AST’s video library will guide you through preparation, upload, and incorporation of captioning to your media. You may view them in the format of your choice – media for many common players is posted here, or you can watch them on YouTube. The media presented on this site is downloadable, so feel free to download a copy to show it locally. Our tutorials are all captioned (of course), so you can see a demonstration of the captions while you watch the tutorials.
Bookmark this page and come back often! We add new tutorials as we increase our reach to formats and audiences.
Overview of recent CaptionSync changes
In Dec/09 the CaptionSync web interface underwent a series of improvements. This tutorial helps users who are familiar with the old CaptionSync web interface to understand the changes in the new web interface.Resources
Watch CaptionSync Changes for Existing Users on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch New CaptionSync Overview (QuickTime, 7.50MB)
- Launch New CaptionSync Overview (Windows Media, 16.80MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Overview of recent CaptionSync changes
Getting Started with CaptionSync for new users
This tutorial with give you a brief overview of the CaptionSync highlights, showing you the basic operation of the CaptionSync site.Resources
Watch Getting Started with CaptionSync on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Getting Started (QuickTime, 6.60MB)
- Launch Getting Started (Windows Media, 13.60MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- Getting Started with CaptionSync
- Transcript of Movie:
- Getting Started with CaptionSync for new users
An overview of how the CaptionSync result files are used
This tutorial provides a high-level overview of how to use the CaptionSync result files for Windows Media, QuickTime, and Real. All three of these players support caption files in a similar manner. The basic approach is outlined here and the similarities of each player are highlighted.
Resources
Watch Using CaptionSync Result files on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch CaptionSync Results (Real, 3.00MB)
- Launch CaptionSync Results (QuickTime, 4.60MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- An overview of how the CaptionSync result files are used
How to use the CaptionSync redo feature
CaptionSync provides users with a simple and fast mechanism to rerun previous jobs. The "Redo" feature allows you to change formatting settings, request different output files, or alter the text transcript. Revised results are ready for you in minutes and there is no additional cost for redos. This tutorial shows you how to use the redo feature.Resources
Watch CaptionSync Redo Feature on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch CaptionSync Redo (QuickTime, 10.80MB)
- Launch CaptionSync Redo (Windows Media, 9.50MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- CaptionSync Redo Feature
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to use the CaptionSync redo feature
Using AST-Link on the Mac
This tutorial shows you how to install and use AST-Link on the Mac. AST-Link is a light-weight client-side application that allows you to drag-and-drop media files to the CaptionSync server. It provides a convenient method of uploading large batches of files. Note that your CaptionSync account must be enabled for AST-Link; please submit a support ticket after you log in to get your account enabled.
Resources
Watch AST-Link for Mac Users on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch AST-Link for the Mac (QuickTime, 26.70MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- AST-Link for Mac Users
- Transcript of Movie:
- Using AST-Link on the Mac
How to install AST-Link for Windows
This tutorial shows you how to install AST-Link on Windows.
AST-Link is a light-weight client-side application that allows you to
drag-and-drop media files to the CaptionSync server. It provides a
convenient method of uploading large batches of files. Note that your
CaptionSync account must be enabled for AST-Link; please submit a support ticket after you log in to get your account enabled.Resources
Watch AST-Link Setup for Windows Users on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch AST Link Setup for Windows (QuickTime, 12.50MB)
- Launch AST-Link Setup for Windows (Windows Media, 16.70MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- AST-Link Setup for Windows Users
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to install AST-Link for Windows
How to use AST-Link for Windows
This tutorial shows you how to use AST-Link on Windows.
AST-Link is a light-weight client-side application that allows you to
drag-and-drop media files to the CaptionSync server. It provides a
convenient method of uploading large batches of files. Make sure you view the tutorial on installing AST-Link for windows before you view this tutorial. Note that your
CaptionSync account must be enabled for AST-Link; contact AST Support to get your account enabled.Resources
Watch Using AST-Link on Windows on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch AST-Link Usage for Windows (QuickTime, 12.50MB)
- Launch AST-Link Usage for Windows (Windows Media, 14.40MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- Using AST-Link on Windows
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to use AST-Link for Windows
How to use CaptionSync's DVD Transfer feature
For the most part, users interact with CaptionSync entirely electronically. Even for folks creating physical media such as tapes or DVDs, CaptionSync results are usually supplied as electronic files that you import into your authoring or encoding software. For those users who want the authoring process taken care of, AST offers a DVD Transfer, an authoring service that allows you to send in tapes of DVDs and receive back captioned DVDs. This tutorial walks you through how to use that service.
Resources
Watch Using CaptionSync's DVD Transfer feature on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch DVD Service (QuickTime, 18.00MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to use CaptionSync's DVD Transfer feature
Examine the benefits of Video Search
Once your videos are captioned, it is relatively straight-forward to provide viewers with the ability to perform text searches on the videos -- allowing them to locate the content of interest quickly and accurately. This tutorial walks you through an example of a working video search system based on captioning data.
Resources
Watch Video Search Example on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Video Search and Navigation (QuickTime, 13.90MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Examine the benefits of Video Search
How to construct a video search interface
This tutorial highlights the basic components of a video search interface.
Resources
Watch Video Search in Action on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Video Search in Action (QuickTime, 12.00MB)
- Launch Video Search in Action (Real, 2.70MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to construct a video search interface
Using the Special Bulk Purchase accounts for the CSU
The CSU Chancellor's Office has negotiated a system-wide agreement with AST to provide captioning services for all CSU campuses. This tutorial offers an overview of the system-wide agreement and how you can participate in it. This tutorial is applicable only to members of the California State University system.
Resources
Watch CSU Bulk Accounts on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch CSU Bulk Purchase (QuickTime, 9.20MB)
- Launch CSU Bulk Purchase (Windows Media, 4.40MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Using the Special Bulk Purchase accounts for the CSU
Windows Media: Captioning with SAMI files
The most typical method to caption Windows Media content is to use an external caption file known as a SAMI file (.smi). These files are picked up by Windows Media Player at play time and allow the player to display captions. The viewer can turn the captions on or off using menu controls in the player. This tutorial shows you how to use SAMI files to caption Windows Media content.
Resources
Watch Windows Media: Captioning with SAMI files on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning with SAMI files (Windows Media, 6.00MB)
- Launch Captioning with SAMI Files (QuickTime, 2.20MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Windows Media: Captioning with SAMI files
Windows Media: Embedding captions in a WMV File
The standard method for captioning Windows Media files is to use an external caption file known as a SAMI file (.smi). There are a couple of drawbacks to using SAMI files, including the need to properly associate the SAMI file with your WMV file, and the need to ensure the SAMI file is distributed along with the WMV file if it is being distributed. A little-known solution is to embed the caption data back into the WMV file. This tutorial shows you how this is done.
Resources
Watch Windows Media: Embedding captions in a WMV File on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Embedding captions in WMP (Windows Media, 4.30MB)
- Launch Embedding Captions in WMP (QuickTime, 5.60MB)
- Tutorial (PDF):
- Windows Media: Embedding captions in a WMV File
- Transcript of Movie:
- Windows Media: Embedding captions in a WMV File
QuickTime: How to make captions overlay the video
QuickTime: The simplest way to caption a QuickTime movie is to use an external caption file (.qt.txt) which is referenced by a .smil file. The default behavior for this type of captioning from CaptionSync is to place the caption text below the video window. If you wish to relocate the text and place it over the video pane, this tutorial shows you how.
Resources
Watch Overlaying Captions on the Video in QuickTime on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Overlay Captions in QT (QuickTime, 2.20MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- QuickTime: How to make captions overlay the video
QuickTime: How to make a self-contained QuickTime MOV file with captions
QuickTime: The simplest method of captioning for QuickTime is to use an external caption file (.qt.txt) along with a .smil file. But there are many reasons why it may be more appealing to embed the caption data back into the MOV file. This tutorial shows how this is done.
Resources
Watch Embedding Captions in a MOV file on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Embed captions in QT (QuickTime, 1.80MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- QuickTime: How to make a self-contained QuickTime MOV file with captions
QuickTime: How to make a self-contained MOV file with captions and a CC sprite
Viewers can turn captions on or off for a captioned QuickTime movie via the menu items in QuickTime. You can make this functionality a bit more apparent to viewers by adding a CC button to your movie. This button is called a "Sprite" in QuickTime, and this tutorial shows you how to add one. You can download a free QuickTime Sprite from Whit Anderson.
Resources
Watch Adding a CC Sprite to QuickTime on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Add a Sprite in QT (QuickTime, 12.50MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- QuickTime: How to make a self-contained MOV file with captions and a CC sprite
Flash: How to caption CS3 and CS4 content
Flash gives developers tremendous control over how captioning data is presented, but Flash content developers need to ensure they present their content in a player skin that supports captioning. There are several player skins available that have captioning support already built in, including many that ship with Adobe's Flash Professional (CS3 and CS4). This tutorial shows how to use the Adobe Flash player skins to create captioned Flash content.
Resources
Watch How to Caption for Flash CS3 and CS4 on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning in Flash CS3/4 (Flash, 12.80MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Flash: How to caption CS3 and CS4 content
Flash: How to caption JW FLV Player content
Flash gives developers tremendous control over how captioning
data is presented, but Flash content developers need to ensure they
present their content in a player skin that supports captioning. There
are several player skins available that have captioning support already
built in, including the JW Player (now known as the Longtail Flash player). This tutorial shows you how to caption Flash FLV movies that will be played back in the JW Player.
Resources
Watch How to Caption JW FLV Player Flash content on YouTube
- Transcript of Movie:
- Flash: How to caption JW FLV Player content
Podcast: Captioning Overview
Captioning podcasts or vodcasts can be tricky because of the variety of devices that viewers may play such content on. This tutorial series examines the different options available for captioning pod/vodcast content, focusing primarily on the Apple playback devices. This particular tutorial provides an overview and summary of the different approaches.
Resources
Watch Podcast Captioning Overview on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Podcast Captioning Overview (QuickTime, 2.40MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Podcast: Captioning Overview
Podcast: How to obtain your Caption Files
Captioning podcasts or vodcasts can be tricky because of the
variety of devices that viewers may play such content on. This
tutorial series examines the different options available for captioning
pod/vodcast content, focusing primarily on the Apple playback devices.
This particular tutorial shows how to obtain the specific caption files you will need to caption your Pod/Vodcast content.
Resources
Watch How to Obtain your Podcast Caption Files on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Obtaining Podcast Caption Files (QuickTime, 3.70MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Podcast: How to obtain your Caption Files
Podcast: How to Open Caption
Captioning podcasts or vodcasts can be tricky because of the
variety of devices that viewers may play such content on. This
tutorial series examines the different options available for captioning
pod/vodcast content, focusing primarily on the Apple playback devices.
This particular tutorial shows how to open caption content which will allow captions to be displayed regardless of the playback device.
Resources
Watch Open Captioning a Podcast on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Podcast Open Captioning (QuickTime, 5.40MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Podcast: How to Open Caption
Podcast: Captioning with Compressor
Captioning podcasts or vodcasts can be tricky because of the
variety of devices that viewers may play such content on. This
tutorial series examines the different options available for captioning
pod/vodcast content, focusing primarily on the Apple playback devices.
This particular tutorial shows how to caption for playback on Apple devices (iPods, iPhones, iTunes, QuickTime) using Apple's Compressor application.
Resources
Watch Captioning Podcasts with Compressor on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Podcast Captioning with Compressor (QuickTime, 3.40MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Podcast: Captioning with Compressor
Podcast: Captioning with QuickTime
Captioning podcasts or vodcasts can be tricky because of the
variety of devices that viewers may play such content on. This
tutorial series examines the different options available for captioning
pod/vodcast content, focusing primarily on the Apple playback devices.
This particular tutorial shows how to caption for playback on Apple
devices (iPods, iPhones, iTunes, QuickTime) using Apple's QuickTime
application.
Resources
Watch Captioning Podcasts with QuickTime on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Podcast Captioning with QuickTime (QuickTime, 5.20MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- Podcast: Captioning with QuickTime
YouTube: Captioning Your own YouTube Videos
Captioning your own YouTube videos is quite easy. YouTube provides a mechanism for video owners to upload a caption file along with their video file. The caption file can be added at any time. This tutorial shows exactly how this is done.
Resources
Watch Captioning Your own YouTube Videos on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning your own YouTube Videos (QuickTime, 5.30MB)
- Launch Captioning your own YouTube Videos (Windows Media, 7.30MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- YouTube: Captioning Your own YouTube Videos
YouTube: Captioning Somebody Else's YouTube Videos
YouTube: Captioning your own YouTube video is pretty straight-forward. But YouTube does not allow you to add a caption file if you are not the video owner. Fortunately, there is a work-around for this. Overstream.net provides a nice way of adding captioning to any YouTube video. This tutorial shows you exactly how to do this.
Resources
Watch Captioning Somebody Else's YouTube Videos on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning other peoples YouTube Videos (QuickTime, 5.50MB)
- Launch Captioning other peoples YouTube Videos (Windows Media, 7.10MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- YouTube: Captioning Somebody Else's YouTube Videos
How to extract the audio track from a VHS tape
Of all the media formats that can be captioned, dealing with old analog video tape is perhaps the trickiest. The video first needs to be digitized, then a caption file needs to be generated, and finally, the end result needs to be encoded back onto tape. Depending on the encoding system you are using, you may need to just digitize the audio track in order to generate a caption file. This tutorial shows you how to extract a digital copy of the audio track from a VHS tape.
Resources
Watch Extracting Audio from VHS tapes on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Extracting audio from VHS (QuickTime, 10.50MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to extract the audio track from a VHS tape
How to add captions and/or subtitles with Apple DVD Studio Pro
This tutorial shows how to add captions and/or subtitles to your DVD with Apple's DVD Studio Pro.
Resources
Watch Captioning with DVD Studio Pro on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning with DVD Studio Pro (QuickTime, 122.00MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to add captions and/or subtitles with Apple DVD Studio Pro
How to use captions and subtitles with Adobe Encore
This tutorial explains the steps necessary to add captions and/or subtitles to your DVD using Adobe Encore.
Resources
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning with Encore (Flash, 36.40MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to use captions and subtitles with Adobe Encore
How to configure your Echo360 System for Captioning
Echo360's lecture capture system offers a direct integration with CaptionSync, allowing you to automatically caption content captured with your Echo. This tutorial explains how to set up your Echo360 system to use CaptionSync. This setup needs to be completed just once during configuration. Note that your CaptionSync account must be enabled for use with Echo; contact AST Support to get your account enabled.Resources
Watch Configuring Echo360 for Captioning on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Echo Setup (QuickTime, 4.70MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to configure your Echo360 System for Captioning
How to caption with Echo360
Echo360's lecture capture system offers a direct integration with
CaptionSync, allowing you to automatically caption content captured
with your Echo. This tutorial shows you how to schedule lectures and lecture series for captioning. Ensure you view the tutorial on how to configure your Echo system to enable captioning first. Note that your CaptionSync account must be enabled for use with Echo; contact AST Support to get your account enabled.Resources
Watch Captioning with Echo360 on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning with Echo360 (QuickTime, 2.50MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to caption with Echo360
How to caption with Panopto's CourseCast system
Panopto's Coursecast system offers a direct integration with CaptionSync, allowing you to automatically caption content captured in CourseCast. This tutorial will show you how to configure and use your Panopto system with CaptionSync. Note that your CaptionSync account must be enabled for use with CourseCast; contact AST Support to get your account enabled.
Resources
Watch Captioning with Panopto CourseCast on YouTube
- Video Files:
- Launch Captioning with Panopto (QuickTime, 9.20MB)
- Launch Captioning with Panopto (Windows Media, 14.00MB)
- Transcript of Movie:
- How to caption with Panopto's CourseCast system
