Google today rolled out its live caption transcription feature to version 89 of Chrome browser for desktop, as first spotted by XDA Developers.
Previously only available on some Pixel and Samsung phones, Live Captions uses machine learning to create a real-time transcription for videos or audio played through the browser, making online media more accessible for members of the Deaf community and other people with hearing loss.
Once enabled, Live Captions appear in a box in the bottom of the browser whenever you play audio or video that includes people talking. We tried it on YouTube videos and Spotify podcasts, and it worked well, although the words do appear after a slight delay and aren't always 100% accurate.
It's also worth mentioning that the feature only seems to work for spoken English at this time, but otherwise it's generally pretty good at transcribing speech where captions may not have been available. Here's how to get it working.
How to Enable Google Chrome's New Live Caption Feature
Launch Google Chrome on your desktop.
Click the customize button in the top-right corner of the browser window (the vertical column of three dots).
Click Settings in the dropdown menu.
Click the Advanced heading to expand the section, then select Accessibility.
Click the switch next to Live Captions to enable it. If you don't see the option, make sure you're updated to Chrome 89 (Settings -> About Chrome). If the browser's already up-to-date, quit the app and then relaunch it, and you should see the new Live Captions setting appear.
As soon as you enable Live Captions, Chrome will begin downloading speech recognition files, a process that should take only a few seconds. Once it's finished, you should see an automatic transcription whenever someone is talking in video or audio that's being played back through the browser.
You can expand the live transcription box to make it larger by clicking the small chevron at the bottom of the overlay, and drag it around the screen for better positioning. Captions will also appear if you mute the audio or have the volume turned down, allowing you to follow videos or podcasts without distracting anyone in the vicinity.
This isn't too surprising to me. About four years ago when I was working through my Masters degree, I would upload my interviews to a private youtube channel for transcription (got done in about an hour I think it was). Same tech, same company and they have had a chance to refine it by now so I am sure it is much faster (obviously). Really cool stuff though, and really convenient.
Thursday February 11, 2021 1:30 pm PST by Juli Clover
Google is testing a new feature for its Google Chrome app for iOS, which will let Incognito tabs be locked with either Face ID or Touch ID on an iPhone or iPad.
As highlighted by 9to5Google, the latest Chrome beta will blur Incognito tabs in the Chrome app until confirmed with the iPhone's biometric authentication.
The feature can be enabled by going to Settings > Privacy > Lock Incognito ...
Tuesday November 17, 2020 11:02 am PST by Juli Clover
Google today updated its Chrome browser for macOS to version 87.0.4280.66, introducing an icon change that's meant to make the Chrome browser better fit in with the new macOS Big Sur design.
The Chrome browser's icon now features a white background behind it, which is the only change that Google has made. In the prior version of Chrome, it had no white background and was just the standard...
Google is adding a new "Save to Photos" button to Gmail that, when pressed, automatically saves emailed picture attachments to Google Photos.
The new feature means Gmail users will no longer have to download photo attachments from messages in order to manually back them up to Google Photos.
The "Save to Photos" option will go alongside the existing "Add to Drive" button that appears when...
Apple today released tvOS 14.6, the sixth update to the tvOS 14 operating system that was released in September 2020. tvOS 14.6 comes a month after the release of tvOS 14.5, an update that added a new Color Balance feature and support for the latest gaming controllers.
tvOS 14.6, which is a free update, can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to...
Google today introduced Chrome 90 for iPhones, iPads, and the iPod touch, adding support for new Search and Dino widgets on devices running a version of iOS 14.
There are three separate Chrome widgets available. There's a two tile search interface that lets you conduct a quick search with quick access to voice search and incognito mode, a single tile search widget, and a shortcut to play the ...
Mozilla today announced the public release of Firefox 89 for macOS with a redesigned and modernized core browsing experience.
The latest version of the browser features a simplified toolbar with less frequently used items removed, allowing the focus to be on the most important navigation items. Menus and prompts have also been streamlined across Firefox to have cleaner designs and clearer...
Apple's all-online Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
We're expecting to see a number of announcements, including iOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15, but it's unclear what else we'll be seeing at the event. While there had been some claims of redesigned MacBook Pro models making an appearance...
The Brave Browser available on iPhone and iPad today gained a new Playlist feature that's designed to save audio and video content in an easy-access queue.
Users can keep a list of videos, songs, podcasts, and more, and then access it from the Brave browser at any time by tapping on the Brave Playlist option from the menu in the app.
Adding any media to the Playlist is as simple as...
Friday November 20, 2020 11:32 am PST by Juli Clover
Google earlier this week released a version of Chrome designed specifically for Apple's M1 Macs, and those with a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini will want to download the Apple Silicon specific version of Chrome because it's going to run faster than the x86 version working through Rosetta 2.
Following the release of the M1 version of Chrome, Ars Technica did a series of benchmarks ...
Apple Music's incoming Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio features will be available in June on devices running iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, and tvOS 14.6 or later, according to Apple.
Apple said thousands of tracks will be available in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos at no additional cost, with more added regularly. Already available on the AirPods Pro, Apple describes...
Top Rated Comments
The one thing that pops into my mind is - I bet all that text gets saved somewhere too...