Glossary
Closed captions (CC)
Closed captions (CC) are a text version of a program's dialogue and relevant sounds that the viewer can turn on or off. The word closed means the viewer chooses whether to see them, which separates them from open captions.
Updated October 17, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called CC.
Closed captions are a text version of the dialogue and important sounds in a video. The viewer switches them on or off, usually with the remote, a player menu or a device setting. The word closed means that choice: the text is optional, unlike open captions, which are drawn into the picture and cannot be hidden.
Closed captions must carry the sounds, not just the words
US television captioning rules require captions to match the spoken words in their original language, in the order they are spoken 1. They also require non-speech information, such as the identity of speakers, music, sound effects and audience reaction 2. So a caption can say that a door slams or name a speaker who is off-screen, not only transcribe the words.
The HTML standard describes captions in the same way. It defines captions as a transcription or translation of the dialogue that also covers sound effects, relevant musical cues and other relevant audio 3.
Timing is part of the caption
A caption must start when the speech or sounds start and end about when they end 4. A line that appears several seconds late, or stays on screen after the speaker has finished, breaks this rule even when every word is correct.
Example: a caption track for a short interview has one cue for each sentence. Each cue starts when the speaker begins the sentence and ends a moment after the last word. A reviewer checks the start times first, because a caption that lags the audio is the error viewers notice most.
Why it matters for transcription
Closed captions are a transcription with timing and sound notes added. A transcriber has to decide which sounds are relevant, how to label speakers and how many words fit on a line, and the choices differ by country and by broadcaster. Closed captions are often delivered as a WebVTT or SRT file, which the player reads and shows on request. For the formats and the rules, read our guide to captions and subtitles.
For deaf and hard of hearing viewers, the same idea appears in SDH subtitles, and for live events, CART captioning produces captions in real time. Converting a recording with speech into timed text is covered in our guide to video to text.
Related terms
- Open captions: captions that are part of the picture and cannot be turned off.
- SDH subtitles: subtitles written for deaf and hard of hearing viewers.
- WebVTT (VTT): a common file format for closed captions on the web.
- CART captioning: live captioning by a trained captioner.
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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Related terms
- Transcription: How to Turn Audio and Video Into TextThe topic this term belongs to
- Clean verbatimClean verbatim is a transcript that removes filler words, stutters, repetitions and false starts while keeping the speaker's wording and meaning. It is the usual choice for reading, captions and coding, where hesitations add noise rather than information.
- Forced alignmentForced alignment is the process of matching a known transcript to its audio so that each word or phone gets a start and end time. Unlike open speech recognition, it does not decide what was said; it only finds when each word was said.
- Open captionsOpen captions are text drawn onto the frames of a video, so every viewer sees them and nobody can switch them off. They are also called burned-in captions or hardcoded subtitles.
- SubRip subtitle file (SRT)A SubRip subtitle file, or SRT, is a plain-text file of numbered caption blocks. Each block has a start and end time in hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, followed by the caption text. It is one of the most common caption formats on the internet.
- Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH)SDH stands for subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. They show the dialogue plus the sound effects, music and speaker identification that a hearing viewer would get from the soundtrack.
- Timestamp (transcription)A timestamp in a transcript is a time marker, such as 00:12:15, that shows when the nearby text was spoken in the recording. Timestamps let readers jump to a passage, and they can be attached to whole segments or to single words, with different accuracy.
- Transcription foot pedalA transcription foot pedal is a switch that controls audio playback with the foot, so a transcriber can start, pause and rewind a recording while typing. It is also called a foot control or foot pedal.
- TranscriptionistA transcriptionist is a person who listens to recorded speech and types it as text, such as a clinician's dictated report. Speech recognition now writes first drafts, so much of the work has shifted to checking and correcting machine text.
- Turnaround time (TAT)Turnaround time (TAT) is how long a transcriber or service takes to deliver a finished transcript after an order is received. Court schedules define it in calendar days or hours, counted from the order.
- Verbatim transcriptionVerbatim transcription writes down exactly what is said, including filler words, false starts, repetitions and non-speech sounds, with no tidying. Researchers and legal teams use it when the way someone speaks is part of the record.
- WebVTT (VTT)WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks, usually shortened to VTT) is a plain-text file format for timed captions and subtitles on the web. A .vtt file is a list of cues, and each cue gives a start time, an end time and the text to show.
Pages that use this term
- Transcription: How to Turn Audio and Video Into TextTopic
- Zoom, Teams and Google Meet TranscriptionGuide
- Video to Text: Transcribe Videos and YouTubeGuide
- Captions and Subtitles: Formats, Rules and ToolsGuide
- Can you dictate or voice type in a Zoom meeting?Question
- How do you transcribe a video to text for free?Question
- How do you turn off or disable transcription in Zoom?Question
- What is the difference between captions and subtitles?Question
- Why is auto transcription not working in CapCut, Canva or Premiere Pro?Question
- Open captionsGlossary
- SubRip subtitle file (SRT)Glossary
- Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH)Glossary
- WebVTT (VTT)Glossary