Closed Captioning in Cablecast: Overview and Choosing Your Approach

Closed captioning makes your programming accessible to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and it's increasingly required for community media stations under ADA and FCC guidelines. Cablecast supports three different captioning approaches, and which one is right for you depends on your workflow, your hardware, and whether you're captioning live programming, pre-recorded files, or both.

What Is Closed Captioning in Cablecast?

Cablecast handles two types of captioning:

• Offline captioning — Captions are generated for existing files on your server. This is used for pre-recorded content like studio shows, taped meetings, or archived programming.

• Online (live) captioning — Captions are transcribed in real time during a live event, such as a city council meeting or live broadcast.

Depending on your setup, one or both of these will apply to your station.

Your Three Options

Cablecast Cloud Services

Cablecast's built-in captioning solution. It handles both live and offline captioning directly within the Cablecast interface, with no additional hardware required. Captions are processed in the cloud and returned to your system automatically. This is a paid feature, billed by the minute, and requires a Flex or VIO server running Cablecast 7.4 or newer.

Best for: Stations that want an integrated, low-maintenance solution and don't already have captioning hardware.

Sidecar Caption Files

If you already have captions generated by a third-party service or another workflow, you can import them into Cablecast as sidecar files (.mcc or .scc format). Cablecast associates the file with the show record and delivers it alongside the video.

Best for: Stations that use an outside captioning vendor, or that receive caption files with their content.

Third-Party Hardware (ENCO enCaption)

ENCO enCaption is the third-party captioning device with native integration in Cablecast. enCaption connects to your Cablecast system and handles both live and offline captioning independently of Cablecast Cloud Services. Setup is more involved, but this option suits stations that already own an enCaption device or have specific captioning requirements.

Note: Other third-party captioning solutions can also be used upstream or downstream of Cablecast, outside of this integration. Contact Cablecast Support if you have questions about your specific setup.

Best for: Stations with an existing ENCO enCaption device or complex captioning needs.

Comparing Your Options

Next Steps

Once you've chosen your approach, follow the setup guide for that method:

• Closed Captioning with Cablecast Cloud Services

• Using Sidecar Caption Files

• Configuring ENCO enCaption with Cablecast