Welcome to the IDS Caption Intro & Help Page

First of all, why caption?
According to the American Disabilities Act Section 1194.22, multimedia provided on the web must be captioned. Further, if the multimedia includes video, it must be synchronously captioned so the words being displayed match the action on the video. This helps the viewer more fully understand the message being conveyed by the speaker.

Microsoft Producer Integration
Microsoft PowerPoint is the industry standard visual presentation medium. Combined with its add-on, Microsoft Producer, it becomes an educationally rich, multimedia environment by combining audio, video, and synchronized PowerPoint slides. The resulting product can then be copied to a CD or even streamed to the web for wider dissemination. While Microsoft Producer is a powerful add-on, it does not have a built-in function to make or present captions. With the help of Microsoft, IDS has created and provided several caption-ready templates for Microsoft Producer. Click here to download and install the templates. NOTE: You must have MS Producer 2 installed on your computer prior to installing these templates. The caption-ready templates simply provide a space for the captions to appear on the screen. You still need a specialized software package to write and manage a few special files to tell Producer, or any other media player, how to handle your captions. IDS Caption is that software package. IDS Caption has several worthy competitors; some costing nearly $500, but none perform the tasks of transcription, video caption synchronization, and seamless Microsoft Producer integration like IDS Caption.

back to top

What is a SAMI file?
A SAMI file is used to synchronize media with captions. It consists of special formatting, the captions, and timing information. IDS Caption automatically creates this file when you click [File][Save SAMI As] then name the SAMI file.

What is an ASX file?
An ASX file marries the media file with the SAMI file. To create the ASX file, click on [File][Create ASX]. It will ask you to select the WMV or media file, then it will ask for the associated SAMI file. (If these files are in the same folder, it makes this process easier.) It will then ask you what you'd like to call name the ASX file. After it is saved, you can close IDS caption. Double-click on your saved ASX file and your media will play with the captions.

Menus
The main menu area is located in the upper left section of the window. From the [File] menu, there are several options:

[Open Media] imports the media file to be transcribed or captioned.

[New Caption File] puts IDS Caption in the Caption mode and clears the Caption Edit Area.

[New Transcript File] puts IDS Caption in the Transcript mode and clears the right hand of the screen for text.

[Open Transcript] imports an existing text file while in the Transcript mode

[Save Transcript As] saves a text transcript file while in Transcript mode.

[Import Text Script] will import a text file and prepare it for captioning.

To the right of the [File] menu is the [Windows Media] menu with three options. You'll use this menu if your desired output will play in a Windows Media format.

[Export SAMI] will save a SAMI file to your hard drive with captions, timing, and language information.

[Import SAMI] will import a previously created SAMI file.

[Create ASX] will create a fill that associates the SAMI file with the media.

To the right of the [Windows Media] menu is the [Producer] menu. It has only two options. This menu will prepare and format your output files specifically for MS Producer. No internal file manipulation!

[Open Producer] imports a media file from the MS Producer presentation main folder. Using this menu option instead of the [File] [Open Media] option tells IDS Caption how to format and where to put the finalized captioning files.

[Export to Producer] will export the SAMI and ASX files into your Producer presentation.

To the right of the [MS Producer] menu is the [Help] menu with three options:

[Register] will register IDS Caption.

[About IDS Caption] tells the who, what, when, and where of IDS Caption.

[Quick Key Reference] shows the hotkeys to save time in captioning.

[Help Contents] tells where to go for the installed and online help.

back to top

Control Panel Layout
Hold your mouse over a menu, button, or area to view a description of its function.

Just below the menus, the big black box to the left is where the video or media will appear. Just below the video box are the media control buttons. The slider bar immediately below the video box has a handle enabling you to scrub through the video to any location. To the right and left of the slider bar are "Back 3 Second" and "Forward 3 Second" buttons. The same 3-second-movements are also possible using the hotkeys [F11] and [F12] respectively.

Just below the video slider bar is a [Play/Pause] button. This function can also be accomplished with the [Tab] key. Using this button or [Tab] toggles between the "Play" and "Pause" functions from where ever the video is located at that time. Conversely, clicking on the [Stop] button stops the media and resets the media timeline back to the beginning.

To the right of the [Stop] button is the Sound Control area with a [Mute] button and another slider bar to control the volume. Immediately below the Sound Control area is a "Player Rate" area. This area controls the media playback rate. Slowing the playback rate down to ".5" speed, for instance, can make it easier to transcribe, (very slow talking voice while being transcribed) or speeding the playback up to "1.5" can make the caption synchronization operation less time consuming. (very fast talking voice while the captions are being synchronized with the video)

The right-hand section of IDS Caption is dedicated to the input and synchronization of text. The "Caption Edit Area" provides a space to type the text. IDS Caption defaults to the captioning mode when it opens. However, if transcription is the only desired outcome, IDS Caption can also act as a stand-alone transcriber. The output is a .txt file. To change to the transcription only mode, simply click on [File] then [New Transcript]. The text entry area will become one big text box. The media section will continue to function normally.

In the caption mode, black horizontal lines will segment each caption. The column to the right indicates the start time for each caption relative to the media start time of 00:00:00:00. Even if the video playback speed is at .5 (very slow), the caption times will correspond directly to the media, not actual clock time.

Below the caption area are three separate areas. The first area is the "Selection Commands" area. Use these buttons to manipulate the caption timing after they've been loaded or typed. The [Set Time] button will be the most commonly used button for caption synchronization.

The next area to the right is the "Global Commands" area which enables caption sorting, time clearing, and caption line additions. To the right of the "Global Commands" area is the "Language Commands" area. By default "US English" is set. Other languages can be added by the user. If more than one language is loaded at the time the project is saved, the resulting video synchronization files will contain all those languages. During playback of the media in Windows Media Player, the caption's language will be selectable by clicking [Play] then [Audio and Language Tracks], then selecting the desired language.

back to top

Yea, but how do I...?

This section is for those who want step-by-step
instruction on how to perform a specific task.

How to transcribe media:

1. Change to the transcription mode, click [File][New Transcript File]. The right window will become a blank notepad and will allow continuous typing of text while listening to the media. In Transcription Mode, the caption control buttons disappear.
2. If a media file hasn't been opened yet, [File][Open Media] and drill down to select your media.
3. Hit the [Stop] button to reset the media.
4. Slow the media down by clicking on the [ - ] button in the "Sound Control" area.
5. Use the [Tab] key or the [Play] button to start the media.
6. Click somewhere in the white text box and start transcribing.
7. To save the transcript, click [File][Save Transcript As].
8. To go back to the caption mode, click [File][New Caption File], or, close IDS Caption and restart.

back to top

How to transcribe and caption media simultaneously for Windows Media:

1. Create a working folder on your hard drive.
2. Put the media file in your working folder.
3. Open IDS Caption
4. [File][Open Media] then drill down to the working folder.
5. In the "Player Rate" area click on the " - " a few times to slow the playback rate down.
6. Click on the top caption line. Notice the blue highlight moves to that line. Hitting [Enter] will place a start time in the "Start Time" column.
7. Hit the play/pause hotkey [Tab] to start the media and start transcribing. Notice the captions appear under the media as they are being typed.
8. When you want to start a new caption, hit [Enter]. A Start Time will appear in the "Start Time" column of that caption. If these times are off at the end of the transcription, you'll be able to resynchronize the captions by using "Selection" and "Global Command" buttons on the bottom of the window.
9. To pause the video and catch up, hit the [Tab] key. This will not effect the timing of the captions.
10. To have the video continue to play but jump back three seconds hit [F11] or to jump forward, hit [F12].
11. Complete captioning to the end of the video.
12. To save your caption file for a Windows Media format, click [File][Export SAMI].

back to top

How to import media and text then synchronize captions for Windows Media:

1. Open IDS Caption
2. [File][Open Media] then drill down to the working folder
3. The media will start playing automatically for your quick preview purposes. Click the [Stop] to stop the media and reset it back to the beginning.
4. [File][Import Text script] to select your .txt file
5. Enter the largest number of characters per caption. [OK]
   • NOTE 1: This will automatically segment the text file into captions based on the number of characters entered in this box. The recommendation is around 88.
   • NOTE 2: Clicking and dragging the left or right side of the IDS Caption window will enlarge or shrink the Caption Edit Area. It's useful to be able to view the entire caption.
6. In the "Sound Control" area click the [ + ] button to speed up the media and subsequently the entire captioning process.
7. Hover the mouse over the [Set Time] button
8. Hit [Tab] to begin the video
9. Click the [Set Time] button as soon as the first word is spoken. The blue highlight will move down one line automatically to be ready for the next caption.
10. Click the [Set Time] button each time the last word of the caption is spoken. Continue this process through the end of the media. Keep in mind the time in the "Set Time" column is the time the caption will appear in the caption window.
11. [Windows Media][Export SAMI] Name the sami file anything descriptive.
12. [Windows Media][Create ASX]
    NOTE: If the Windows Media file and the SAMI file are named the same and located in the same folder, there's no need to have an ASX file. Playing the Windows Media file will automatically play its SAMI file in this situation. However, if they will be named differently or stored separately, the ASX file will be necessary.
    • Select the WMV or media file
    • Select the SAMI file (created in step 11) NOTE: If these files are in the same folder, it makes this process easier.
    • Name the ASX file
13. Close IDS caption
14. Double-click on your saved ASX file and your media will play with the captions.

back to top

How to caption a Microsoft Producer Project:

Assumptions:

• A Microsoft Producer presentation has been created on the hard drive using a Caption Template.
  • NOTE 1: These templates can be downloaded from IDS at http://www.usm.edu/ids/idsproducts . Run the Caption install program, then run MS Producer and use the new caption templates. Publish the presentation normally.
  • NOTE 2: During the creation of the Microsoft Producer presentation, do not use custom colors. The use of custom colors will disable the use of captions in MS Producer.

Producer Captioning Process:

1. Start IDS Caption
2. [MS Producer][Open Producer Movie]
3. [Select Movie] [Browse]
4. Drill down to the Producer project folder and select the .wmv file. [Open]
5. If a script has already been created, you can import it by [File][Import Text script] then enter the largest number of characters per caption. The recommendation is around 88.
6. If a SAMI file was previously made and saved, you can import it by [Windows Media][Import SAMI].
7. If no script or SAMI file was created earlier, click on the top right cell and prepare to transcribe your media.
8. IDS Caption starts the media automatically. To stop it and reset the media at the beginning click the [Stop] button.
9. Hit [Tab] to begin the video
• NOTE: Click the [ - ] button to slow it down for transcription.
10. Transcribe into the "Caption Edit Area" and hit [Enter] to move to the next caption. This will also enter a time in the "Start Time" column for that caption. If these times are off at the end of the transcription, you'll be able to resynchronize the captions by using "Selection" and "Global Command" buttons on the bottom of the window.
11. [Stop]
12. [MS Producer][Export to Producer] A message window will appear saying the export of 0MM0.smi and 0MM0.asx have been exported successfully.
13. Close IDS Caption and run your Producer project by double-clicking on the .htm file in your project folder.

back to top

Hotkeys, Buttons, & Tips
Keyboard

[Tab] = Play/Pause toggle

[F11] = Media rewind 3 seconds

[F12] = Media forward 3 seconds

[Enter] (in Captioning Mode) = Start Time for the caption is recorded and the next caption is ready to type in.

Tip 1 : Clicking and dragging the left or right side of the IDS Caption window will enlarge or shrink the Caption Edit Area. It's useful to be able to view the entire caption.

Tip 2 : When creating an MS Producer presentation, don't use the custom colors option; it will disable the captioning capabilities.

Tip 3 : IDS Caption looks best in 1024X768 screen resolution

Please give us feedback. If you have comments or problems, please contact Rich Baker, IDS' Technology Coordinator at Richard.Baker@usm.edu . We greatly value your input.

back to top

IDS Caption Program Requirements

Windows Media Player 10

• Download for free from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/10/default.aspx
• To enable captions to play in Windows Media Player 10 in stand-alone (without MS Producer):
  1. [Tools]
  2. [Options]
  3. [Security] tab
  4. [ X ] Show local captions when present
  5. [OK]
  6. [Play] from the top menu again
  7. [Captions and Subtitles]
  8. Select "On If Available"

back to top

IDS Products

Home

Parenting Based on Developmental Progression of Preterm Infants

IDS Caption

...And Justice for All

IDS Caption Intro and Help

Why Caption?

Microsoft Producer Integration

What is a SAMI file?

What is an ASX file?

IDS Caption Program Requirements

Menus

Control Panel Layout

Hotkeys,
Buttons, & Tips

Step-By-Step Instructions on how to:

Just Transcribe

Transcribe and caption media simultaneously

Import media
and text then synchronize captions

Caption a Microsoft Producer Project