Google has announced its Live Caption feature, which provides subtitles to video and audio content in real time, is coming to the Chrome browser.
The feature sees captions displayed in a box at the foot of the browser, with the speech-text tech doing the heavy lifting. It’s great for users who may have hearing disabilities or simply those unable to discern audio content in noisy environments.
Previously, the feature has only been available on Pixel phones and some Samsung Galaxy handsets, but now it’s rolling out on the Chrome browser on desktop. Once users enable the feature, they’ll see Live Caption whenever watching video or listening to audio files.
Google says: “These captions in Chrome are created on-device, which allows the captions to appear as the content plays without ever having to leave your computer. Live Caption also works offline, so you can even caption audio and video files saved on your hard drive when you play them in Chrome.”
In order to turn on Live Captions, you’ll need to head into Chrome Settings on the desktop. From there, you can access the Advanced section, followed by Accessibility. There you’ll find the option to toggle Live Captions on.
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Google says it’s currently available in the Windows, Mac and Linux versions of Chrome while, ironically, Chrome OS users will have to wait for a little while longer.
Google software engineer Laura D’Aquila, who is hard of hearing, says the benefits are clear. She said: “With Live Caption, I no longer have to miss out on watching videos because of lack of captions, and I can engage in real-life conversations with family, friends or colleagues about this content. Just recently, my coworker sent a video to our team’s chat, but it was not captioned. With Live Caption I was able to follow along and share my reactions to the video with my team.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
