Glossary
What are
Closed Captions?
Closed captions make your stream accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, and to anyone watching without sound.
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Definition
Closed captions (CC) are text representations of all audio in a video — including spoken dialogue, sound effects, and music cues. They can be toggled on or off by the viewer (hence "closed," as opposed to "open captions" which are always visible).
In live streaming, closed captions typically appear as a subtitle overlay that viewers can enable or disable.
Closed Captions vs. Subtitles
- Closed Captions: Include all audio (speech, [laughter], [music]) — designed for accessibility
- Subtitles: Typically only include speech — designed for language accessibility
- Open Captions: Always visible, burned into the video
- StreamTranslate generates both live captions and translated subtitles
Why Live Streamers Need Captions
Over 15% of the world's population has some form of hearing loss. Many more watch streams with the sound off. Adding live captions increases your potential viewership significantly and is required for ADA compliance in many professional contexts.
- Accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers
- Viewers in loud or quiet environments benefit from captions
- Non-native speakers follow along more easily
- Captions improve stream discoverability on search platforms
Pricing
- Stream Pass — $9.99: One full stream session, all languages
- Starter — $14.99/mo: 25 hours/month, single language
- Pro — $34.99/mo: 40 hours/month, dual language
- Unlimited — $79.99/mo: Unlimited hours, dual language
See full pricing →