Kaltura: Export Media and Captions for Offline Use

As a media owner, you may wish to download captioned Kaltura recordings for use offline:

  • To embed in a presentation
  • To watch on your local computer, which is useful if you have a poor or no Internet connection.

In this article:

Problem: When you download a recording from Kaltura, the saved file only contains the recording; the captions are missing.

Solution: Download both the recording and caption files, then combine them using ScreenPal or VLC. 

Notes:

  • To ensure captioning accuracy, edit all captions. Refer to Kaltura: Find and Edit Captions for more information.
  • If you made a recording in Kaltura Capture showing multiple sources (such as your screen and your webcam at the same time), refer to Kaltura: Extract and Combine Multi-Source Recordings before following the steps in this article.
  • If you made a recording with the browser-based webcam recorder, the source file will have a .webm file extension. You need to convert it to .mp4 before you can open it in ScreenPal. Do this by going to mediahub.umn.edu, uploading your .webm file, converting to PowerPoint format, and then downloading the result when you are notified by email.

Downloading Media and Caption Files from Kaltura

As a media owner, download the source and caption files from Kaltura:

  1. Go to mediaspace.umn.edu and find the recording you wish to download.
  2. Select the Edit icon to the right of the recording. The Edit video page appears. 
  3. At the bottom right of the Kaltura player, select Download original 
    • The downloaded file is the source file you will use in the steps below. It likely has a .mp4 file extension. 
  4. Select the Captions tab.
    1. From the Actions section, select Download.
      Mediaspace Captions tab, Actions menu. Download icon highlighted.

Creating Media with Open Captions Using ScreenPal

Open Captions means captions are always on and appear at the bottom of the recording. Use this ScreenPal process to create a file with open captions which you can embed in a presentation.

If you don't have ScreenPal set up with your University of Minnesota account, download and install it

  1. From the main screen of ScreenPal, select Import
  2. In the file selection box, select the source file you downloaded above. 
  3. Once imported, select it to open the Detail page.
  4. In the lower right, select CC
  5. From Add Captions, select Captions from file
    1. Select Start
  6. In the file selection box, select the caption file you downloaded above
    1. Select Open.
  7. Select Play to verify the words from the caption file appear at the bottom of the media.
    1. Edit captions for accuracy in the Captions Text box.
  8. Select OK. The media detail page appears.
  9. From Options, select Save As Video File
  10. Select Folder to choose where to save the file on your computer. 
  11. Select Open Captions to make sure there is a checkmark next to the caption file you imported.
  12. Select Publish to export the file to your computer. 

Viewing Media with Closed Captions File Using VLC

Closed Captions means you can toggle captions on or off when you are watching the recording. Use VLC to view a recording with closed captions. This option is recommended for media you wish to view locally on your computer when you do not have access to the Internet.

If you don't have VLC (also known as VideoLAN), download and install it

  1. From the File menu in VLC, select Open File… to choose the media file you downloaded above.
  2. From the Subtitles menu, select Add Subtitle File… to choose the caption file you downloaded above.

Closed captions will now appear at the bottom of the media. To turn them off, from the Subtitles menu, select Subtitle Track > Disable.

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