Editing Live Captions for Recorded Media
Editing Live Captions for Recorded Media records a distinct W3C-supported accessibility writing task while keeping implementation mechanics and unsupported house-style rules outside the guidance.
Live captions reused with a posted recording will probably need minor editing for accuracy.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This task is distinct from creating live captions in real time and from correcting fully automatic captions; the amount of editing depends on the actual recording.
Further guidance
Content
Review the live caption text against the recording and correct recognition, wording, or other accuracy problems before treating it as the caption track for prerecorded media.
Practical Application
When a live event becomes an on-demand recording, review the live caption track against the final recording and correct the errors that were tolerable or unavoidable in real time.
Purpose
The edit turns a real-time accessibility aid into a more accurate prerecorded-media caption resource.
Reader Check
Has the caption file been checked as prerecorded content rather than assumed accurate because it worked during the live event?
Worked Example
Before publishing a webinar replay, correct a live caption that misheard a participant’s name, remove a duplicated fragment, and retime the edited cue to the final video.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Captions/Subtitles — W3C WAI (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative · W3C WAI guidance that captions are synchronized text alternatives for speech and important audio information, with timing encoded in caption files.