Live caption requirements

Closed captions refer to the visual display of the audio in a program. To add captions to your live stream, you need to send captions to YouTube. The captions can either be embedded in the video or sent through supported software that can send captions over HTTP POSTs.

For live events that show on US television with captions, captions may be required online as well. You may wish to review the FCC's information on this here: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/captioning-internet-video-programming

Create your Event as you normally would. You must be using the YouTube Live platform.

Sending Embedded 608/708 Closed Captions

1. Create a live stream by going to youtube.com/livestreaming/stream. 
2. At the top, click Stream.
3. Enter a title and description, then click Create Stream.
4. Click Settings.
5. Click Setup.
6. Turn on Closed captions.
7. In the drop-down menu, select Embedded 608/708.
8. Click Save.
9. In your encoder settings choose EIA 608/CEA 708 captions, sometimes called “embedded” captions. Depending on your setup, this may read captions from a specific file format or encode them in real time. While the 608/708 standard supports up to 4 language tracks, YouTube currently only supports one track of captions.

Supported Software

Total Eclipse

• You'll need Eclipse/AccuCap 6.0.0.5 or greater to use this feature. Contact tech support ([e-mail] or 1-800-800-1759) for installation and usage instructions.

Case CATalyst

• You'll need Case CATalyst BCS version 14.52 or greater to use this feature. Contact tech support (1-800-323-4247 or 630-532-5100) for installation and usage instructions.

Caption Maker

• You'll need CaptionMaker version 5.22 or later to use this feature. Contact tech support for installation and usage instructions.

StreamText.Net

• Cloud-based caption delivery system that is compatible with all speech to text platforms. Please contact [e-mail] for instructions.

Live Caption Requirements for Events

Sending Embedded 608/708 Closed Captions for a Live Stream

1. At the bottom of the Setup tab in Settings, there's a Closed Caption section. Select the Embedded 608/708 item in the dropdown menu.
   
2. Hit Save.
3. In your encoder settings choose EIA 608/CEA 708 captions, sometimes called “embedded” captions. Depending on your setup, this may read captions from a specific file format or encode them in real time. While the 608/708 standard supports up to 4 language tracks, YouTube currently only supports one track of captions.

Turning on Closed Captions for Events

(Requires working with one of our supported software, listed below)

1. After creating the event, be sure to add a 30 s or 60 s broadcast delay in the Advanced settings tab.
2. At the bottom of the Setup tab in Settings, there's a Closed Caption section. Turn Closed captions On.
3. To copy the Captions Ingestion URL, click in the Captions Ingestion URL box. This is a signed HTTP URL.
   Each stream entry point can have one caption feed only.
4. Give this URL to your captioner to enter in their YouTube-supported caption software.
5. Hit Save.

For best results, make sure that your system's clock is accurate. Also, turn off any anti-virus software that may be interfering with your captioning software.

Supported Software

• Total Eclipse
  • You'll need Eclipse/AccuCap 6.0.0.5 or greater to use this feature.
  • Contact tech support ([e-mail] or 1-800-800-1759) for installation and usage instructions.
• Case CATalyst
  • You'll need Case CATalyst BCS version 14.52 or greater to use this feature.
  • Contact tech support (1-800-323-4247 or 630-532-5100) for installation and usage instructions.
• Caption Maker
  • You'll need CaptionMaker version 5.22 or later to use this feature.
  • Contact tech support for installation and usage instructions.
• StreamText.Net
  • Cloud-based caption delivery system that is compatible with all speech to text platforms.
  • Please contact [e-mail] for instructions.

If you're a closed caption vendor and would like to learn more about YouTube closed captions over HTTP, fill out this form.