Transcripts Made Easy: Your Guide to YouTube and SVT Play Captions

Have you ever watched a video online and wished you had a written transcript? Maybe you’re hard of hearing, learning a new language, need to quickly find a specific quote, or want to repurpose the content. Accurate transcripts can be incredibly useful, but they’re not always easy to come by. This guide will show you how to get transcripts made easy from two popular video platforms: YouTube and SVT Play.

The YouTube tutorial is based on two videos by Carl Brown (Internet of Bugs) Google/YouTube’s AI is awful at speech recognition and How to Fix Your YouTube Captions.

Getting Better Transcripts on YouTube

YouTube is a vast library of video content, but its auto-generated transcripts aren’t always perfect. Thankfully, there are ways to improve their accuracy and even download them for offline use.

The Problem with Auto-Generated Transcripts

YouTube uses automatic speech recognition (ASR) to create transcripts for many videos. While this technology is constantly improving, it can still struggle with accents, background noise, fast speech, and specialized terminology. This can lead to frustratingly inaccurate captions.

Solutions for Better YouTube Transcripts

Here are three methods to get better YouTube transcripts, each with its own strengths:

Improve Transcript Accuracy (Using Google Docs)

This method, demonstrated in the video “How to get UBER ACCURATE Captions on YouTube for FREE!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCx6dJOiM_Y), leverages Google Docs’ voice typing feature to create a more accurate transcript, which you can then use to correct YouTube’s version.

• Key Takeaway: Play the YouTube video through Google Docs’ voice typing, letting Google’s ASR re-transcribe the audio.

  
  

• Steps:

  1. Open the YouTube video and its existing transcript (click the “…” button below the video and select “Show Transcript”).
  2. Open a new Google Doc and enable Voice Typing (Tools > Voice typing).
  3. Configure your audio input to listen to the YouTube video. This might involve using “Stereo Mix” (if available on your system) or a virtual audio cable. See the video for detailed instructions on this setup.
  4. Play the YouTube video and let Google Docs Voice Typing create a new transcript in the document.
  5. Carefully compare the Google Docs transcript to the original YouTube transcript. Copy and paste sections of the improved Google Docs transcript into the YouTube transcript editor, correcting any remaining errors.
  6. Adjust the timings in the YouTube editor to ensure the text syncs with the video.

• Limitations: This method is more time-consuming than simply downloading the existing transcript, especially for longer videos. It relies on good audio quality and the accuracy of Google Docs’ voice typing.

  
  

Download the Existing Transcript

If you just need a copy of the transcript as it is on YouTube, this method, shown in “How To Download YouTube Video Transcripts (2023)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIe_uaveO6A), is quick and easy.

• Key Takeaway: YouTube provides a built-in way to view and copy the transcript directly.

  
  

• Steps:

  1. Open the YouTube video.
  2. Click the “…” (three dots) button below the video (usually near the “Share” button).
  3. Select “Show Transcript”.
  4. The transcript will appear, usually on the right side of the video.
  5. You can now copy the text directly from the transcript box.
  6. You can toggle time stamps on/off.

• Limitations: This method only gives you the transcript as it exists on YouTube. If the auto-generated transcript is inaccurate, the downloaded text will also be inaccurate.

  
  

Use a Chrome Extension (For Convenience)

Chrome extensions can provide a convenient way to access YouTube transcripts directly within your browser. A popular and well-regarded option is “YouTube Transcript”.

• Extension: YouTube Transcript – https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/youtube-transkript/jgibaoklabopileepldnlkbbcibhbgmd
  • (Note: This link may redirect to a localized version based on your browser settings. This is normal and expected.)
• Summary: This extension adds a button to the YouTube video page, allowing you to quickly view and copy the transcript.
• Key Takeaway: Chrome extensions like “YouTube Transcript” offer a streamlined, in-browser solution for accessing YouTube transcripts.
• How it Works:
  1. Install the “YouTube Transcript” extension from the Chrome Web Store using the link above.
  2. Go to a YouTube video.
  3. You should see a new button added by the extension, likely near the video title or description. It might be labeled “Visa transkription” (Show Transcript) or something similar in Swedish.
  4. Click the extension’s button.
  5. The transcript will appear in a panel, and you can usually copy the text.
• Advantages:
  • Convenience: Access transcripts directly within the YouTube interface.
  • Speed: Often faster than using YouTube’s built-in transcript feature.
• Limitations:
  • Accuracy: This particular extension primarily provides access to YouTube’s existing transcript. The accuracy is dependent on YouTube’s auto-generated captions.
  • Privacy: As with any extension, review the permissions it requests before installing.
  • Potential for Change: Extensions can be updated or discontinued, so functionality may change over time.

Summary of YouTube Transcript Tips

You now have three main options for YouTube transcripts:

• Improve accuracy: Use the Google Docs method (Option 1) when accuracy is paramount.
• Download the existing transcript: Use the built-in YouTube feature (Option 2) for quick access to the existing text.
• Use a Chrome Extension: Use an extension like “YouTube Transcript” (Option 3) for convenient, in-browser access to the existing YouTube transcript.

Choose the method that best suits your needs. Remember that accurate captions are vital for accessibility!

How to Extract Transcripts from SVT Play (macOS Focus)

SVT Play is the streaming service of Sveriges Television, Sweden’s public broadcaster. While SVT Play doesn’t offer downloadable full transcripts in the same way as some other platforms, it does provide subtitles (undertexter/textning) for many of its programs. This section focuses on accessing those subtitles.

Introduction to SVT Play’s Subtitle/Transcript System

It’s important to understand that SVT Play primarily provides subtitles for on-screen viewing, not separate, downloadable transcript documents. This means you can watch the video with subtitles, but getting a complete, easily editable text file requires an extra step.

Step-by-Step Guide

Here are two methods for accessing SVT Play subtitles:

1. Viewing Subtitles On-Screen (The Official Method)

This is the simplest and officially supported way to view subtitles:

• Step 1: Go to the SVT Play website (svtplay.se) and find the program you want to watch.

  
  

• Step 2: Start playing the video.

  
  

• Step 3: Look for a subtitle icon in the video player controls. This is usually a speech bubble icon, or a button labeled “T”, “Textning”, or “Undertexter”.

  
  

• Step 4: Click the icon and select your preferred language (usually Swedish).

  
  

• Step 5: The subtitles will now appear on-screen during playback.

  
  

• Important Note: This method allows you to see the subtitles, but you can’t directly download or copy-paste the entire transcript at once. You’d have to manually copy text as it appears, which is not ideal for longer programs.

  
  

Downloading Subtitles with svtplay-dl (The Technical Method)

For a more complete and editable text file of the subtitles, you can use a command-line tool called svtplay-dl. This method is more technical and requires using the Terminal on macOS.

• Important Prerequisite: This method requires some familiarity with the command line.

  
  

• Step 1: Install svtplay-dl:

  1. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal).
  2. Install Homebrew (a package manager for macOS) if you don’t already have it. Paste this command into Terminal and press Enter:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh))"
     

     
     
  3. Once Homebrew is installed, install svtplay-dl by typing this command into Terminal and pressing Enter:

     brew install svtplay-dl
     

     
     
  4. You may also need to install ffmpeg. Follow any instructions provided by svtplay-dl or Homebrew if prompted.

• Step 2: Download the Video and Subtitles:

  1. Go to the SVT Play website and find the video you want. Copy the video’s URL.
  2. Open Terminal (if it’s not already open).
  3. Type the following command, replacing [video_url] with the actual URL you copied, and press Enter:

     svtplay-dl -S [video_url]
     

     
     The -S flag tells svtplay-dl to download the subtitles along with the video.

• Step 3: Locate the Subtitle File:

  • svtplay-dl will usually save the downloaded files in your home directory (the folder with your username). You can also change the download location.
  • Look for a file with a .srt or .vtt extension. This is the subtitle file. It will usually have a similar name to the video file.

• Step 4: Open the Subtitle File:

  • .srt and .vtt files are plain text files. You can open them with any text editor, such as TextEdit (which comes with macOS). The file will contain the subtitles along with timestamps.

Troubleshooting and Important Considerations

• Not All Programs Have Subtitles: It’s crucial to remember that not all programs on SVT Play have subtitles available.
• svtplay-dl Legality: Disclaimer: Downloading copyrighted content from SVT Play without permission may violate their terms of service and copyright laws. Use svtplay-dl responsibly and only for content you have the right to download.
• svtplay-dl Updates: svtplay-dl is a community-maintained tool, and it may require updates from time to time to continue working correctly, as SVT Play’s website can change.
• Alternative Subtitle Formats: .srt and .vtt are both common subtitle formats. .vtt is a newer format that supports more features, but most text editors can open both.
• If subtitles are not available: The best action is contacting SVT’s customer support.

Conclusion

Getting transcripts from online videos can be a huge help for various reasons. Whether you’re using YouTube or SVT Play, this guide has provided you with the tools and techniques to access the subtitles and transcripts you need. Remember to always respect copyright laws and terms of service. Now go forth and unlock the power of written words from your favorite videos!

Read more about Carl Brown on Foodcourtification.com.