A plugin offered through OBS can utilize Twitch’s caption systems as well as allow said closed captions to work across not just live streams, but also archived recordings of said streams that can be watched via PC, iOS, and Android devices. There is also an option to implement closed captions through streaming software such as OBS. It pales in comparison to how Twitch has simplified the process and allowed for third party resources to be used as well. While YouTube’s streaming platform also offers captions and subtitles, there is a lot more tedious work involving font sizes, the opacity of the background on the text, and placement that is more used in already uploaded videos instead of live streams. There is a lot more work to be done to make live streaming accessible to all members of a community. Once you’re finished with your stream, or if you need to mute, be sure to turn captions off or exit the dashboard. They will start to appear once your stream goes live, and your community can adjust the settings to their needs via an on-screen menu. To start the captions, you will need to click On for the closed captions to begin working. Once there, click the link that will take you to the captioner dashboard, where you will need to sign in with your Twitch account to access the tool. Once the extension is active, click the cog in the active extension box to open the popup window again. You will then see a new pop-up box to confirm that the extension is active. There may be several options here, but you will need to select Set as Overlay 1. Under the Closed Captioner extension, click Activate. There you will see your installed and activated extensions. On the top left of your dashboard, click the My Extensions tab.

Once you’ve clicked that, a window will open instructing you to enable the extension as a Video Overlay. To activate through extensions, click the Add button next to the extension to add it to your extensions library. Twitch also offers closed captioning, which can be utilized via its creator dashboard system or through extensions. These panels allow users to get the full context of what the streamer has written without being confused on where to find their social media profiles and other links. All of this is essential to making sure that your audience can know who you are. To take advantage of this, users can write descriptive text, also known as alt text, via panels describing the color of the text, what font is used, how visible the background can be. To start, for visually impaired viewers and people with learning disabilities like dyslexia, Twitch has resources that allow streamers to make their “About” section work well with screen readers. In this explainer, I’ll go through captioning tools, subtitles to complement captioning, and screen reader accessibility instructions.

Over the years, streaming platforms and tools have made it easier than ever to create streams accessible to everyone.

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