Starz now uses Interra’s BATON Captions AI-ML based automated speech recognition for caption and subtitle generation and editing, with compliance, alignment and QC features.
Global media and entertainment company Starz produces and distributes streaming content to subscription television platforms worldwide. Starz has been a long-term user of Interra Systems’ BATON QC software. When the company recently wanted to improve and simplify its English-to-Spanish captioning process, the updated version of BATON Captions has been able to deliver better caption quality while helping the company more efficiently detect subtitles whose timing progressively drifts from the voice dialogue timing.
“We are seeing a growing demand for multilanguage content,” said Dan Stowell, Director of Programming Operations at Starz. “Interra Systems’ BATON Captions has been instrumental in speeding up our captioning workflow. In particular, the software’s speech-to-text feature significantly reduces the time and effort required for creating accurate captions.”
BATON Captions uses machine learning (ML) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) techniques to increase the precision of its captioning and introduce a level of automation to its processes. Starz applies these tools to caption-related tasks such as generation, post-production editing and localisation for different regions, supporting the global distribution of media. The system includes a straightforward web-based player and detailed reporting, with feedback on caption quality.
BATON Captions includes Natural Language Processing that optimizes line breaks and segmentation within the dialogue, which makes following the subtitles simple and natural for viewers. As well as compliance issues, BATON Captions identifies and reports inaccuracies in captions and audio, and gives the broadcaster automated options for precise alignment and text corrections.
Through further automation, the captions can also be regenerated in multiple versions, carefully checked against actual audio essence, corrected and exported to standard caption formats. The software’s support for a wide range of subtitle and closed caption formats helps improve the global reach of the content. Depending on users’ infrastructure, BATON Captions can be adapted for deployment on-premises or in the cloud. www.interrasystems.com
