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Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

I have been using the closed captions in PowerPoint to have live closed captions in GoToWebinar using a Macintosh computer, but am having difficulty getting the full effect using Windows 10.

 

Read the basics about using PowerPoint to display closed captions in GoToWebinars here: https://support.goto.com/webinar/help/use-google-slides-or-microsoft-powerpoint-for-closed-nbsp-capt... 

 

The scenario is that I am the Organizer and Presenter.  The PowerPoint is running on my Windows 10 computer. I am using an external microphone connected via USB. This is the same microphone and external speakers I use with the Macintosh.

 

PowerPoint is capturing my voice and creating the closed captions. PowerPoint is not showing the closed captions for other people who are speaking in the GoToWebinar.

 

When using the Macintosh, my PowerPoint captured  and displayed the captions for everyone who spoke. My Windows computer will just display the captions for me, not for remote speakers.  It does seem to capture and display random words every now and then.

 

Is there a setting I need to change to allow my Windows computer to show captions for all webinar voices?

7 REPLIES 7
AshC
Retired GoTo Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

@Chris Droessler  The fact that some but not all captions are working is very strange.  Are you sharing the entire screen, or just the part where PPT slides are shown? 


Ash is a member of the LastPass Community Care Team.

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Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

I am sharing the entire screen, a second display connected to the computer.  A colleague on her Windows computer as Presenter in GoToWebianr experienced the exact same issue.  

 

Our experience is that on Windows, the closed captions in PowerPoint work for people local to the computer but will not hear voices coming from remote people via GoToWebinar.

 

 

AshC
Retired GoTo Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

OK, I see what you mean.  I'll see if this behavior is known for Windows users. 

 

We are also working on a GoTo solution that should accomplish the same goals.  More info to come on that soon... 


Ash is a member of the LastPass Community Care Team.

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Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

I played around with some settings today and might have a solution.  I'm going to try it out on a real webinar tomorrow,

Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

For this test (real webinar with over 100 attendees.) I set the PowerPoint to use the laptop computer's (Dell Latitude) built in microphone and set the GoToWebinar to use the external microphone.  This means the computer via PowerPoint uses the internal microphone to collect sound to be translated into the closed captions.

 

The Dell was connected to a projector via HDMI cable, so the speakers in the projector were sending sound to the 4 people who were in the physical room.  The Dell computer was right next to the projector, so the Dell microphone should have easily captured the sound coming out of the projector.,  The external microphone is about 2 feet behind the projector, but the sound is turned up loud enough on the speakers so that the person sitting on the other side of the external microphone could hear everything clearly.

 

So in this case, the PowerPoint was able to hear and post the closed captions for the virtual presenters, but it was a bad translation.  About a third of the words were missed or translated wrong.  There were about six virtual presenters, and all of them had the same poor closed caption experience.

 

I was sitting in front of both the Dell and the external microphone.  About half of my words were translated correctly. The person sitting next to me (close to the external mic, but now about 2 feet from the Dell mic) their words were not picked up a at all, as were others sitting around the same table.

 

In the past, we have used Macintosh computers and have had excellent closed caption translation for all in the physical room as well as all of the virtual presenters.

 

A few months ago, I worked with a colleague who is using a windows laptop computer with an external microphone that was right next to her speakers.  During a GoToWebinar we could not get any of the virtual presenters words to show up on the screen.

 

Has anyone had a successful experience using a Windows computer, closed captions through PowerPoint working for virtual presenters?

AshC
Retired GoTo Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

It sounds like this may be the result of a poor external microphone.  Are you able to test with a different PC or an external mic? 


Ash is a member of the LastPass Community Care Team.

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Chris Droessler
Respected Contributor

Re: Closed Captions via PowerPoint - Difficulty using Windows

This exact same setup with external microphone and speakers works flawlessly on a Macintosh computer.

 

I'm using a $400 AKG professional microphone running through a Shure x2u to convert to USB.

 

This has been tried on two different Windows computers with the same poor results.

 

I'm hoping there is some secret check box deep in the Windows settings that will make this work.