Google adds automatic captions to YouTube
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Google is adding new technology to YouTube that can automatically add text captions to videos using speech recognition.
The website has allowed users to manually add captions to videos for about a year now, but the process requires the author to pen a full transcription of their content and time it properly to the on-screen action. The effort and expense required for this has generally limited the use of captions on YouTube to major broadcasters uploading licensed shows.
Now by utilizing the same voice recognitions used in Google Voice, the website will give viewers an option of inserting machine-generated automatic captions.
The website said it hopes auto captions will not only aid the deaf and hearing impaired, but also allow people across the world to access video content in any of 51 languages. It also noted that a wide rollout of captions may improve YouTube search functionality and even let users jump to the exact part of a video they are looking for.
Warning the results may be spotty at first, YouTube is initially applying the caption technology only to a few channels focusing on education. "We want to make sure we get feedback both from viewers and video owners before we roll them out more broadly," YouTube software engineer Ken Harrenstien said in a blog post.
The company plans to expand the auto-caption feature to other channels and languages later on. Check out a demo below:
In addition to automatic captions, YouTube is also rolling out an "automatic caption timing" across the website for users who include manually created captions. The technology uses speech recognition to figure out when words are being spoken to display the proper text at the right time. ®
COMMENTS
Transcription for content identification
This will make it easier for content providers to track illegal uploads of their content. If it works, it will open up a whole host of opportunities for a lot of people.
oh, fan-frickin-tastic...
...so, how much more real estate will this gobble up from my videos on top of the goddamn' pop-up ads? It's already a big enough pain in the ass remembering where to click to turn the friggin' annotations off. Those goddamn' things are nothing but a big, fat annoyance. I've reached the point where, if it's something I really _really_need_ to see, I just copy the video URL, and use KeepVid or ClipNabber to download the video as an mpeg4 so I can watch it in peace without having to stab at a button to turn off the annotations or get rid of a friggin' ad.
Fargin' bastidges. I'm about _this_close_ to ditching YouTube for LiveLeak, or Viddler. Hell, I've already got accounts set up on both of them. I'm leaning towards LiveLeak -- even though their system of posting is a bit confusing -- because so far, I haven't seen that much in the way of pop-ups. Viddler, unfortunately, on top of the Google pop-ups, is also running "post-roll" commercials that disable the stop button. Assholes.
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