If you are interested in knowing what's the difference between subtitles vs. closed captions, here's a detailed article. The post includes the differences, types, and when to use the subs and CCs. Also, find an excellent auto subtitle generator for your videos.
Very few people know that subtitles and closed captions are distinct, not entirely, but to an extent. Adding subtitles to MP4 videos allows you to reach a wider audience and closed captions for people with hearing problems. Most people think both are interchangeable due to their similarities, but understanding their differences will help you narrate your stories or content on video with appropriate options.
But what is the difference between subtitles vs. closed captions, when to use them, and how to add captions to YouTube videos, Instagram, and movies? Find everything in this article in detail.
The subtitles and captions are timed text solutions to make the videos accessible to all audiences. Find the meaning and the difference between these two texts to know what separates them.
1. What are subtitles?
Subtitles came into existence in the 1930s, when silent films transitioned into talkie films. They provide a textual translation of the videos' languages to accommodate foreign language audiences who are not familiar with the language in the film. There are also open-source subtitle generators available, and you can choose based on your specific needs.
2. What does it contain, and what is its type?
Subtitles may appear in various styles, but they often appear in white or yellow color outlines in black. Now, let us see the types of subtitles you can see on your video.
3. Who is the target audience?
The inclusion of subtitles is generally to widen the reach of the video. There are many languages in the world, and as the accessibility to the internet grows, the makers want to add subtitles on Tiktok, YouTube, social media, and movies to reach a larger audience. The subtitles help you overcome the language barrier.
4. When to use it?
Subs are typically used when the video makers or producers assume the viewer is unfamiliar with the language in the video. Here are some indicators to use the subtitles:
1. What are closed captions?
Closed Captions, introduced in the early 1970s, transcribe the dialogue along with the scene in the same language. If a deaf or a person with hearing impairments wants to watch videos, it prompts the makers to add close captioning to a video.
2. What does it contain, and what is its type?
Captions are of two types: open and closed. The open captions are burned into the video and cannot be turned on, whereas the closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer. There are two types of captions.
3. Who is the target audience?
The closed captions are not for any target audience but for people with hearing impairments or issues. The idea is to provide information about the scene and its emotions, along with textual information. The CCs contain background music, narrator identity, music, actions, etc in the video content.
4. When to use it?
Closed captions are introduced to cater to deaf communities to perceive background sounds and music, speaker identity, and other audio cues. There is also a law in ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) to make captioning a default in content settings. The law soon became a mandate, and the CCs were burned or added to all the TV series aired.
It is hard to compare the closed captions and subtitles due to the minute difference. But here's a simple breakdown of both to give you a much clearer view.
| Feature🎆 | Closed Captions📹 | Subtitles📺 |
| Text Transcribed | Yes | Dialogue only |
| Audience Assumption | D/deaf and hard of hearing | May or may not hear the audio (SDH and Non-SDH) |
| Speaker Identity | Yes | Sometimes |
| In source language | Yes | No |
| Music and Sound effects | Yes | No |
| Can be turned on/off | Yes | Yes |
| Appearance | While the text on the black box; 32 characters per line | With or without the black box; 42 characters per line |
What is better between Subtitles and Closed Captions will depend on various nuances. It will majorly depend on the type of target audience. If we try to break it down, here's what one can assume while choosing between Subs and CCs.
Subtitles are for viewers who can hear the audio but do not understand the language, whereas closed captions provide a way for viewers who cannot watch the video with the text and nuances in the video. CCs are a translation of the same language, and the subtitles are of a different language.
One might also feel that the CC and SDH are almost the same, but they are not. The CCs are designed to accommodate D/deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences of the same language, while the SDH is to accommodate D/deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences who cannot understand the language.
Both the timed text files are to improve the accessibility for various audiences. Some find them distractive, and some find them useful, but the ability to keep them on/off makes a huge difference for many users.
Adding the proper subtitles and closed captions to videos at the correct time intervals improve the reach of your video. EaseUS VideoKit is an all-in-one video and audio editor capable of generating subtitles and captions for videos. This AI-powered tool offers video converting, compressing, noise reduction, voice removal, video editing, and many more tools to be the best video editor available on the market. It features:
Its analysis automatically identifies the vocals and produces video subtitles. You can also open SRT file, export the subtitles in SRT or TXT files, and share them. Along with generation, you can also customize the font styles, text color, background color, and position of the text.
With all the excellent editing options and the best auto subtitle generator features, EaseUS VideoKit aims to be a complete video player and editing tool for both novice and professional users.
Here's a guide to adding subtitles to videos in EaseUS VideoKit.
Step 1. Open EaseUS VideoKit and find the "Subtitle Generator" panel.
Step 2. Click "Choose File" or drag the YouTube video file to the interface.
Step 3. Wait for the AI analyzing.
Step 4. Click the "Text" button to change the text, or customize font, background, and position under "Style" menu.
Step 5. Click "Export Subtitle" to select exported subtitle format, "Save to" to change location, and press "Export" to export the video with subtitles.
To conclude the debate subtitles vs. closed captions, Subtitles are for people who can hear but do not understand the language, and Close Captions are for those who cannot hear and need transcriptions of audio and background. The usage depends on the context, need, and audience.
However, both the subtitles and closed captions improve the accessibility for the users. And an automatic subtitle generator like EaseUS VideoKit to generate subs and CCs for your videos. This software can be perfect for audio and video editing to make professional videos. If you like the content, please share it with your friends.
Here are some of the most frequent FAQs asked on Subtitles vs. Closed Captions. If you have similar queries hope this will help you. Hope it helps.
This norm often arises because the captions are not visible until you turn them on using the settings. The other reason is when the subtitles are embedded into the video, called closed captions.
No, This depends on the user who is uploading the video. If the user intends to make the videos for people who are deaf, they are called closed captions; if they are for users who cannot understand the language, they are called subtitles.
The English Captions [CC] are transcriptions of the dialogue for the users who cannot hear, whereas the English subtitles are for those who do not understand the language spoken in the video. But recently, the subtitles also include transcriptions to help the viewer.
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