Real-time Captioning

EXPERIENCE AND LEADERSHIP

Real-time (live) captioning is the method of captioning in which captions are simultaneously prepared and transmitted at the time of origination by specially trained real-time captioners.

REAL-TIME CAPTIONING

Real-time captioning (also known as live closed captioning) of live programming was first introduced by NCI in 1982. 

NCI’s live production staff is comprised of the most experienced and highly trained captioners in the industry. Real-time Steno Captioners and Voice Writers each use a different method to produce first-class quality that is synonymous with NCI.

NCI’s Real-time captioning services makes your live programming accessible not only for broadcast television, but across all online platforms including Zoom, Adobe, Webex, ON24 among others.  

Benefits: 

• NCI’s captioners engage in rigorous research prior to all broadcasts, online meetings, live events, and webinars in order to prepare for the terminology they may encounter.  

• Our captioners can caption unscripted material such as weather coverage, news pressers, sports updates, emergency broadcasts, and breaking news, to name a few. 

• All of NCI’s captioners are trained to handle emergency events and will always strive to quickly ascertain and correctly caption names, places, and other vocabulary that are specific and critical to the nature and location of your emergency. 

Our Process

1.     Preparation

Captioners review scripts, agendas, broadcast run sheets, and other prep materials obtained from the client in advance of the program to assure captioning accuracy. The captioners first prepare their computer dictionaries by compiling a list of names and unique words likely to be used during the programs. Captioners then add these words to their computer dictionaries so that the captioning software recognizes them and they appear properly during the broadcasts.

2.     Connection

NCI receives an audio feed from the client. This can be either via IP or a Webcast feed. Captioner connects to the audio, and a data connection is established with the broadcaster and its integrity is verified.

3.     Captioning

Captioning begins at the start of the broadcast, with captioners having access to the program at the same time the audience views it. The captioner keys the dialogue of the program (steno) or respeaks the content (voice writers), which is then transcribed by NCI’s captioning software. Live captions always appear as roll-up captions.

4.     Caption Transmission 

For broadcast, the caption data is transmitted instantaneously via IP using NCI’s captioner control panel to the master control at the client’s site. There, the caption data is inserted into the video signal through the client’s caption encoder(s). Captioning is continuous and concludes at the end of the broadcast.

Why NCI? 

• NCI has the best trained and most experienced captioning staff. 

• We offer competitive rates and scheduling flexibility. 

• Proprietary technology virtually eliminates service disruptions caused by modem drops. 

• We have 24/7/365 technical support based on 40 years of experience. 

• Our scheduling department is standing by 24 hours a day, year round, to actualize your requests for captioning.  

• NCI offers English and Spanish real-time captioning and simultaneous English and Spanish captioning with live translation.  

• Through our best-in-class web captioning solution, Recapd, NCI is able to deliver captions to live webcasts, meetings, classrooms, streaming services, mobile apps, podcasts – virtually any content stream imaginable.