​Updated: March 10, 2023

With resiliency in mind, spf.io gives you multiple options for ensuring accessibility of your next event: the Audience View, Open Captioning with spf.io Overlays, or the Zoom caption API token.

There are some trade-offs to consider. We have created the table below to help users understand the key differences and make an informed decision.

  Audience View Open Captions with spf.io Overlays Zoom caption API token
Considerations      
No API token required x x  
Viewer can control display x   x
No extra window required   x x
Easily viewable when there are multiple speakers x   x
Works for non-Zoom video conference calls x x  
Supports display of multiple languages x    

 

The following instructions explain how to integrate specifically with the Zoom caption API token method.

Note: the caption API token method works best with scheduled Zoom meetings, rather than personal meeting room IDs. Caption tokens from personal meeting room IDs do not currently refresh after expiration and may cause issues.

1. Setup your Zoom call and get the captioning link to your call by clicking on the small arrow beside “Show Captions” and then click on “Set up manual captioner”

If you don’t see this option in your Zoom call, you will need to go into your the Zoom web portal’s account settings and enable closed captioning. You may need to restart the Zoom meeting to see the new menu option.

 

 
2.  On “Enable manual captioner” select “On” and click onCopy the API token”.
 
 
 
3. Then create a spf.io session and open the Resources panel. Paste the link in the “Endpoints” tab for the language channel you want to display in the call.
 

4. On Zoom, click on “Show captions”, then select “English” and click “Save”.

 

Now any captions or document lines you release from spf.io will appear as a subtitle in the Zoom call video. Participants must enable “Show subtitle” for it to appear on their device.

 

Troubleshooting Steps

If you are experiencing problems with captions from spf.io not appearing in your Zoom call, please follow the steps below.

Question: My captions stopped appearing!

1. Re-save the caption endpoint in the Session Editor.

2. Get the latest version of the caption API token from Zoom and paste it into the caption endpoints–making sure to save. Zoom caption tokens can expire after a certain period of time.

Question: I want Language X to appear in the captions, but only English is appearing!

1. Double check that the caption token is pasted into the language you wish to display in the call.

2. Confirm that Zoom’s live transcription feature is disabled for your meeting. It must be disabled because Zoom’s closed captions only have space for one language.

Question: how do I host a bilingual Zoom call where we can change languages?

Spf.io supports bidirectional translation for Zoom calls. Read this article for more details on setting it up.

Can Zoom translate captions? Bilingual subtitles with spf.io’s Language Switcher

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