Closed Captions

Closed Captions for Deaf Viewers

Real-time closed captions on your live stream, designed for the deaf community. Customizable size, position, and contrast. No OBS plugin to install.

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Open captions vs closed captions for deaf viewers

Closed captions are toggleable — viewers turn them on or off via the platform's caption button. Open captions are burned into the video, always on. For deaf viewers, both work — but they have different reliability profiles.

StreamTranslate renders captions on the OBS canvas, making them effectively open captions — visible to every viewer on every device. This is more reliable than Twitch's built-in closed captions, which often fail or aren't supported on certain devices.

Why open captions are better for deaf accessibility

Always visible — no need for viewers to enable a setting
Cross-device — works on Twitch desktop, mobile, embedded views, VODs
Cross-platform — same captions on Twitch, YouTube, Kick, Facebook Gaming, etc.
Persistent in clips — when viewers clip your stream, captions are part of the clip
Brand-controllable — you control font, position, color — match your overlay

When closed captions might be preferable

Some streamers prefer closed captions because they let viewers turn them off. If 90% of your audience hears fine and 10% are deaf, closed captions can feel less intrusive.

StreamTranslate doesn't natively offer closed captions, but you can run two scenes: one with the caption browser source (for caption-on viewers) and one without (for caption-off viewers). Switch via OBS scene controls.

Configuring captions for the deaf community

Default settings work for most deaf viewers. For maximum readability:

Font size: 36-44px (visible from 6 feet on a 1080p TV)
Outline: 2-3px black on white text — meets WCAG 4.5:1 contrast on any background
Position: bottom-center (standard caption convention)
Background music note: heavy bass can confuse the model. Reduce mic gain on music or use a noise-gate filter.

Frequently asked

Are these technically "closed captions" or "open captions"?

Technically open captions — they're rendered into your stream, always visible. We use the term "closed captions" loosely because that's the search term most viewers know.

Can deaf viewers turn the captions off?

Not on a single-scene setup. To support viewers who want captions off, run two OBS scenes (one with browser source, one without) and switch via scene controls.

Are these captions stored as a transcript file?

Yes. Per-session transcript logs are accessible from your dashboard. For longer retention, see enterprise plans.

Does this work for YouTube Live and Kick too?

Yes — wherever you can add an OBS browser source, captions work. YouTube Live captions guide | Kick captions guide.

How accurate is the captioning for deaf viewers?

95%+ on clear speech (no heavy background music, single speaker). Deepgram nova-3 model — same as legal/medical transcription. For complex mixed-audio scenarios, accuracy drops slightly, same as every caption tool.