What are Closed Captions?
Closed captions (CC) are optional on-screen text that represents spoken dialogue and important sound cues in a video. Viewers can usually turn them on or off, and they are commonly delivered as separate caption files like SRT or VTT.
Closed captions are a type of caption track that viewers can enable or disable in a video player. Unlike open captions (which are always visible), closed captions are typically stored as a separate file and rendered by the player. A good closed-caption track includes not only the words being spoken, but also key non-speech information like sound effects or speaker changes when that context matters (for example, [door slams], [laughter], or identifying different speakers in a meeting recording).
Why it matters
Closed captions improve accessibility for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and help anyone watching without sound, in a noisy environment, or in a second language. For support, ops, L&D, and product teams, captions make process videos easier to follow and search: users can skim, jump to the right moment, and understand steps even when audio quality is not perfect.
Captions can also reduce rework. If your team updates an SOP video, having a caption file makes it faster to correct terminology (tool names, field labels, error messages) without re-recording.
How it works
Most closed captions are created from a transcript and then time-synced to the video. The result is a caption file that contains text plus timestamps. Common formats:
- SRT: simple and widely supported; good default for many platforms.
- VTT (WebVTT): common on the web; supports more styling and metadata in some players.
Some platforms also use embedded caption tracks inside the video container (for example, certain MP4 workflows), but the idea is the same: captions are separate from the visible video image and can be toggled.
Tools often generate captions using automatic speech recognition (ASR) and then you review and edit. In Vidocu, teams can auto-generate subtitles from a screen recording, edit the text for accuracy, and reuse that transcript to produce step-by-step help articles with screenshots, keeping video and documentation consistent.
Best practices
- Prioritize accuracy for product terms: verify feature names, button labels, and error text.
- Keep captions readable: break lines at natural phrases, avoid long blocks of text, and aim for short, easy-to-scan lines.
- Sync timing to actions: in tutorials, align captions with clicks and field changes so learners can follow.
- Include important sound cues: only when they add meaning (for example, an alert tone indicating an error).
- Test in your target player: formatting support varies across LMSs, help centers, and internal wikis.
Why it matters
Optional, not burned in
Closed captions can be turned on or off because they are rendered by the video player, usually from a separate caption track.
More than dialogue
Good CC includes relevant sound cues and speaker context, not just the spoken words.
Delivered as SRT or VTT
SRT and VTT are the most common file formats for distributing closed captions across platforms.
Supports accessibility and comprehension
Captions help viewers who cannot use audio and improve understanding for training and support content.
Easier to maintain than re-recording
Updating a caption file is often faster than redoing a voiceover when terms or steps change.
Examples
- •A support team publishes a troubleshooting video with an SRT closed-caption file so users can follow along in a noisy office or with audio muted.
- •An L&D team uploads a compliance training video to an LMS and includes VTT captions to meet accessibility requirements and improve completion rates.
- •A product team shares a feature walkthrough internally with CC enabled by default, helping global teammates understand the demo without turning on audio.
- •An ops team updates an onboarding screen recording and edits the caption text to match new field names without re-recording the entire tutorial.
Frequently asked questions
Subtitles usually translate or transcribe dialogue for viewers who can hear the audio, while closed captions are designed for accessibility and can include sound cues and speaker information. In practice, many tools label both as subtitles, but the intent and level of detail differ.
Closed captions are optional and can be toggled on or off. Open captions are burned into the video image and are always visible.
SRT is the most broadly supported. VTT is common for web players and some LMS or help center setups, especially when WebVTT is required.
Captions themselves are primarily for accessibility and usability. However, having a transcript and consistent text can support search and content reuse when you also publish the text as documentation or help articles.
For accessibility and training, aim for high accuracy, especially for names, product terms, and numbers. Auto-generated captions should be reviewed and corrected before publishing.
Related terms
Learn more
- AI Subtitles Generator — Generate and edit subtitles and captions from a screen recording.
- Video Translation — Localize your video content for 65+ languages, useful when pairing translated audio with caption tracks.
- Help Article Generator — Turn a video transcript into a step-by-step help article with screenshots.