Prices

Hardware

Steno machine
vs.
Speech recognition

The CPC-500 VoiceCaptioner™

CPC-500 module is included in all CaptionMaker software except CPC-710)

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Speech Recognition Based Realtime Captioning Simple to learn and use Cost-effective Helps comply with FCC captioning mandate which took effect 1/1/06 The VoiceCaptioner is easy to use. First train speech recognition software such as Natural Speaking (English and Spanish) and ViaVoice (English) to recognize your voice. Next, connect your computer via a serial cable to a closed caption encoder which also receives a feed of your video. Then simply speak and your words are automatically turned into captions. To have the speech of multiple speakers appear as captions use a “shadow speaker” (see sidebar). Accuracy, delay and choice of speech software For more information on accuracy versus delay in captions and other details, click here Television Use  Sports and Weather Captioning If your newsroom system automatically captions the teleprompter text, you are probably are not captioning sports and weather, since these segments usually are not on teleprompter. The VoiceCaptioner can automatically caption these segments if you have your sports and weather talent train the speech recognition software to their speech pattern.  Emergency Announcement Captioning If you have to go on the air quickly with an emergency announcement, the VoiceCaptioner can help fulfill your captioning needs. Have two or three employees on each shift train the speech recognition software to their speech pattern. When the talent (who has not trained the speech recognition software to their speech pattern) goes on air on short notice, have one of these employees act as a shadow speaker to caption the talent’s speech. Classroom Use Currently, many schools use speech-to-text note taking systems which display text on a screen in front of the student. When reading the text, the student is unable to watch the instructor without taking their eyes off the screen. This setup is far from ideal, and clearly puts the student at a disadvantage. Studies have shown that visual perception plays a big part in a student's ability to learn new material. The VoiceCaptioner allows the student to see the instructor and any demonstration they may be conducting via a video monitor while simultaneously reading the text of what is being spoken. The text produced from the instructor's speech is automatically displayed as traditional captions overlaying the video. Meeting Use The VoiceCaptioner makes it practical to caption almost any meeting because it is so simple to use. If there is only one speaker, that person trains the software to their speech prior to the meeting. During the meeting they speak into a microphone connected to the captioning system. If there are multiple speakers, a shadow speaker is used (see sidebar below). It takes practice to get used to being a shadow speaker, but most people master it with little difficulty. This contrasts with traditional realtime captioning systems which have high labor costs (e.g. for stenographers) that often makes them prohibitively expensive to use.   Helps you comply with FCC, ADA and Section 508 regulations

High Accuracy A new generation of speech recognition software, such as Natural Speaking (English and Spanish) and ViaVoice (English) provides accuracy rates in the 90-95% range. The CPC-500 software interfaces to this off-the-shelf speech recognition software to produce realtime captions. Shadow Speaker Single and multiple speakers can be captioned using a shadow speaker A single speaker simply speaks into a traditional microphone. For multiple speakers a “shadow speaker” is used. A shadow speaker is a person who first trains the speech recognition software to recognize their speech. The shadow speaker then repeats everything being said into a microphone. How it Works Click here for a document which explains how it works in more details. Comparison of CPC-500, Sign Language Interpreter, CART and CAN

System Diagrams
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Television Use	Classroom Use

Note: There are many setup options. For example, the video can be open captioned, displayed on a TV monitor on a student's desk and/or go to a record deck. How it works The talent or shadow speaker (the person that repeats all that is said into a microphone) first trains the ViaVoice speech recognition software to recognize their speech. This takes a few hours, and only needs to be done once. In the studio, either the talent wears a microphone, or if there is rapid dialogue between the talent, the shadow speaker repeats everything said into a microphone. In any case, the microphone is attached to the computer running  ViaVoice speech recognition software, which converts their speech into text. The text is then automatically fed into to the VoiceCaptioner software which transforms the text into caption format. This caption formatted text is then sent to the closed caption encoder via a standard serial cable. Simultaneously, the broadcast video is sent to the closed caption encoder. The encoder then physically places the captions onto the video in real time. The video out of the encoder (which contains the captioned video) is then broadcast out.     Please click here for more details. VoiceCaptioner includes CPC-500 VoiceCaptioner software and ViaVoice® speech recognition software. Options include: a mask microphone for use by a shadow speaker in noisy locations,  a USB conversion device to connect the microphone to the computer’s USB port, which eliminates the variability of different types of sound cards. System Requirements Computer with Windows 2000/XP or Vista running at 1.5 GHz with 1 GB of memory (Recommended). Computer with Windows 2000/XP or Vista running at 800MHz with 512 MB of memory (Minimum). System Price View Complete System and Prices in Microsoft Word format Please note that the system listed is a recommended system. Some components can be removed or changed. Feel free to contact the Project Manager Sid Hoffman (1-800-977-6678) or e-mail (shoffman@cpcweb.com). Sid’s credentials include: 8 years experience as a teleprompter operator; an M.A. in Audiology, and an M.S. in Computer Systems. Sid is also a licensed teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped (Permanent New York State teacher certification). Sid has 20 years of experience working in the captioning field.