Overview

All videos added to Kaltura ("My Media" in Canvas or MediaSpace) after 13 June 2020 automatically have machine captions added to the entry. Kaltura entries resulting from the integration with Zoom bring Zoom's machine-generated captions with them. 

If the conditions are right (see the "critical concepts" section below) Kaltura media owners and co-editors can request machine captions for their Kaltura entry. 

These instructions apply to all UCSD Kaltura users (instructors, students, and staff with active directory credentials). 

Users can request machine captions in both Canvas and MediaSpace. 

Critical Concepts

Things to keep in mind:

• Machine captions can be requested from a couple of different places. We're only discussing one method below.
• To request new machine captions, certain conditions must be met. You can't request machine captions unless certain conditions are met. If they aren't met, you'll see an error message indicating that machine captions were already requested (pictured to the right). You can only request new machine captions if:
  • The entry has no captions
  • You've used the video editor to trim the video (either clicking "save" or "save a copy")
  • The entry is a Zoom integration entry and only has Zoom's captions
• You'll receive an email alert when the machine captions are complete. We've set it up that you only get an alert like this when you manually request them.
• Zoom's captions identify the speaker based on their AD login. Zoom and Kaltura use different machine caption vendors. Though the accuracy between them is comparable, Zoom is able to leverage users' active directory logins to identify who is speaking in the captions. This can be handy if you have multiple speakers, but it's important to be aware of if you intend to disseminate your material more widely and students are identified in the recording.
• All captions can be edited. You can use Kaltura's web-based closed caption editor or download, edit, and upload them yourself. Click on either of the two tutorials below if you're interested in learning how:
  • Edit Captions on the Web for a Kaltura Video
  • Edit Captions on Your Computer for a Kaltura Video
• The default captions will show up in the transcript widget. All of the main or "default" Kaltura players display a transcript below the player itself. So when you add captions to an entry, they'll also appear (as a text-only version) in a widget below the player. If you want the transcript to be edited, you have to edit the captions. 

Video Tutorial

Watch the video tutorial "Requesting Machine Captions Within Canvas"

Steps to Take

Machine captions can be requested in Canvas or in MediaSpace.

For the first two steps, choose the column below that aligns with where you want to perform the action. All the steps afterwards are the same.

3. Locate the video to which you want to add captions, and click the checkbox on the left side of that video's row. (You can check the boxes next to multiple entries if you want to request machine captions for multiple entries.)
4. Scroll to the top of the screen and click Actions, and select Caption & Enrich.
5. On the screen that appears, ensure that the following settings are selected:
   1. Service: Machine
   2. Source Media Language: English
   3. Feature: Captions
6. Click Submit. You'll see a notation with a blue background at the top of the screen that confirms that your request for captions has been received.

Once your captions have been added, you'll receive an email alert.