions as a caption track in your video, you'll need to take our caption file and encode it into the video. This is most common for DVD, Broadcast, or other distribution. We recommend using Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

These are our most commonly-requested formats. Click each to download an example file:

• SubRip (.srt)
• Scenarist (.scc) 29.97 fps
• MacCaption (.mcc)
• Timed Text (.ttml)
• Quicktime Timed Text (.qt.txt)
• Transcript (.txt)
• WebVTT (.vtt)
• DFXP (.dfxp)
• Cheetah .CAP (.cap)
• Spruce Subtitle File (.stl)
• Avid DS Subtitle File (.txt)
• Facebook ready SubRip (.srt)
• XML (.xml) is interchangeable with Timed Text => please order .ttml
• Want something else? Email us.

The Scenarist (.scc) format is used for submitting to VoD stores like iTunes and Hulu. It's also used commonly in Broadcast TV and for editing in software such as Adobe Premier Pro and Final Cut Pro. Rev supports the 29.97 fps frame rate.

The SubRip (.srt) format is a common choice for Youtube and Vimeo videos. It's also extremely easy to edit captions in this format - you can open a .srt file in Notepad or TextEdit.

The MacCaption (.mcc) format is used for high-definition Broadcast TV. MacCaption is the only file format that can encode both 608 and 708 closed captioning. Rev supports the 29.97 fps frame rate.

The TTML format (also known as XML or DFXP) is gaining in popularity. The FCC has declared TTML is the official caption file format for broadcasters publishing video online: https://www.smpte.org/news-events/news-releases/fcc-declares-smpte-closed-captioning-standard-online-video-content-safe.

Don't stress about it. If you change your mind later, we're happy to provide your caption files in a different format, for no extra charge.

See the full list of supported formats with example files.

We'll email them to you as soon as they're ready.

If you simply want to view the captions, you can upload your video to Youtube as a private video and upload the caption file.

We recommend the following software for editing captions:

• Adobe Premiere Pro CC. Most robust solution. Free 30 day trial.
• Annotation Edit. For Mac. Free demo version.
• Subtitle Edit. For PC. Free, but make sure you have only the latest version because earlier editions had bugs.

1. All major browser-based online video platforms can directly ingest our caption files as a sidecar file. Simply upload the caption file for each of your videos. For more info, check out:

   • YouTube https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en
   • Vimeo http://vimeo.com/help/faq/managing-your-videos/captions-and-subtitles
   • Wistia http://wistia.com/blog/introducing-wistia-captions
2. All major VoD stores accept captions as a separate sidecar file. You can submit our caption file to them directly, after you do a quick quality check of your own.

3. There are many workflows and use cases for how to enbed captions as a track within a video file. We can't provide instructions on all of them, but here are some helpful starting points for you to do some research:

   • Adobe Premiere Pro
     http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/closed-captioning.html
   • Apple Final Cut Pro
     http://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/
   • Sony Vegas Studio Platinum http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/add_closed_captions_to_your_video_project

   Other 3rd party programs exist that help you manage captioning workflows. They can ingest our caption file and help you encode it to the video. MacCaptions is the most popular program, whether you are working with Final Cut or authoring DVD and BluRay. http://www.telestream.net/captioning/workflow-file.htm

   Here is a good overview about adding captions for distribution to many internet-enabled devices http://blog.zencoder.com/2012/07/13/closed-captioning-for-web-mobile-and-tv/

We can accept all common digital video formats, such as MOV, AVI, MP4, VOB, and Ogg.

Most customers use our online order form. The order form supports a few options:

• Upload a video file directly from your computer. Each file must be less than 5 GB in size.
• Paste in a link to an online video, such as Youtube or Vimeo.
• Connect to videos already stored in an FTP server, Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive. In the order form, click Upload File then select the cloud service on the left.

We also offer a number of alternative ways to order, depending on your needs:

• Our API. This is the most flexible solution, if you can get a software programmer's time to build an integration with your company's workflow. Fully automate your workflow of sending us videos and receiving back finished subtitle files.
• Zapier. Zapier is a robust workflow automation service. Zapier can integrate Rev with applications such as a Google Sheets spreadsheet and place orders on your behalf.

Email us for more info about these options.

No! In fact, we prefer lower-resolution proxies of your video for our work and the smaller files will make it much faster and easier for you to get them to us. We recommend reducing the video resolution to 640 × 480 and using the MP4 format with H.264 encoding. A 30 minute video should be less than 600 MB.

The online order form will charge your credit / debit card, or your PayPal account at the time of ordering. You can securely save your credit card info to your account for future orders.

For customers with large, recurring needs, we offer monthly billing.

• We guarantee at least 99% accuracy for files that are clearly audible.
• Our captions are both FCC and ADA compliant.
• See our full list of guarantees »

Yes. Providing a transcript is helpful - simply upload it into our order form, under the Order Details section. It does not change the price of our service, because we still spend significant effort to give you quality captions.

We produce "pop on" captions for pre-recorded video files.

We do not at this time offer "roll up" captions. We also do not offer live / real-time captioning.

Video files under 30 minutes long are typically delivered within 24 hours, often much faster. For longer recordings or recordings with poor audio quality, it may take an extra day or two.

The turnaround estimate is based on individual video length, not total order size. Large orders with short videos will still be done quickly. For example, an order with 10 20-minute videos will only take us 24 hours total.

Generally, you can assume individual files between 1-3 hours will be returned within 4 days and files over 3 hours will take up to 6 days.

Want a turnaround estimate? Contact us.

We use the definition provided by the national Described and Captioned Media Program. Quality captioning is:

• Accurate - Errorless transcription is the goal.
• Consistent - Uniformity in style and presentation of all captioning features is crucial for viewer understanding.
• Clear - A complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and "atmospherics" (non-speech information), provide clarity.
• Readable - captions are displayed with enough time to be read completely and are in synchronization with the audio.
• Equal - equal access requires that the meaning and intention of the material is completely preserved.

Yes, we guarantee our caption files meet FCC requirements for open and closed captioning of web and tv video. Our caption files meet Section 508 requirements for video captioning.

Yes, our captions are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990 ruling regarding captioning.

Yes, we strive to have our caption files meet the requirements of all major online media platforms and distributors. We always recommend you double-check the content quality and caption technical requirements before you submit to a third party platform.

We serve many clients with sensitive content, from pre-release films to video reviews of products not yet announced to the public. Our clients care about content confidentiality and so do we. Our reputation and our business depend on us protecting the privacy of our clients' content.

Your content is yours - we will never sell your content or distribute it outside of Rev. Our workforce is carefully curated and every worker signs a strict NDA and confidentiality agreement. Our technology platform uses bank-level encryption, combined with best practice operations, to keep your content secure.

No. We keep things simple and have only one low price for everyone, $1.00 per minute. To calculate price, we round each video up to the nearest minute.

Closed captions are intended for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers. They communicate the video's spoken content and "atmospherics", which are sound effects that are part of the story.

Subtitles are intended for viewers who can hear the audio, but can't understand the language spoken. They usually translate the video's spoken and written language into the viewer's language.

Both captions and subtitles use the same file formats, such as .srt and .scc. Read more about file formats.

At this time, videos must be in spoken English.

If you have videos in other languages, email us.

We offer subtitling in many languages. For more information, visit www.rev.com/subtitle.