Open vs closed captions: are burned-in captions accessible?
By the maker of Captions Cut. Facts checked on from the pages listed under Sources.
The short answer
Open captions are burned into the picture and cannot be turned off; closed captions are a separate track the viewer switches on. WCAG 2.2 accepts either for its captions requirement (success criterion 1.2.2): open captions are a listed sufficient technique. To count, captions must include all the dialogue and important sounds, identify speakers, stay in sync and not cover important content. What open captions cannot give is the viewer’s own control of size and colour.
The terms
| Term | Meaning (W3C) |
|---|---|
| Captions | A synchronized text alternative for both speech and the non-speech audio needed to understand the media: sound effects, music, laughter, who is speaking. |
| Closed captions | Captions the viewer can turn on and off in the player. |
| Open captions | Captions that cannot be turned off, for example because they are embedded in the video. |
| Subtitles | Usually the dialogue only, often in another language. In some countries “subtitles” also means captions. |
What WCAG 2.2 asks
- 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded), level A: captions for all prerecorded audio in synchronized media.
- Open captions count: technique G93, “providing open (always visible) captions”, is a sufficient technique, beside G87 for closed captions.
- Complete: leaving out dialogue or important sounds is a documented failure (F8).
- Not in the way: captions should not obscure or obstruct relevant information in the video.
What good captions are
The US FCC’s caption quality rules for television name four qualities that are a good test for any video: accurate (the words spoken), synchronous (on screen when said), complete (start to finish) and appropriately placed (not blocking important content). The DCMP Captioning Key adds: no more than two lines, and keep clear of names, faces and mouths.
The trade-off of burned-in captions
W3C’s media accessibility requirements note that users should have final control over caption styling such as colour and font, which burned-in captions cannot offer. Where a platform takes a caption file, add one as well: Captions Cut exports the burned-in video and an SRT file from the same transcript. And add [sounds] and speaker names to the transcript where they matter, since automatic captions write words only.
Questions
Are burned-in captions ADA compliant?
Laws differ by country and case, so this is not legal advice. The technical standard most laws point to, WCAG, accepts open captions for its captions requirement as long as they are complete, accurate and in sync.
Are captions and subtitles the same?
Captions include sounds and speaker names for people who cannot hear the audio; subtitles usually give only the dialogue, often translated. In the UK and elsewhere, “subtitles” is also used for captions.
Sources
- W3C: WCAG 2.2, Understanding 1.2.2
- W3C: technique G93, open captions
- W3C: WCAG 2.2 glossary, captions
- W3C WAI: captions and subtitles
- W3C: Media Accessibility User Requirements
- 47 CFR 79.1, caption quality (Cornell LII)
- DCMP Captioning Key
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