The Zencoder guide to closed captioning for web, mobile, and connected TV
Captioning is coming to internet video. Legislation goes into effect in the US during 2012 and 2013 that mandates closed captioning on certain categories of online content - see our earlier post for details on the legislation. But even apart from this legislation, closed captioning is a good thing for accessibility and usability, and is yet another milestone as internet video marches towards maturity.
Unfortunately, closed captioning is not a single technology or "feature" of video that can be "turned on". There are a number of formats, standards, and approaches, ranging from good to bad to ugly. Closed captioning is kind of a mess, just like the rest of digital video, and is especially challenging for multiscreen publishers.
So if you want to publish video today for web, mobile, and connected TV delivery, what do you have to know about closed captioning? This post will outline the basics: how closed captions work, formats you may need to know about, and how to enable closed captions for every screen.