Simple Steps: Adding Comprehensive Captions to YouTube Videos

How To Add Captions to YouTube Videos

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

By captioning your YouTube videos you help to make them accessible to more potential viewers. Subtitles are useful to viewers who have hearing impairments, whose first language is different from yours, or who are unable to watch your video with sound. Closed captioning can also be useful for you as a YouTuber because it helps with your SEO, or search engine optimization. Practicing better SEO can get your videos ranked higher in search results. Google and YouTube both index subtitles and transcripts much like they do your video’s description, unless you use automated captions.

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

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To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

If the creator of the video has not added captions then you can enable automatic captions by going into your Account Settings and selecting Playback. Check the box next to Always Show Captions, and then check Show Automatic Captions by Speech Recognition. These captions may be flawed, but you will still be able to see the more accurate user submitted captions on videos that have them. The Always Show Captions feature may be useful not only to the hearing impaired, but to users who do not speak the same language as the video producer.

If you want to change the language of the subtitles click on the settings icon (the one that looks like a gear) next to the closed captioning icon and choose your language next to Subtitles/CC . If the language you want is not there select Auto-Translate and then pick a language. Google Translate will be used to generate subtitles in your chosen language.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Upload A File allows you to upload a pre-made subtitle file from your computer. Supported file types include SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv). You cannot use a word or PDF document for your subtitles.

Transcribe and Set Timings is where you can type a transcript of your video and set timings to sync it to your video. This differs from Create Subtitles or Closed Captions in that your transcript is all typed in to one text field.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The easiest way to add subtitles to your videos is to use Automatic Captioning. However, Automatic Captioning is imperfect and may result in your viewers getting a sloppy, skewed, interpretation of your video. Automatic captions are also not indexed by YouTube and Google the way subtitles you create or upload are. This means that they will not have any value to your SEO strategy. If you do not input your own captions or transcript you are missing out on an opportunity for better search engine rankings. Automatic Captions are great if you do not have time to input subtitles and need a temporary solution, though.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The Tube Sites Submitter is a fast and efficient tool for anyone who needs to upload videos quickly, easily and automatically to hundreds of tube sites in mere minutes .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Unlocking Past Mysteries: Top 10 Historical Channels for Learners

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Do you enjoy watching the YouTube history channel? Well, for the fact that you are looking for articles like this, your answer should be yes. The thing is that because you enjoy watching history channels on YouTube, this doesn’t mean that you know a lot about them. You might just watch them for fun, but one thing is knowing the right place to go for history videos. What this means is that You have to know about the best YouTube history channels to really enjoy history topics. Well, we have ten of the best history YouTube channels on this list that are known to provide adequate information and provide information as frequently as possible.

Part 1: Top 10 History YouTube Channels to Follow

Down to business, we have ten of the best history channels on YouTube provided for you on this list.

1. History

This has to be the most obvious one on the list because whenever you click to watch a video on the History YouTube channel, you always get what you came for. The History Youtube Channel as it was formerly known as is known for posting about topics like. World Wars, ancient recipes, and listicles of female species. There is a lot to learn about history from this channel. The user who is based in New York makes a post at least four times a day and has been working like this since 2009.

2. Weird History

This channel follows the name that they gave to themselves, they dedicated their channel to posting topics on weird history like the chronicles of history, crystal Pepsi, gout, life in a medieval castle, and the Victorian pastimes. All the videos are weird, most times they seem funny and spooky but they are just videos that make you think deeply because they seem too weird. Video is here makes you feel like a police officer chasing a man with the power to turn into a leopard. That is how confused you get from watching this channel. They usually make their posts every day. The channel provides videos for their subscribers 3 to 4 times a week

3. Tasting History With Max Miller

This channel is just a brilliant channel, why do we say this? Well, see what they do here. You might have an interest in learning about the dishes that are served in amazing series like Game of Thrones and other historical movies. You just want to know how they make those historical cuisines on these epic series, this is the channel for you. They recreate the dishes made in movies and series like Vikings and the rest. This channel was created to pass time by a Disney employee but he got the most out of it and has made it a full-time job, posting two to three videos daily.

4. History Civils

A YouTube channel created by someone who loves Rome like he were from there. A Rome freak who created a channel based on the Roman Empire. There are several histories to talk about when it comes to Rome, for instance, talking about NATO and Cleopatra. The videos on the channel are very short but they hit the nail directly on the head so you get to gain knowledge about old Rome and what it was before. Most of the videos are on the wars that were fought but they were also other Roman histories involved. This channel posts videos every week, at least once

5. Kings And Generals

This is another good history channel on Youtube, they provide the information through animated historical documentaries. From the channel from the title, you would know that the channel talks mainly in battles and politics, hence the name kings and generals. Aside from the war niche, the videos talk about some of the important happenings in history. The user makes a post on this channel for you to learn about the different kings and generals in history who lost and won their battles and crowns. Videos are posted twice a week

6. The Great War

This is a channel that has dedicated its time to learning about the great war known as World War 1. The channel shares videos telling the public about the era of World War 1. This is a major part of history and so it is something we ought to learn about. This isn’t just about the soldiers on the battlefield or how the bombs went off to destroy the enemies but it covers everything that happened within that period, from the kind of food they are to the way they dress and the technologies used. Even the different tribes, arts, and cultures. They post videos twice a week

7. Oversimplified

Normally, no one likes the idea of listening or learning from someone who makes things too complicated. Also, when learning, it is more interesting if you could understand it in the best way that you can. Not everything can be learned that way and not everyone can make something that easy to grasp. Channels like oversimplified make things easier for everyone to understand. They oversimplify their contents. They give you histories like the French revolution and the battle of Hastings and make it funnier and twist the storytelling to a way that people would find it interesting and funny sometimes. Videos are posted three times a week

8. The History Guy

The history guy is known well for the short time he takes in his video. Other history videos online are short but they are much shorter because they take 5 to 15 minutes. Even with this short time, he tends to cover different histories. They are a little bit odd histories but they seem interesting. Things like the wild wide west and the New York blackout that happened in 1977. Other things like how Europeans discovered Alaska and the great olive poisoning that happened in 1919. He makes the videos short because he aims at getting the audience in their spare time. Videos are posted 3 to 4 times a week

9. Timeline

This is a timeline popularly on YouTube as the home of world history. What they do here is drop a video once a week that talk about documentaries and other things. They explore around all of ancient Egypt, shedding their whole light on the former dark ages.

10. Epic History TV

Epic history TV tells you a lot about history and its most important occurrences talking about things like world war one and the epic history of nations like Russia and the story of legends like black beard the pirate. The TV only posts one video every month where you stand a chance to learn about different events that happened in the past.

Part 2: How to Avoid Being Misled by Fake History

For sure everyone knows the concept of fake news, this is like a rumor that people spread around to implicate those around them. Everyone is well aware that not every news is as authentic as it seems. Relating to the history part, you shouldn’t just go ahead and believe what everyone says on YouTube. Make sure you don’t fall for a fake history story. Sometimes, while trying to avoid fake history, you have to get a mindset that is critical, ensure that the source you get it from is checked, check the story out, take a look at the evidence given, and try to make sure it sounds believable.

Final Words

Sometimes it might help your mental health if you can take out time to watch some videos on YouTube, it has so many niches so you can choose the ones you like. History should be a good one for everyone.

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