These instructions explain how to automatically generate live captions in your web browser for any audio/video that is playing on your computer, including people speaking in a live Collaborate session.
Requirements
- Windows (the instructions don't cover macOS at the moment but it does work there)
- Google Chrome web browser
- You must have administrator permissions on your computer and be able to install software on your computer
Privacy
Your recorded audio is sent to Google's speech-to-text service and the captions are sent back to your browser. At no point does your audio pass through Web Captioner servers. For more info read Web Captioner's privacy page.
Overview of the Process
The first step is to install a program called VB-Cable. We use VB-Cable to take your computer audio and turn it onto a virtual microphone. Next we will use a free website, Web Captioner, to listen to the virtual microphone and automatically generate live captions and display them in your web browser. To put this another way, Web Captioner will listen to your computer's audio and automatically caption what it hears. Web Captioner is a website, you will grant permission for Web Captioner to listen to your audio, and once you've closed the browser tab that runs Web Captioner it can no longer listen to your audio (until you re-open it).
Once you've completed this process you will need to manually set your microphone in any program you use (e.g., Collaborate) and if you want to change the speakers you're using (e.g., change from desktop speakers to headset) you will need to manually make that change (you may be used to it automatically changing when you plug in a device such as your headphones).
If you don't like the changes and don't wish to continue using live captioning, there are simple instructions at the bottom to essentially turn it off and go back to how things were.
Steps
Download the VB-CABLE Driver. (if you want more info on what this is you can find it here).
Right click on the VBCABLE_Driver_Pack43.zip file, select Extract all, and select Extract. This will create the folder VBCABLE_Driver_Pack43. You can delete the zip file.
Open the VBCABLE_Driver_Pack43 folder, right click on the file VBCABLE_Setup_x64 and select Run as administrator and grant permissions to make changes if asked.
Note: If you do not see the option Run as administration you do not have administrator permissions on your computer and will not be able to continue.
Select Install Driver. If you get a Windows Security popup, select the Install button.
Once it's done installing, do not reboot the computer. Continue to the next step.
On the Windows taskbar, right-click the Volume button and select Sounds.
You should see the Windows Sound Control Panel (shown below). If the step above didn't work for you (perhaps you don't have the volume button), try this: on your keyboard, press the Windows-key + R-key combination to open the Run box, type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter.
Once you have the Sound Control Panel open, select the Playback tab.
Select CABLE Input and select the Set Default button to make it your default playback device.
Select the Recording tab.
Select CABLE Output and select Set Default. If it is already selected as the default the Set Default button will be greyed out.
Select CABLE Output and select the Properties button.
- Select the Listen tab.
- Enable Listen to this device.
- Set Playback through this device to the device that you'd like to hear audio on, probably your speakers or headset. Do not set it to the default device or to CABLE In or you will not hear anything.
Select the OK button twice to exit the Sound Control Panel.
Open your web browser and navigate to webcaptioner.com. At the top right, select the Start Captioning button.
At the bottom right select the Start Captioning button. If Web Captioner asks to use your microphone, grant it permissions to do so.
Web Captioner will display the captions of any voice audio that is playing on your computer, including a live Collaborate session.
At this point Web Captioner should be working. If it's not working refer to the Troubleshooting section below. Web Captioner seems to often display a Too Quiet warning at the bottom–you can usually ignore this, but ensure that the volume in the application you're using (e.g., Collaborate or YouTube) is set to 100%.
With these changes, your computer system audio is now available to programs such as Web Captioner as the VB-Cable CABLE Output microphone.
Other Things You May Want to Know
Web Captioner Settings
On the Web Captioner page at the bottom right is a Settings button. Click Settings once to open the settings menu. In the settings menu you can Save the transcript, Create a new window, or Clear the transcript. If you click on the Settings button in the settings menu you'll see additional settings including some useful keyboard shortcuts at the bottom.
How to switch audio devices but keep your computer ready to run Web Captioner
You want to be able to keep using Web Captioner simply by opening it and pressing the Start Captioning button twice but you also want to switch between audio output devices (e.g. between headphones and speakers).
Steps: Return to the Windows Sound Control Panel. Select the Recording tab, select CABLE Output, select the Properties button, and select the Listen tab. Under Playback through this device, select the device you would like to switch to. Select the OK button twice to exit the Sound Control Panel.
How to change the volume of your speakers or headset when you're using Web Captioner
Leave the Windows volume and the volume in your application (Collaborate, etc.) at 100%. To change the volume of your speakers or headset, return to the Sound Control Panel, select the Playback tab, select the device you want to change the volume on, select the Properties button, select the Levels tab, change the volume level to your preference and click OK twice to close the Sound Control Panel.
How to stop using Web Captioner and return your audio settings to how they were
If you probably don't want to use Web Captioner again and simply want to return your audio settings to how they were.
Steps: Return to the Windows Sound Control Panel. Under the Playback tab set your preferred speakers or headset to the default. Under the Recording tab select CABLE Output, select the Properties button, select the Listen tab, disable Listen to this device, and select the OK button. While you're still on the Recording tab, set your preferred microphone to the default. Select the OK button to exit the Sound Control Panel.
Troubleshooting
Captioning is working but captioning quality is poor
Although Web Captioner works well in general, it will not be able to accurately caption all voice audio. Captioning works best if
- People speak at a regular pace or slower (not too quickly)
- People speak clearly
- People speak with a good quality microphone. And if they're transmitting their audio live over the internet then they should also have a good quality internet connection and avoid using wireless.
- There is no background music or noise or it's as quiet as possible.
- Volume in Windows and the application (e.g., Collaborate, YouTube) is set to 100%. You can change the volume of your speakers or microphone to anything you'd like, as explained above under the "how to change the volume of your speakers or headset..." heading.
Web Captioner isn't working at all (nothing is being captioned)
- Reboot the computer and try it again.
- Ensure Windows Volume is not muted
- Try running Web Captioner in the Chrome web browser, if you're not already.
- More suggestions coming...