Kaltura - How to Disable or Enable Captions for Media in MediaSpace [UW-Madison]

After a caption file has been created and uploaded for a media file in Kaltura MediaSpace, you can disable or enable them to control whether they are shown on the player. This document describes the process for disabling and enabling those captions.

Note: The steps in this page are not be required as of Monday, May 15th, 2023. Machine captions are automatically be set to "Show on Player" when they are returned, eliminating the need for users to manually perform these steps.

Note: Kaltura's "machine captioning" process is commonly considered to be only 75% accurate. If your captions were generated with this automated process, we strongly encourage you to edit those captions to ensure or improve their accuracy. Instructions on editing captions are available in Kaltura - How to Edit Captions in Kaltura MediaSpace [UW-Madison] .

To turn "on" your captions for your media file, log into Kaltura MediaSpace, and locate the media file in question: 

  1. Click the Actions drop-down menu and select Edit:
    A screenshot showing the user having clicked the Actions drop-down menu. The cursor hovers over the "Edit" option which is outlined in orange.


  2. Click the Captions tab.
    Screenshot of tabs with "Captions" tab highlighted

  3. Locate the caption file you wish to make available to the end user, and click the Show on Player icon. (That is the icon on the far-right.)
     Screenshot of caption file listing, with "Show on Player" button highlighted
    • This icon is a toggle, alternating between "Show on Player" and "Don't Show on Player".

  4. Once this setting has been changed, you may need to refresh your browser window to notice the change on the media file.
  5. To ensure the change has taken place, click the CC button (lower-right of the video window).
     Screenshot of caption selection menu with "English auto-generated" label