Once the Live Captioning module has been activated within 3Play Media, follow the steps below to schedule captions for an event using our RTMP workflow.
| Note: Events default to US-Eastern time unless a new timezone has been configured at the user level and configured for users outside of the US-Eastern time zone. |
Prerequisites
- This service is not available to Express customers
1. Provide Event Details
Navigate to the Live Captioning page
Click into the Live Captioning module within your 3Play Media project and select RTMP as your platform option.
Select Service Type
For RTMP streams, we offer both Automatic and Professional Live Captioning options.
Add Event Name
Add in a name for your event that will make it easy for you to find the event when searching for it after scheduling.
Select Event Start Time
Click the calendar icon to choose the MM/DD/YYYY and HH:MM:SS of the event. The time will automatically be set to 5 minutes from the current time but can be manually edited within the field.
| Note: The live event must be scheduled at least 5 minutes in the future and it is editable up until 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. 3Play will initiate a service to listen for your stream at this time. Do not attempt to stream to 3Play before the event start time, as the stream connection will fail. |
Add an Estimated Event Duration
Tell us how long you estimate your event to be. Your estimated event length assists with scheduling. 3Play will be ready to provide captions for the entire length of the event
Add a Pre-Event Start Time
This is how many minutes before your event's start time you can begin streaming to 3Play. We will be ready to provide captions for your event at this time.
Streaming to 3Play from your encoder
To allow 3Play to receive your stream and create captions, you will stream to 3Play's caption service from your encoder. As a default, 3Play will provide you with a stream target (transcoder). The RTMP URL address and Key to the stream target are provided on the confirmation page of this workflow; you'll enter this information into your encoder stream settings in preparation for the event.
- You may also elect to use a Reserved Stream Target, please see this support document for additional information. If you do not have a reserved stream target, please set this option to "Use single-use transcoder".
Streaming quality & bandwidth recommendation: 3Play recommends a stream >2mbps.
Caption Delivery
Captions may be delivered to a captions embed, which is a code snippet (iFrame or Javascript) that can be added to a webpage (this requires access to the code through which the embed can be added). The following steps outline utilization of the captions embed.
- 3Play will also deliver captions to a second screen webpage, additional information on this captioning delivery method is available in this support document.
- Single-use external URL's are unique to each event
If you choose to create a new static URL, you can then use this URL when scheduling future events to have a static endpoint for your caption delivery URL or embed.
Select a File Storage Location
Choose a folder within your 3Play Media account to send your finished live transcript to after your event is over.
Select an Event Type
Tell us more about what captioner may be best for your event by selecting an accurate event type for us to categorize your event under.
Provide an Event Description (optional)
Tell us more about your event with details to help our captioner research anything that they may need prior to your event starting.
Provide a list of Speaker Names or a Wordlist (optional)
Provide us with a list of properly spelled speaker names for our captioners to use when captioning your event ( Live professional captioning ).
Set your Profanity Filter (optional)
Tell us how you'd like profanity in your event to be filtered, if at all.
Set your Stream Reconnection Wait Time
If your live stream disconnects during the event, this is how long we will wait before we disconnect from delivering captions. After this time has passed, you will no longer be able to connect to this event.
Set Your Max Stream Time
Set Your Captioning Overtime Option
If you go over your estimated event duration, we will fall back to this option until your maximum event duration has been reached.
2. Enter Support Contact Information
Please enter contact information for your event host or the person streaming your event to us in the event that 3Play Technical support needs to get in touch.
3. Click Schedule Captioning
Click "Schedule captioning" on the right-hand side of the page to schedule your event once you have provided all of the necessary information.
4. Copy Input RTMP URL & Key from the Confirmation Page
3Play will provide you with an Input RTMP URL & Key on the event details page for your event. Enter this information into your encoder to stream to us when your event starts. You can find this information under the event details on the lower right-hand side of the page for your event.
| Note: With the exception of a reserved stream target, your RTMP URL and Stream Key will be unique for each event. |
- If you are running multiple RTMP events, you will need to ensure that you save the information for each event to enter into your transcoder before each event stream.
Copy Embed Code
Once scheduled, the 3Play Live Captioning embed code will be immediately available and then can be added to your live event page.
Copy the iFrame embed code under Live Captioning Details to paste onto your webpage. While a JavaScript embed is available the iFrame is the preferred embed code for most uses. The Javascript embed allows for advanced customization.
| Note: This embed code only contains the text/captions and not the video. |
Once the Live Captioning event has been scheduled, event settings can be edited up to 5 minutes prior to the Event Start Time that was selected in step 2.
Click for information on how to edit the live caption's event settings for a scheduled event
3Play recommends you follow the tips below to ensure more accurate captions for your professional live captioned events:
- Captions for live events work best when the event contains high-quality audio and one person is speaking at a time (no overlapping audio)
- Add event instructions and a wordlist to help 3Play better understand the context around your event
Additional Options Upon Completion of Your Live Event