How to Add Captions & Transcripts to Lync (Skype for Business) Recordings

Add Captions and Subtitles to Lync Meeting RecordingsLync (Skype for Business) is a cloud video conferencing platform that is integrated with Microsoft Office. You can record a Lync meeting as a video to use for future reference or to share with colleagues. This how-to guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to create transcripts or add closed captions to make recorded meetings accessible to viewers through text.

Step 1 – Record and Download your Lync Meeting

While you are in a Lync meeting, select More Options > Start Recording. When you are done click Stop Recording. The recording will be saved as an MP4 file on your computer in the folder /Videos/Skype for Business (Lync) Recordings/. You can also access the recording by navigating to Tools > Recording Manager. Also, see additional documentation for recording your Lync/Skype meetings.

 

Start Recording selected in Lync Meeting

Step 2 – Submit Your Lync Recording for Transcription

Log into your 3Play Media account.

From the Upload tab at the top of the screen, select From Computer, choose your video, and follow the onscreen prompts to specify turnaround. You’ll receive an email when your video has been transcribed.

 

For additional details, read the support article on uploading videos for transcription and captioning.

Screenshot with Upload Media and Choose Files selected under From Computer

Step 3 – Order Captions Encoded Into Your Recording

This step will produce a self-contained M4V file with embedded closed captions that can be turned on or off by the end user. There is also an option to produce an M4V file with open captions that are burned into the video and can’t be turned off.

Once you’ve received an alert that your video has been transcribed, log into your 3Play Media account.

Select My Files from the top navigation.

Check the box next to your Lync recording, and select Order > Caption Encoding.

 

The caption encoding process may take up to 4 hours. Upon completion, you will receive an email notification with a link to download the captioned video.

Screenshot with Order and Caption Encoding selected

Why Use Video Transcripts?

Since your video needs to be transcribed to create closed captions anyway, why not download your meeting transcript and share that with attendees, too?

Video transcripts are great for skimming your meeting content.

Digital transcripts are easily searchable so you can find what you’re looking for immediately.

Blind and deaf-blind people may need a text transcript that is accessible by screenreader. If a person with a disability requests a downloadable transcript of your Lync meeting, you may be required by federal accessibility law to provide one.

Download Transcript of Lync Recording

To download a transcript of your Lync meeting, navigate to your file from My Files on your 3Play account.

Check the box next to your file and hit Download.

Click on Transcript Formats, and a range of file formats will display.

Select the file format(s) you want for your downloadable transcript. A plain text file, PDF, or MS Word Doc should be sufficient for most transcript needs. If you want a transcript with time stamps included, select “Stamped Doc.”

Once you click on a file format, your transcript will immediately download to your computer.

Screenshot of Transcript Format window with format options

How to Add Subtitles to Lync Recordings

If you want to add subtitles in other languages, submit your Lync recording for translation.

In your 3Play Media account, click on your video file under My Files.

Select Order > Translation.

Choose the language you want for your subtitles, as well as the style of translation.

Once your translation is completed, follow Step 3 above to encode subtitles into your video. You can also download a transcript of the translation.

How to Add Subtitles to Zoom Recordings